Who killed classical CDs?

[dkm32]

Interesting article on Naxos Webpage:<BR> <A HREF="http://www.naxos.com/newDesign/fopinions.files/bindustry1.htm" TARGET=_blank>http://www.naxos.com/newDesign/fopinions.files/bindustry1.htm</A> <P><BR>Donna

[shostakovich]

About 5 years ago nearby Circuit City stores carried a pretty full selection of classical CDs. Now they are reduced to about 20% of what they had. That's just one example of an ominous trend. <BR>Naxos seems to do well by managing lower costs. Years back, 2 record labels came onto the scene (Nonesuch and Turnabout) at about 40% the cost of major labels. Naxos seems to be repeating history. Good for them.<BR> As for "Who's killing classical CD's?", the answer is probably too complex, and the culprits too many. Without government help (city, state, federal), we may be watching another endangered species bite the dust. Sorry to be so cynical. I do think posts like this, heightening awareness, are healthy.<BR>Shos

[~Leslie]

Yes, I have seen this pattern too in the smaller record shops in shopping malls. <BR>Actually we've discussed this topic in here before, at some point. <P>the majority of buyers are youngsters looking for the latest top 40 or 100 recordings, hip hop, rap, grunge, metal, and so on. Their dollars speak loudly, over ours. <P>Visiting some larger record/CD shops in Portland, Oregon, so stocked with Classical/Jazz that I could spend literally hours looking through their shelves. <P>I think people with tastes for Classical are shopping more via the internet, vs the record shops. Classical's not dead, it's just kinda gone underground, in the commercial sense. <P>

[BenG]

What was that quote from Mark Twain..."My death has been greatly exaggerated..." The same can be said for classical CDs. It may have gone underground a bit, but they're still tickin'. I buy most of my CDs on Amazon.com these days. And I buy a LOT--they make it too easy They even allow the buyer to listen to snippets of the performances from many of the disk online. Quality is not good, but it helps to hear what you're buying.<P>I've also bought a lot of USED classical CDs at those smaller establishments that do that. In fact, I've gotten some gems at those places very cheaply. I sometimes wonder what drove the previous owner to sell such wonderful music...they really must've been desperate for cash.

[audiogirl]

Columbia House has a similar set-up, BenG. I have owed them quite a bit at times. It's so easy......yeeaaahh, so doggone easy. <P>(Oops, I had a Linda Ronstadt moment.)

[ReedMan]

Over the last few years I have seen the retail stores shrink their classical inventory in Colorado Springs. Even Media Play, who was the king here, now has a pitiful collection. Fortunately, Tower Records in Denver has a wonderful selection.<P>I have ended up not purchasing much as the opportunity is not as frequent. I prefer visiting a store over buying on-line, although the on-line demo's are nice.<P>Perhaps beethoven.com could offer CD specials - they could choose the top 3 most popular requests for the month and make them available at a reasonable price ?

[EJA_2]

I agree that it's just gone underground. Going into any of the record stores around where I live leaves my head pounding for hours after I leave. Not the sort of atmosphere in which it is easy to pick out classical CD's! So I go mail order and Internet shopping. <P>BTW, ReedMan, beethoven.com more or less does what you suggest already. Down at the bottom of the home page there is a CD featured daily which you can click on to buy. These CDs seem to be picked based on the popularity of their content on beethoven.com.<P> -- EJA<p>[This message has been edited by EJA (edited 03-29-2001).]