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Declining CD Sales

Date: Sep 10 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

Do you remember the first time you listened to a CD? It was amazing, wasn’t it? The sound was so clear and you could skip right to the track you wanted to listen to, unlike a cassette tape.

It’s hard to believe that CDs are a thing of the past, but it’s about to be true. CD sales have gone down 30% in the last two years and there’s no indication that they’re going to get any better, because downloading music is only getting more and more popular.

While a lot of artists and people in the industry are really excited about downloading, the death of the CD is really upsetting to a lot of people, particularly record companies and people who work in record stores.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Marni

Devan

Marni: So, uh, when was the last time you bought a CD?

Devan: Well, I actually work at a record store, so I buy CDs all the time. But a lot of people aren’t anymore, though.

Marni: It’s true. it’s a huge problem, I think, for a lot of people. Do you work at Music Millennium?

Devan: I work at Music Millennium, yeah, and we’re going out of business because nobody’s buying CDs anymore. It’s all Internet, iPods. Nobody has any interest in the market anymore.

Marni: It’s true. My boyfriend works in the music industry and he’s really worried about his job, actually, because he’s a music broker, he makes CDs for a living, and people aren’t buying them, therefore bands aren’t making as much. Really it’s an interesting problem. I hadn’t thought about it, but I haven’t bought a CD in over a year and it’s because it’s so easy, so readily available on the Internet.

Devan: Record stores around town are dropping left and right. I think musicians will always have careers because they can tour, but the CD market, it’s really starting to disappear rapidly. It’s something you never really thought about when you were a kid.

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Discussion

Devan works at a record store, so she buys CDs pretty regularly, but she and Marni agree that a lot of people aren’t buying them anymore.

In fact, the store Devan works at, Music Millennium, is closing because business is so bad. Marni’s boyfriend makes CDs, so business is bad for him, too. She admits that she hasn’t bought a CD in a year.

Musicians don’t have too much to worry about because they can always play live, Devan says, but CDs are about to become extinct.

What’s your preferred format for listening to music? Do like Mp3s, CDs, records, or tapes the best? When is the last time you bought a CD?

Comments

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tiger_bagira

Greece

NICE

tiger_bagira

Greece

NICE

fatihtalat06

Turkey

with law downloading music can prevent by internet,but there isnt this law in alot of countries.maybe instead of cd a different tegnology should use.ı think music data can have pasword.people buy their own pasword and it check easily like pc software automatically.so people have limit to use these musics on different devices.

ronell paquera

Philippines

i always by CD in the store and i will always listen to music

pink_bella

Austria

I prefer CD. I don't know why. But I have to be true I have a lot branding cds, because I haven't a lot of money to buy CD's.

portia45

China

some download from the internet than character a CD.So he can have all which he love.

roua

Egypt

im agree for this problem and i didn`t remember the last time i bought CD but i think that company will make something to solve this problem

ma.lima

Brazil

It's really sad to know that people are losing their jobs just because the technology… And it's curios too… See, a thing which had been create to help the humans are now, taking their place… I feel very sorry for all those people…

fabiano82

Brazil

In my point of view the dropping of cd selling is simply the technology advance way, 'cuz like others indrustrialized products that has gone away. Added the records industry make a lot of money through high prizes in their products and the musician always get a few penny from the cd selling. Moreover if the musician and their sponsers don't dropped the show prize, I think the same will happen with this kind of enterteinment.

nico11

Italy

the music industry problems is a complicate issue, created by internet, however that will save the market, I think. Anyway I think that listening a CD has another taste than listening an MP3, having the CD a work before such us cover’s choices, credits, photos, etc.