From The Register

UK retailer WH Smith has blamed falling sales for the decision to pull CD singles from its shelves.

The company will use the free shelf space to sell other entertainment products. The decision followed a review of trading by Boston Consulting Group and Cap Gemini Ernst&Young, according to the Guardian. It will continue to retail CD albums.

The British Phonograhic Institute (BPI) estimates CD album sales rose 5.6 per cent in the UK last year. But sales of singles crashed more than 30 per cent.

The BPI is currently piloting a project to count songs downloaded from legitimate websites. This information will initially be used to help promote legal download sites and will then be incorporated into the existing charts.

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To those in the U.K., this is how it starts.

First of all, W.H. Smith is not just a UK company. With offices in Atlanta, W.H. Smith is also a major retailer in the U.S., concentrating its stores in high-markup areas like airports.

But the upcoming demise of the single in the UK is most interesting because the majors already killed the single here. Tried to anyway.

In 2002, the UK sold 38.6 million CD singles. The U.S. sold 4.5 million. They also sold 7.8 million cassette singles, compared to a -0.5 million in the U.S. That's right, a negative number. Second year in a row, too.

The majors maimed the U.S. singles market in 1998 and by 2002, it almost died. Just about the same time, the RIAA started suing people due to falling full-length CD sales.

British CD sales have been up every year but one since 1999, and that was only a .2 million-unit decline.

So here's what happens... The singles disappear from store shelves. Like us, you're supposed to buy the entire CD. But don't forget, Apple, Napster and CokeMusic are all on the way. For a mere 99 pence (almost $2 U.S.), you too will be able to buy DRM-infested, limited playback, tethered downloads.

They'll take care of that sales anomaly in the UK, thus opening the door to sue Brits, Scots, Welsh, Irish and Manx for the same bullshit excuse they're suing us right now.

Sales are down.

Actually, without p2p promotion of their artists, RIAA and BPI sales would REALLY be down... and THEY KNOW IT!

They just don't want NON RIAA/BPI artists to be available on the web.

Downloading their music only helps them...

YOU hate them...

so STOP downloading their music

do as they "ask" and do them a favor! (put em outta their misery!)

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
Support Local and Independent Music!

Single sales are dropping because

(a) Singles are bad value for money
(b) The music is shyte

Cheers
www.boycott-bpi.co.uk

Ah so now there are less places to buy singles so the sales are going to fall. We all know where the finger will be pointed.
Its funny to see how the industry is slowly killing itself and not one chief exec has a clue what to do, perhaps their shareholders should show them the door.

Singles are SUPPOSED to be a bad value for the money. You're supposed to buy CDs anyway, not songs. Dontcha know?

That's why they're selling songs online for a buck.

What they're doing is simply eliminating the retailer altogether, which lets them complain about dropping sales.

And then of course, "(b) The music is shyte"

Singles compete with albums. The same companies produce both products. What can you expect?

Well, I suppose the reduction in impulse-buying has to be good, even if the money does get spent on DVDs instead.

The BPI says it is considering a UK version on the sue 'em all campaign. Wont produce any more public outrage than the US version through. The masses in the UK, like the masses in the US, dont really care about important issues, unless theres an excuse to insult a politition.

GoldenPi

I do disagree with you on the "masses in the UK"

We have got a fine history of sticking it too those that think they know better.

Civil wars, protests, riots. We do love a bit of a ruck.

The issue, like it is in the US I suspect, is one of ignorance. If the dodgy laws can get passed without people understanding the issues then sure, things will go badly

Its our task (should we decide to take it on) to educate, educate and educate.

Failing that, flaming police cars in Trafalger square are allways good for a laugh.

Cheers
www.boycott-bpi.co.uk

The UK is a much smaller place than the US and if the BPI start a sue um all campaign I think the results will be very different than the US. Its only a gut feeling. As said above, any mass rally in London will hit the news bigtime here and students have never been shy at making there case.

OHz

Drop by the UK site and lend a hand man, drop me an email!

Cheers
www.boycott-bpi.co.uk
info@boycott-bpi.co.uk