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Music Sales Slump Could Spell the End of Boxed Sets

7/8/08, 1:14 pm EST

With music sales in a steady decline, perhaps the biggest victim of the P2P era is the boxed set, with only a limited number of sets planned for the latter part of 2008. Sales of boxed sets have hit record lows, making labels reluctant about releasing them at all. This year, the most notable boxed sets are the Jesus & Mary Chain’s The Power of Negative Thinking: B-Sides & Rarities, a Jane’s Addiction anthology endorsed by drummer Stephen Perkins and retrospectives of Rob Zombie, Roy Orbison and Hall & Oates. Even the most anticipated boxed set of them all, Neil Young’s long-awaited Archives Vol. 1, has shifted into a BluRay format in hopes of avoiding the fate of its boxed peers (and for the video and space opportunities offered by the hi-def format). In fact, the boxed set hasn’t had a “hit” since Nirvana’s With the Lights Out sold 500,000 copies four years ago. Developments like this could spell disaster for niche labels like Rhino and Rykodisc who regularly put out top-shelf collections during the holidays, including last years boxes devoted to Brit pop and heavy metal. While boxed sets slump, deluxe editions are apparently doing better, as Universal is reportedly planning a whole slew of deluxe releases of newer albums from the Killers and Snow Patrol at year’s end to cash in on the holidays.


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Comments

Kang | 7/9/2008, 7:15 pm EST

I am calling it now….Hall and Oates the boxset is going to break industry records and save the boxset.

SPONGE CAKE | 7/9/2008, 12:48 pm EST

don’t die little box. You smell good.

mervelousMEGUMI | 7/9/2008, 9:36 am EST

There was an 18-disc set with all of Beck’s singles from 1994 to 2006 (100 tracks in all, plus loads of never-before-released B-sides and such) that was supposed to have been released last year. I had it on pre-order from Amazon.com for months, but I eventually got a cancellation notice from the site saying the item had been indefinitely discontinued.

I’m still drooling at the prospect that it’ll eventually be released … please, Beck! C’mon!

Dave | 7/9/2008, 8:10 am EST

If someone puts out a decent box set, it will sell. Don’t load it with 80% previously-released material. Dig deep into the vaults and present something new and the money will follow.

Keigh | 7/8/2008, 6:57 pm EST

People are not to by the box set if they can get the songs off of itunes or rapsody for cheaper.

Dennis | 7/8/2008, 2:57 pm EST

I wonder why? All the good stuff has already come out. Duh.

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