by George Ziemann

I know that things change, but historical sales data shouldn't be one of them. This once again raises a question about the accuracy of the RIAA's data.

The Hollywood Reporter has an article revealing Neilsen Soundscan's 2003 sales data. Click here for complete story. Let's just pick out a couple of the more revealing stats.

"The 0.8% decline in total units sold -- to 687 million units -- was driven by a 2% decline in CD album sales. That compared with an 8.7% decline in CD album sales in 2002."

According to the RIAA's 2002 year-end statistics, the total retail units sold for 2002 was 675.7 million units. If 2003 had 687 million units sold, that would be an increase, not a decrease.

"CDs, which account for 96% of all music sales, sold 635.8 million units in 2003."

On May 5, 2003, Time magazine reported that 680 million CDs were sold in 2002, also more than the RIAA's reported total units sold in all formats.

As for the rest of the data in the article, it's primarily percentages without any hard numbers that compare to any of the RIAA's hard numbers from last year. What little real numbers are there simply do not add up to what we were told last year.

The answer is simple -- The RIAA's numbers say whatever they want them to say.

That's ridiculous... I mean, how can they keep doing this? Next year they'll say they dropped another 1% with 700 million units sold.

Bah. No sympathy here.

What, WHAT!!!
The RIAA's numbers they use are
LIES???!!!!

So, filesharing HASN'T impacted CD sales. Big surprise there...

The only thing that is slipping is their grip on the music industry. When people can make their own choices the RIAA freaks out because they don't know if people will continue to buy what they say to buy. Less control means that they are less able to predict the size of their paychecks.

Wonder which came first.... The administration or the market...

Seriously, someone should make it VERY public that they are lying about the numbers. Show the proof in the RIAA's own words, and there's no way anyone can challenge it.

It's like Bernic Mac company, only we KNOW their numbers are going to be WAY lower, especially since the boycott took affect.

MPAA announces lesser box grosses for movies, and imediately blames piracy. Not because they released a bunch of bad costume pictures. (And foul-mouthed Cat in the Hat.)

I am interested in the corporate reform movement that seeks to regulate the publicity profit figures given to Wall Street to equal the same figures as the bad news on the earnings given to stockholders. Recording artists also notice the discepency on their royalty sheets, when Variety trumpets "Sells two million the first week!"

Please note that Dan O'Bannon, original author of "Alien 1" sued for royalties, and showed in court the Variety headlines shouting about the huge grosses, He got zip, nada. Some little thing about creative accounting...

they been doing it since 1930Sssssssss

I heard cigarette and tobacco companies were suing the makers of the anti-drug comercials for offering less addictive and harmful activities then their product.

The record industry needs an IV feed of sodium pentathol STAT! That's truth serum in the vernacular.

I don't think they even know the truth anymore.

Give 'em napalm.

napalm sounds like the real solution, arggghhh load the cannons !

The reason, I think, the recording industry assholes of america are saying the numbers are slipping solely on p2p is that they are trying to use a scare tactic to get people to buy music so they can line their own pockets. Plus, with the state of the economy, people are a bit more conservative with their money. Its funny how the riaa said that the numbers of sales started to fall about the same time america went into the recession.

"He who controls the past controls the present. He who controls the present holds the key to tomorrow" -butchered version of 1984.

Well I only have three words for the industry:

Just die already.

More RIAA lies?

--duh.



Keep collecting this stuff George... perhaps one day we can use it against them when we bring em up infront of congress and nail the final nail in their coffin.

It will be SWEEEET!

Shmoo, of Electric Gypsy
Support Local and Independent Music!

well thair back to talking in units agin meaning no real numbers

units=total shiped Cds!!!!!

cd set 1 gets gets shipped 4,000,000 units 25,000 of those units are publicty
sent to stores,radios stations.....and what not

on avrage 40,000 of those units are stolen from stores

another 80,000 are reported missing

and about 5,000 are given out to the artests friends family who ever thay want to have the cd

every one who took place in makeing that CD gets a free copy also the other record lables can request the CD sent to the excutives and the likes the lables give out the Cd to thair workers and blah blah blah ect ect ect.......................
6000 units

and an untold amount are sent out over seas for what ever reson so i will not inclued them lol

many more are eather given out or what ever els defective and brought back to the store yadda yadda yadda

as you can see every CD ship = one unit inclueding the CD shiped that are not sold.............

humm sounds to me like the riaa may not be losseing as much to D/L as thay say thay are so when are thay going to release the numbers on how many CDs are ship bye how many Cds are sent to CD store bye how many CDs are retruned for being defective

but you will neaver hear about those numbers only UNITS SHIPPED!

koemoe -- But this is SoundScan. They're actually talking about what was sold.

The RIAA manipulates sales figures either up or down depending on intended usage. When fighting piracy, sales are down by 20% over the last three years years. When presenting to he executives or trying to convince people the sky is not falling, sales are at an all-time high.

The RIAA's numbers are as good as the governments. maybe that's why the congress and the entertainment industry is so close

Stats are just a buisness man's weapon of illusion. They say whatever they need them to and often do so convenently without anything to back it up. And why would stats need any proof of origin? They are the proof.

want to slap the riaa right in the face,(earth station 5.com) check this out, it,s great.

y haven't i heard of this b4? RIAA trap?

after all u are pea trap