With over 30 new releases over the past four weeks, it’s been a busy season for physical sales! Interestingly enough, some of our best sellers have come from releases of older archival recordings and secondary genres like comedy and classical. With collectables, bundles, multiple discs and more, it is clear, the physical world is a unique but valuable market.
Check out what’s flying off the shelves this summer:
Thanks to publicity, promotion and one of the biggest names in comedy, Jim Gaffigan’s two CD/LP soundtrack set to his Netflix TV stand up special Cinco, was our best selling album at a number of accounts during release week. The comedian autographed CDs and LPs that were featured at over 20 independent retail stores nationally with ‘enter to win’ promotions creating increased customer awareness. To top it off, the Comedy Dynamics title was released just in time for Father’s Day as an ideal gift from the ultimate comic dad.
Classical music label, The Boston Symphony Orchestra contributed two solid releases this season. The first of the these releases is a three-CD set of an impeccable performance of Brahms The Symphonies. Recorded over an extensive 2 weeks concert schedule at the Boston symphony hall and conducted by BSO music director Andris Nelsons these recordings have been praised as exceptional and must-have for classical music enthusiasts. The Brahms release was followed by a John Williams tribute from The Boston Pops titled, Lights, Camera, Music! The album highlights a collection of movie scores from Hollywood’s greatest film composers performed by the legendary conductor Keith Lockhart. It is evident many fans value classical CDs as their primary source of music or for collection purposes.
Ode Records celebrates the 50th anniversary of the summer of love with Iconic Performances From The Monterey International Pop Festival. This single CD collects 13 tracks of the most significant acts who performed at the infamous festival back in 1967 including Otis Redding, Simon & Garfunkel, The Grateful Dead, Laura Nyro, Janis Joplin, The Who and the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The album comes with a reproduction of the original festival artist pass, a 16-page booklet with photos and an essay written by NME journalist Keith Altham, all in a gold-foil package. The package is a collectors dream set.
The Owsley Stanley Foundation released it’s first in an archival series of “Bear’s Sonic Journals” from bluegrass legends Doc & Merle Watson. Never the Same Way Once consists of five unreleased shows recorded at the Boarding House in 1974 across seven CDs. The concerts were recorded by legendary soundman Owsley Stanley. Known to the rock world as “the Bear”, Owsley was the soundman for the Grateful Dead. Multi-award winning guitarist Doc Watson performed with his son Merle for over 15 years until his death in 1985. The box set includes 94 songs including extraordinary versions of rockabilly, blues and show music material from “Jailhouse Rock,” “St. James Infirmary,” “Summertime” and numerous other Americana classics.
It is evident, exclusivity, collectability and genre play a huge role in the sale of physical music. Whether you are a vinyl buff or simply loyal to your 5-disc stereo, physical sales are notable and reflective of each incredible release.
