Thursday, March 19, 2009

BMG is Shutting Down

I'm a music nut. I cannot get enough and I do whatever I can to bargain shop for music the same way my wife has become an expert at getting clothes from Goodwill. One of my sources has been BMG's Music club--which is shutting down.

Back when I first signed up, I got something like 12 CD's for free (well, sort of--plus shipping). After that I had to accept or decline their monthly offers with no requirement to ever purchase a CD again. Sure, the regular price for a CD was nearly twice as much as you'd normally pay for it, but you usually had a deal where you received three or four free CDs (plus shipping) with your purchase. Shipping was outrageous, but by the time you were done you were only out around $5.00 a disc--not bad.

It was great while it lasted, but it's coming to an end very soon. So, now I need to cash out on 8 "free" CDs and be done with it. The only other issue with BMG was their selection. Usually, if it was well known, they'd have it a few months after it was released. But if you were looking for something a little more obscure (and "Obscure" is my middle name), good luck. I couldn't find anything from jazz legend Dave Brubeck or powerpop innovators Electric Light Orchestra, but I could pick up a quality CD from Sheena Easton. W'hoo!

Anyway, I'll make my last purchases today and that will be the end of it. These may be the last CDs I purchase as these days I'd rather download the mp3.

8 comments:

Uvulapie said...

Noooooooooooo! I owe much of my ability to explore music in my youth to BMG. Need all the Led Zeppelin albums? No problem! Fulfill your obligation to BMG and want more free CDs? Just make up a new name and sign up again. It's like magic! Okay, so maybe it was dishonest and messed up their business model. Maybe I'm the sole reason for their downfall, aside from the fact that I haven't been a member of BMG, in any of my many names, since my late teens. Or maybe I can blame the kids these days with downloading music on them internets.

Toni said...

I loved Sheena. Oh yes I did too.
Blessings,
~Toni~
p.s. any Bob Die-lyn?

Randy Spradlin said...

Rog,

This is horrible. But sometime back we talked about the whole MP3 age we are now in. Even my local FYE store is stocking less. Wallyworld is doing the same. CD sales are dropping as a whole. MP3downloads are the new "singles" we bought on 45 rpm. However, I think the marketing of CD's could have survived if they dropped the prices a bit and put ten solid songs on a CD. The industry messed up in two areas. One, they overpriced the market and produced marginal recordings in the past few years AND number two: They didn't catch the wave of mp3 when Napster hit the bandwidth on the net. Sure, hindsight is always 20/20.

I'm "obscure" like you. I look for artists that most people don't even know. I said that to say I love a group called, "Three Crosses." There song, "Just Another Sign Of The Times" goes along with this comment.

Hey, we need to catch up sometime!

Randy

J.P. Butterfield said...

NO ELO?!? They DESERVE to die, friend.

Unknown said...

Ironically, my one copy of ELO and several of my Dave Brubeck CD's are BMG purchases. They were BMG purchases 15 years ago. Maybe the selection changed.

Big Doofus (Roger) said...

I think that they started selling off stuff within the last year and not restocking. It used to be that you could find a good selection on BMG--nothing brand spankin' new, but lots of choices. It really doesn't matter as I'd rather buy and mp3 through Amazon or iTunes--and here it instantly.

Big Doofus (Roger) said...

Randy: are you on facebook...or did you used to be? I cannot find you. That would be a good way for us to catch up.

Randy Spradlin said...

Rog,

Yes, I'm on FB! I'll look for you there too.

Randy