The UK music business – notwithstanding the collapses at Woolworths/EUK and Pinnacle – is still doing fine this holiday season. Just as the one-day sales of Take That had suggested their latest album “The Circus” is the current top seller in the British market, propelling overall sales levels to new hights this year.
“The Circus” sold 432,490 copies in its first week. That’s a number most label executives would be proud of if they were able to achieve it in the U.S. – a market with more than five times the population of Great Britain.
How did the Brits do it? The key factor here seems to be pricing. Supermarket chain Asda is offering “The Circus” for a mere £5.88 ($8.66) and Amazon MP3 is almost giving it away at £3 ($4.45).
That, of course, begs the question: What cost do these sales records come at? Is this the pricing level we will have to adjust to? Many think so. What’s your take? Drop me a line in the comments.
