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Music's back on track
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September 22, 1998: 8:08 p.m. ET
Record sales are enjoying nice rebound on strength of diverse talent
From CNNfn Correspondent Casey Wian
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LOS ANGELES (CNNfn) - You can barely hear it, but the sweetest sound in a record store now is that of the cash register.
After two dismal years of flat sales and lower shipments to music retailers, record sales have bounced back. Retail music sales were up 7 percent so far this year. And the number of gold and platinum albums has jumped more than 50 percent.
Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive officer of the Recording Industry Association of America, says part of the boost comes from consumers buying full-length albums again instead of hit singles. (113K WAV) or (113K AIF)
Music retailers expanded rapidly in the early 90s, then suffered through a wrenching consolidation that saw more than 1,000 stores close nationwide between 1993 and 1997. Now retailers are leaner, have better control over their inventory, and are benefiting from stepped up marketing efforts by major record labels.
"There's been a kind of resurgence in hip-hop and rap, Beastie Boys, stuff like Fat Joe, and Canibus," says John Graham, a floor manager at Tower Records.
Actually, most categories are selling well. For pop fans there's Celine Dion and the Backstreet Boys. Country touts Shania Twain. And for rockers, there's Matchbox 20 (63K WAV) or (63K AIF).
And movie soundtracks lead by "Titanic," which sold 10 million copies, account for nearly half of this year's gold and platinum albums. Retailers predict a big Christmas season this year with new albums coming from Sheryl Crow and Alanis Morissette, plus a box set from Bruce Springsteen.
Still, the music industry faces challenges, mainly how to manage the Internet--and its growing importance as a distribution channel for both legally and illegally recorded music.
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