AfterDawn: News

Universal tries to block CD import

Universal Music Group, in an effort to sell as many copies as possible of Amy Winehouse's newest CD have begun blocking US sales of her first album, "Frank" and are threatening to sue retailers who make it available outside of the EU.

How this is a good strategy is beyond me, as piracy will undoubtedly give interested buyers the album way before the record label releases a US version of the CD in November. Instead of letting fans buy the album, Universal would rather try pushing away potential buyers.



One merchandiser quoted in the article acknowledged that probability: "We are selling physical product that the customers want, and they are trying to stop us... In the meantime, it is flowing freely throughout the world over the Internet through the (peer-to-peer) sites."

Source:
Wired

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 9 Aug 2007 19:38

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• 10 comments

• b18bek9

  all i can say is someone dropped the ball on this one they are really gonna lose money on this one figuring ppl will download it for free of the net and say why wait and buy it in november lol....i bet sales are really low on this one well even lower then they normally are

  9.8.2007 20:42 #1

• Ludikhris

  Her current album is big in the US. They want people to buy that one because of the one single. They probably don't care how well the other one sells, they just don't want the new one to make the current one old. "Rehab" will still sell lots of albums.
  
  Ludikhris

  9.8.2007 20:56 #2

• richks

  Once again the media industry sends a clear message to consumers:
  
  "We do not want to take your money, we do not value you as customers"
  
  Don't they realise how easy it is for people to get this stuff for free online? Even the slightest difficulty getting a legal copy of an album pushes people away from record shops and into the arms of the pirates. And once they're there, they never come back to the music shops.

  10.8.2007 00:57 #3

• cousinkix

  Give these record company imbeciles a frigging medal. Nothing can be more stupid than creating a black market for pirated copies with their own stupid marketing practices. The old model of making CDs and selling them in over the counter retail stores is obsolete. The internet isn't going away. Get used to it, crybabies...

  10.8.2007 01:04 #4

• blackvamp

  Hahaha... their stupidity makes me laugh...

  10.8.2007 08:14 #5

• BUDDD

  CD sales are dropping , yet they block sales of their artists first CD. They are obviously TOTALLY INSANE.This is the world we live in.....

  10.8.2007 08:22 #6

• armorthis

  What a bunch of morons...

  10.8.2007 14:14 #7

• mspurloc

  Silly bunts.

  10.8.2007 17:41 #8

• borhan9

  They are really silly eiter way Universal Music Group makes money however it is imported or not cause they export their music worldwide.

  17.8.2007 18:01 #9

• Unfocused

  Keep this in the back of your mind. One month after this album gets released in the US, they will undoubtedly blame poor sales on piracy.

  23.8.2007 15:48 #10