Sales of DVD music videos hit crescendo - DVD Update

DSN Retailing Today, June 9, 2003 by Doug Desjardins

Music titles are a small slice of the DVD sales market, but they're beginning to emerge from the shadows. Once relegated to the miscellaneous section of DVP aisles, music titles are getting more shelf space and finding a larger audience.

"You see a lot more retail space dedicated to music titles now," said Rich Buehler, senior vp of sales for Pioneer Entertainment. "Before, they were mixed in with other genres but now a lot of stores have created new sections just for music.

Music sales are still so small that most research firms don't track them as a DVD genre, but that may change as the titles gain in popularity. In addition to DVD reaching a larger audience that's approaching 45 million homes, DVD music titles have been helped along through sales of home theater systems that help replicate the concert experience.

"What really sold me was hooking the DVD player up with the stereo system and watching [a music DVD]," said Tom Adams, president of research firm Adams Media Research. "Music videos never sold very well on VHS but DVD is a lot different. The sound quality is so much better and that's made a difference."

Rhino Home Entertainment has watched its music sales transition rapidly to DVD and recently stopped producing titles on VHS. "There was never a big market to begin with and you can't get the sound quality you need on analog tape," said Marylou Bono, vp of marketing, home video, for Rhino Home Entertainment and Warner Strategic Marketing.

Rhino specializes in vintage rock releases and its best-selling titles to date include titles from Jimi Hendrix and Fleetwood Mac. Pioneer Entertainment also caters to older music fans and some of its best sellers include concert films from the late 1970's British band "Queen."

Bono said that in addition to the superior sound and picture quality, DVD releases provide space for producers to include added extras like old interviews and rare footage.

"It's the same thing that makes 'Behind the Music' on VH1 so popular," said Bono. "People are really interested in what happened to a band when they were making an album or touring and you get all that with the DVD."

A good example is the Led Zeppelin DVD, "How the West Was One," released on May 27. The title from Atlantic Records features more than five hours of concert footage, old TV appearances and bootleg film shot by fans. "Jimmy Page was really involved in making the DVD and it's a great retrospective of the band," said Bono.

Another release in that genre, "The Old Grey Whistle Test," features early British TV appearances from bands U2 and R.E.M. and debuts Sept. 16 for $19.98 on BBC Video.

Music DVD is also boosting CI) sales. Labels are now packaging DVD titles with CDs on some releases and seeing impressive results. The April release of "The New Breed" from rap artist 50 Cent sold nearly 250,000 units in its first week. The release retailed for $14.99 and included a four-song CD and a 70-minute DVD