According to this Billboard Music story and BMG Music’s own site, BMG Music appears to be on its way out of the mail order CD business by 2010. They’ve stopped accepting new members, which means that those 12 for the price of 1 mailers have now ceased. I can’t remember a time in my life when they weren’t around.
I have been a member since 2000, and I’ve been picking up deals from them since even before then, usually paying no more than $7 for all new CDs. I haven’t exhausted their jazz collection quite yet, but a good portion of my collection was acquired through them, including some of my favorites, such as Medeski Martin and Wood’s Shack Man.
It appears that BMG is redirecting potential new customers to yourmusic.com, the $6.99 CD club in which each disc is priced at $6.99 (including shipping) but one has to be ordered per month. I’ve gone back and forth with yourmusic.com, and it’s a good service that often gets overstock from the regular club selections, but I put the account on hold whenever I’ve exhausted interesting selections. If all of the CDs available at bmgmusic.com were at yourmusic.com, I’d gladly continue as a member.
This BMG move appears to be yet another sign of the transition to Internet distribution methods, which is already well underway. While I don’t often use CDs, I will always miss cover art, liner notes, and physical discs. I’m already even starting to miss the infuriating process of opening a new CD, from finding a clever place to start peeling shrink wrap to picking and pulling at the security labels off the tops.
Man, judging from the reviews I’ve seen so far, the press has not been pulling punches on Common’s newest joint that dropped today, “Universal Mind Control.” There are a few artists whose albums I’ll buy no matter what – they include Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus, most Miles Davis, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, and Common. I might have more to say later, but I just listened to UMC, and as far as music goes, it’s not bad.
