Spencer Platt
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In a move that signals yet another nail in the coffin for physical music, Best Buy has announced that it will pull CDs from its shelves starting in July, Billboard reports. Sources say that the company is only pulling $40 million annually from CD sales, a sharp decline for the store once known as the most prominent music retailer in the United States. Best Buy will, however, continue to sell select vinyl records (at least for the next two years) due to a partnership with turntable manufacturers.
Target is also eying a significant reduction in CD sales. The retailer is reportedly pushing for a consignment based sales platform; what that essentially means is, Target only wants to pay for the CDs that it sells. Suppliers were given a deadline of either April 1st or May 1st, and sources say that none of the major labels have yet agreed on the new "scan-based" terms. Whether or not they do, it's evident that we're about to see significantly less music on major retailer shelves in 2018.