The New York Times ran a story yesterday by Bob Tedeschi on the new Amazon.com Classical Blowout Store, one in a spate of recent articles on the classical music recording business that have appeared since Nielsen SoundScan announced a 22.5% increase in sales of the genre in 2006.
Most writers have been quick to point out that SoundScan skews the data somewhat by taking a—let’s say—generous view of what constitutes classical music. On Slate.com, Brendan Koerner, for example, questioned whether classical was indeed making a “comeback” and attributed the sales bump to crossover singers such as Il Divo, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli. Tedeschi, in his Times piece, cited a recent report that saw classical sales actually dip when crossover was extracted from the mix.
At the same time, retailers seem to be expending more energy on classical, perhaps due to the SoundScan rise but also to fill the hole left in major market areas by the demise of Tower Records. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported earlier this month that national chain FYE has made classical music a priority in its new store in the space previously occupied by Tower, moving its 11,000 CD and DVD titles to the main floor and committing to growing the section. Of course, a part of this collection is crossover material but, as writer Peter Dobrin points out, there is still plenty for the core classical “afficianado” and fan of local classical artists.
The new Blowout Store on Amazon that Tedeschi discusses is meant to attract new listeners with discs from $5-$10; as the site’s senior music editor Thomas May puts it, “it’s an enticing way to try out something you might not otherwise want to take the risk to discover.” Naxos podcast producer and host Raymond Bisha has created five audio profiles for the Blowout Store, as well as for the Amazon “Naxos Store,” that provide background information on specific pieces, composers, and performers. Bisha is busy preparing more of these profiles, which will be up on the site soon.
The Amazon Store may also be an attempt to use low prices to lure music buyers who begin their exploration of classical music at the online download stores. Most of the best-selling albums on iTunes are so-called lifestyle compilations, single-composer collections, and standards such as the Four Seasons, albums that connoisseurs may not need but which are incredibly helpful and enjoyable to generalists. And, of course, the top label for download retailer eMusic is Naxos, pointing to a broad interest in classical among fans of independent rock music.
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