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Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Disney Releases Blu-ray Combo before DVD for Stranger Tides

Home Media Magazine recently reported that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Blu-ray/DVD combo a month ahead of the DVD-only release. While Disney has done this previously on back-catalogue titles, this Blu-ray-centric move is a first for a major box office release.

On October 18, Disney will release Stranger Tides as a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and a five-disc combo pack with 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy. Roughly one month later, on November 15, the studio will then release a DVD-only version of the blockbuster film.¹

With over 30 million households in the United States currently owning a Blu-ray player (according to the Digital Entertainment Group) and projections showing global Blu-ray disc sales will hit 412 million units in 2013², studios will certainly be watching this release closely to determine whether they’ll conduct similar strategies with their blockbuster flicks.

What do you think of Disney’s strategy with Stranger Tides? Will your library go with the combo pack or hold out for the DVD-only version?

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Music Industry Sees Many Positives in 2011

“Thank you, Adele!” is what the music industry is exclaiming currently, according to two articles from USA Today. Not only is she (as well as a handful of other popular artists) positively influencing digital single and album sales, but also physical CDs.

According to Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard's midyear music industry report, “sales of recorded music are up for the first half of 2011.”¹ Overall music sales, which include music videos, albums, and singles from both physical and digital platforms, are up from 756 million this point last year to 821 million now (an 8.5% increase). And overall album sales (both physical and digital) are up 3.6%, from 213.6 million to 221.5 million.¹

Why the increases? One word: Adele. Her wildly popular new album 21 has helped fuel sales across the board. According to Keith Caulfield, Billboard's associate director of charts/retail, “she's not just a digital phenomenon… [Adele] appeals to older consumers, who will still buy full albums, and to younger people who may just buy a single track…She connects with people in a way where they feel she is a 'full-package artist' and you want to hear everything she sings."² Her album has sold 2.6 million copies, 62% of those being physical discs.

While Adele leads the pack, a handful of other artists have also helped both digital and physical sales soar: “Lady Gaga's Born This Way, which had the biggest single sales week with 1.108 million, is second with 1.5 million. Rounding out the top five so far are Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More (982,000), Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party (763,000) and Bruno Mars' Doo-Wops & Hooligans (686,000).”¹


So with digital sharing the limelight with CDs, what does the future look like for physical albums? “Physical CDs still make up two-thirds of all sales, so it's unlikely they'll disappear anytime soon,” assures USAToday.² "‘The reality is that digital formats have shown growth because they started from zero, but they haven't come close to replacing the physical totals of 10 years ago,’” says Paul Resnikoff, publisher of Los Angeles-based Digital Music News. He surmises that after a couple more years of growth, digital will flatten out.²

Either way, the country is embracing the album, both physical and digital. What trends have you noticed in your library? If you offer a digital music service, do patrons seem more interested in full digital albums or simply singles?

We’d love to hear your opinion! Share your comments on the music industry by clicking the Comment button below.


¹ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2011-07-06-music-sales-jump-this-year_n.htm
² http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2011-07-13-eminem-adele-digital-sales_n.htm

Friday, July 15, 2011

We Want Your Feedback!

Yesterday we emailed our customers a brief survey regarding our catalogues. In case you missed it, but would still like to help us out by providing your feedback, I've include a link here on News & Views.


Thanks, and happy Friday!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Requesting Titles on CVSMidwestTapes.ca

Got a title in mind, but you aren’t seeing it on our website? Request it with our Title Request tool, accessible from our homepage under “Customer Service” in the right column.


Upon clicking this link, a form will appear. Simply complete and submit the form, and (after receiving a confirmation email) one of our Collection Development Specialists will work to fulfill your request. To ensure we find the exact title you're requesting, be sure to provide as many details as you can on the form.


Requesting multiple titles? Click "Submit and Request Another Title" to fill out additional request forms.


Have you tried the Title Request tool? We’d love for you to share your feedback. Got an idea of how we can better aid your browsing and selecting? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
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