New Spin On Vinyl: Bundled MP3s
Like many music retailers, Nathaniel Bernier was getting squeezed. His store, Wild Rufus Records, in the seaside town of Camden, Maine, was selling fewer CDs.
It was suffering as a result of the music industry’s broader woes – CD sales nationwide were down a steep 17.5% last year. To make matters worse, the local Wal-Mart was beefing up its music section and drawing customers away.
So Bernier came up with a solution that married convenience with cool. He decided to focus on selling old-school technology – vinyl records – bundled with pass codes that allow customers to download MP3 versions of the same songs when they get home.
For audiophiles, it’s the best of both worlds: the rich, analog sound of vinyl for home listening and a digital version they can take anywhere.
The hybrids delighted the store’s iPod-toting customers, who associate vinyl with popular DJs – and can’t find it at Wal-Mart.
In 2008 more than 40% of Bernier’s sales came from vinyl and hybrid packages. His vinyl sales alone were up 100% over 2006.
Photo by Self_za.
SEO Software on March 16th, 2009 11:10 am
that’s awesome. I dig’s me some vinyl
Jaclyn on March 17th, 2009 12:02 pm
That is pretty cool!
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