Music Sales Haven't Really Dropped

Overhype

from the fun-with-statistics dept

New Media Musings points us to a week old article showing how the RIAA fudges CD sales figures to show they’re dropping when they’re actually increasing. It turns out that the RIAA used numbers that only show CD shipments to stores – and not how many CDs were actually purchased. In other words, they’re using a number they have some control over. However, back in the real world, consumers are actually buying more CDs. Also, the article notes that stores are realizing they don’t need to carry as much inventory, as they can go with more of a “just-in-time” supply chain model. In other words, these fewer shipments also mean that the industry is even more profitable than before. The fact that there are fewer shipments just means the industry has become more efficient. Unfortunately, this doesn’t fit with the RIAA’s view of the world, so they had to come up with a different method to maintain the fiction that they’re selling.