Ed Christman, N.Y.
While mainstream media is touting that the Black Friday weekend
started the holiday selling season with a bang, music merchandisers
certainly didn't have that experience.
Music sales were down anywhere from 10% to 30% and hit albums
released for Black Friday didn't perform up to expectations,
according to merchants contacted by Billboard. Sources say Kanye
West's "808s & Heartbreak" will sell in the range of
425,000-450,000 units, significantly down from 700,000-975,000
units previously projected.
Guns N' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" is expected to clock in at
250,000-260,000, which is also down from expectations that it would
sell anywhere from 300,000-784,000 units.
While some press reports show across-the-board retail weekend sales
up 7%, music merchandisers point out that in order to accurately
measure the holiday, it should be measured the week containing
Black Friday this year, which was the last week in November, versus
last year when the day fell in the third week of the month.
At music specialty stores Newbury Comics, sales were down 21% on a
comparable store basis for the last two weeks of November, while
music sales were down 28%, reports the Brighton, Mass.-based
chain's CEO, Mike Dreese.
At big boxes like Wal-Mart and Barnes & Noble, label executives
report that hit sales were off significantly for the Black Friday
weekend, anywhere from 30% to 40%.
On the other hand, as expected, online shopping was stronger than
last year, says an executive with a wholesaler that does CD and DVD
fulfillment for online stores. But he declined to provide details,
other than to say that Friday was better than Thursday, for the
first time.
"I hear traffic was high, but overall purchasing wasn't because
shoppers were cherry-picking the deals," says one senior
distribution executive.