Earlier in the day, there was a closed-to-the-press town hall meeting, with all of the major distributors and a number of major retailers voicing their opinions on the physical market and how to stop the bleeding. Anderson Merchandisers’ Bill Lardie was not alone on the retail side when he cited price as the major concern. He also, not surprisingly, wants to grow the top of the chart, focusing on maximizing the potential of hit records.
New EMI distribution topper Dominic Pandiscia talked about the need to increase the artist/fan relationship with deluxe product. Kevin Twitchell spoke for Sony, with JJ Schaidler (although at the convention) preparing to leave the company and newly tapped Darren Stupak not yet sitting in the seat as the distributor’s top gun. Twitchell used Sony’s increase in selling physical product as the main reason their marketshare rocketed over the last year.
Candace Berry handled the presentation for UMGD, with the focus on their new Velocity pricing program. CIMS’ Michael Bunnell used the forum to point out that the indies were the last bastion of physical catalog. Trans World’s Bob Higgins once again talked about price and posited that, if all releases went to $10, the industry would see a 30% increase in physical the first year, 20% the next and another 10% the following year.
WEA’s Mike Jbara talked about how physical retail has to have an open mind and approach to new consumption models, rather than focusing all conversations and efforts on price. He then proceeded to tell the confab to look at this week’s HITS to read the rest of his thoughts.
Other tidbits from the convention floor included the news that Dimples’ Dilyn Radakovitz had just signed a lease for her eighth location in
Later on, the suites began to rock, with standout performances from Universal Republic’s The Rescues, and J Records’ Daniel Merriweather, who was backed by acoustic guitar and keyboard and slayed the jaded industry crowd gathered in the Sony suite. Off-site, a huge buzz surrounded a club date by
TYLER IS HEADED TO THE TOP
Unconventional move by unconventional dude is paying off. (10/30a)
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