CD Soundtrack Sales Tumble 33 Pct This Year

11/12/2004 7:48 PM, Reuters
Carla Hay

There is good news and bad news for soundtrack sales in 2004.

The bad news is that 2004's soundtrack sales are down about 33% compared with last year. The good news is that soundtracks are apparently not as reliant on radio airplay and superstar acts as they used to be in order to become best-selling albums.

This emerging trend could signal a shift in what consumers prefer in soundtracks and how the music industry markets those titles. And the industry appears to be cautiously optimistic that soundtrack sales will experience an upswing in 2005.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, for the week ending Nov. 7, U.S. sales for soundtracks in 2004 to date stood at 21.6 million, well short of U.S. soundtrack sales of 25.2 million in the same period last year.

Soundtrack sales in 2004 to date comprise about 4.2% of total album sales, compared with 5.1% for the period in 2003. Total sales of albums are up this year so far at 516.7 million, compared with 497.3 million during the same period last year.

This year's soundtrack figures look significantly worse when compared to the peak year of 1998, when film music moved 62.7 million units and accounted for 8.6% of the U.S. album market.

Another grim statistic: Not one such title released in 2004 has hit No. 1 on The Billboard 200 or sold 1 million copies in the United States. This year's top-selling soundtrack, "Shrek 2," has sold 708,000 copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

In 2003, the top four best-selling soundtracks -- "Chicago," "Bad Boys II," "The Lizzie McGuire Movie" and "8 Mile" -- each had U.S. sales that exceeded 1 million copies.

Looking at the top 30 of 2004's best-selling soundtracks, some lessons can be learned from what ended up being the biggest hits with consumers.

FOUR IMPORTANT POINTS

LESSON NO. 1: A MOVIE'S POPULARITY AND AUDIENCE WORD-OF-MOUTH MAY OFTEN BE MORE HELPFUL TO SOUNDTRACK SALES THAN TOP 40 AIRPLAY.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" and "The Passion of the Christ" are just two of the soundtracks that were hits in 2004 despite a lack of top 40 radio airplay for their songs. The respective films were box-office and DVD blockbusters, and their soundtracks' success appears to be a natural extension of audiences' massive support of the movies.

And although sales of the "Shrek 2" soundtrack were no doubt aided by the Counting Crows single "Accidentally in Love," the album may have also benefited from "Shrek 2" being the biggest U.S. box-office hit of the year, grossing more than $436 million, according to Nielsen EDI. The "Shrek 2" DVD is also a big hit.

For soundtracks to much smaller films like "Garden State" and "De-Lovely," word-of-mouth from moviegoers seems to have played a more crucial role in the albums' sales than radio airplay. More people undoubtedly heard the music in those movies than on mainstream top 40 radio, which essentially ignored both soundtracks.

The soundtracks released in fourth-quarter 2004 that cracked the Billboard Top Soundtracks chart seem to confirm the notion that top 40 radio isn't needed for the albums to be a hit with consumers. The soundtracks to "Ray," "Shall We Dance?," "The Polar Express," "Alfie," "Dora the Explorer," "The O.C.: Music From the O.C.: Mix 2" and "Team America: World Police" are all virtually nonexistent on top 40 playlists.

LESSON NO. 2: SOUNDTRACKS HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF SELLING WELL IF THEY CONTAIN MUSIC FROM THE MOVIE OR TV SHOW.

Indeed, all of the soundtracks in 2004's top 10 -- except for "Spider-Man 2" -- consisted mostly of music that was heard in their corresponding films. The public, it seems, prefers soundtracks in the very literal sense of the word, more so than "inspired by" albums.

"Soundtracks like 'Saturday Night Fever,' 'Grease,' 'Titanic' or 'The Lion King' sell records when the music is an integral part of the movie and when people want to stay emotionally connected to the movie," says Jerry Kamiler, music divisional merchandise manager of retail chain Trans World Entertainment.

LESSON NO. 3: CROSS-PROMOTION AND TARGET MARKETING CAN BE THE KEYS TO A SUCCESSFUL SOUNDTRACK.

Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records (both part of the Buena Vista Music Group) virtually redefined what can happen when soundtracks are marketed successfully to a young demographic with little or no MTV airplay. Buena Vista dominates the market for TV soundtracks and soundtracks geared to teens and pre-teens.

"The Cheetah Girls," a soundtrack from a Disney Channel TV movie of the same name, currently ranks as the No. 2 soundtrack of 2004 due in large part to repeat airings of the movie on Disney Channel and effective cross-promotion of its music on Radio Disney. The soundtracks to Disney Channel's "That's So Raven" series (which also airs on sister network ABC) and "Pixel Perfect" TV movie benefited from the same strategy as well.

Walt Disney Records senior VP of A&R Jay Landers says, "We've tried to make good on that overused word 'synergy.' With Disney Channel and Disney Radio, we've been able to fill a niche and cater to an incredibly loyal audience."

LESSON NO. 4: SUPERSTARS AND TOP 10 SINGLES ARE NOT NEEDED TO HAVE BEST-SELLING SOUNDTRACKS.

The top soundtracks of the 1990s were often characterized by superstars and their top 10 hits on The Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. Examples include Celine Dion 's "My Heart Will Go On" from "Titanic," Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" from "The Bodyguard," R. Kelly's "I Believe I Can Fly" from "Space Jam" and Elton John 's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King."

Not so for most of 2004's best sellers.

The companion albums to "Shrek 2," "Spider-Man 2," "The Cheetah Girls," "50 First Dates," "The Punisher: The Album" and "Garden State" featured more midlevel and emerging artists than superstar names. Of 2004's top 30 soundtracks, only one had a single that reached the top 10 of The Billboard Hot 100 this year: Kelly Clarkson 's "Breakaway" from "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement."

Reuters/Billboard