HMV chief executive Simon Fox has said he believes the ever-reducing market for CDs may be gone altogether within five years.Fox is quoted in The Sun newspaper today as saying while there will still be room for CDs for the immediate future, that could come to an end before this decade is out.
“There will be a place for CDs, but it’s difficult to see out more than five years,” he remarked. Fox also expressed his belief the CD market could be worth as little as £300m in three years time, compared to the £900m figure of last year.
The rise of downloads during the course of this century is causing increasing problems for high-street retailers such as HMV, who announced the closure of 60 stores in the UK towards the end of last year.
2010 figures released last January showed another drop in album sales across the UK, continuing a six-year trend, while physical singles dropped to just 1.9 million units shifted. By contrast, digital sales rose by 30%.
In another blow to the physical single, Mercury Records, home to the likes of U2 and The Killers, announced in March they will now only release CD singles on ‘rare occasions’.
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