nivek@cmu-ri-rover.ARPA (Kevin Dowling) (02/26/85)
Someone recently posted regarding the closing of several audio store chains. Here are some statistics from the RIAA about sales in the Audio world: The number of total records (LP's, EP's Singles, CD's) shipped from '78 on are 1978 $2.734 Billion 1979 $2.411 1980 $2.560 1981 $2.598 1982 $2.208 1983 $1.975 So there was a peak in 1978 that hasn't been surpassed. And total record shipments for 1983 were about the level they were in 1976. Tape sales have climbed continually. The Sum of total Records and tapes has fluctuated around $3.8 Billion dollars. LP/EP's show the largest drop from a peak of $2.473 Billion in '78 to 1.69 Billion in '83. I suspect LP sales will drop even further with the CD beginning to press into the marketplace. It's funny to look at how fast the 8-track market has dropped since '78 (a high of $948 million) although in 1983 it still accounted for $28 Million of prerecorded music shipments. The consumer electronics charts show some interesting statistics also: While total sales in electronics products for consumers has gone up from $9.12 billion in '78 to over $20 billion in '83 the stats for Separate Audio Components, Audio Systems, and Portable Tape Equipment show another story: Factory sales. Year Separates Audio Systems Portables Tape Equip. 1978 $1.143 $0.748 $1.649 1979 $1.178 $0.748 $1.739 peak 1980 $1.424 peak $0.801 peak $1.403 1981 $1.363 $0.720 $1.157 1982 $1.181 $0.573 $0.971 min 1983 $1.283 $0.630 $1.102 There seems to be a rebound on some of the stats but it looks as though the industry went through a slump in the late 70's early 80's. Other stats showed the sales of home radios, VCR's, and Color TV's all rocketing upward. Car Audio seems to have leveled off at about $1.4 billion over the last 4 years. Color TV's alone account for about 25% of all consumer electronics sales. I don't think this has explained the closing of the stores that Dick Dunn mentioned. I suspect the impact of losing 5000 jobs in the area was probably the largest factor (especially if they were upscale high-tech jobs) nivek Aka: Kevin Dowling Arpanet: nivek@cmu-ri-rover Bell: (412) 578-8830 USmail: Robotics Institute CMU Schenley Park Pgh, PA 15213