Today's grocery list: milk, bread, music
By Jeanne Anne Naujeck, The Tennessean
When Mike Olsen opened his Kroger circular and saw the "Napster music card" for sale, he knew the digital era had arrived.
That the cards, which are redeemable for song downloads, are sold along with milk, tuna and eggs floored Olsen, who is president of Compendia Music Group, a Nashville-based independent record company.
"The whole idea that a prepaid card could be so ubiquitous might mean we sell more music," said Olsen. "You'd better embrace it now because the future is here."
Selling song downloads along with eggs, milk and paper products is a good sign of just how mainstream downloading became in 2003 -- and it may be a long-awaited sign of hope for the music industry.
In 2002, there was widespread gloom in the recording industry about the steady slide in CD sales and the growing problem of people sharing music free. Overall music sales were down 13.2% and record retailers such as Tower, CD Warehouse and Musicland were closing branches and filing for bankruptcy.
Then came Apple Computer, the arbiter of cool in technology. Its iTunes Music Store boasted easy, fast, cheap (99 cents a song) downloading, and its splashy product introduction positioned Apple founder Steve Jobs to be as much of a rock star as the artists with whom he posed in ads.
Rich Peluso, co-president of Chordant Distribution Group, a division of EMI Christian Music Group, said iTunes' instant success -- it has sold more than 25 million singles since its April launch -- had energized the music community in a less tangible but equally important way.
"Apple launched a phenomenal service with all artists and a consumer brand that people could trust. It got traction. When we saw millions of songs being sold, it brought back hope."
Digital music has an even greater advantage in that computer sales penetration is so high that most people already have the hardware they need to download.
"A year ago ... downloading, ripping and burning were scary terms to almost the entire U.S. population, and now they're familiar," an upbeat Peluso said. "The potential for upside on digital music is very good."
While downloading hasn't made much money yet, SoundScan reports extremely rapid growth. More than 1.4 million songs were downloaded the week ended Dec. 21, and 1.3 million the week before, the service said.
All the major record companies are offering their music on most of the well-known online stores, including country music by artists signed to their Nashville labels. An Apple spokeswoman said that more than 200 independent labels also had signed up with iTunes.
