It’s the end of an era for music fans. According to a report from Billboard, Best Buy will no longer be selling any more physical copies of CDs starting on July 1st.
The report Target could be joining them in discontinuing the sale of physical CDs. Best Buy notified music suppliers this week that they will stop selling CDs at their locations this Summer. No official reason was given for the decision but it most likely correlates to the popularity of digital downloads and music streaming. CD sales were down 18.5 percent last year.
Target could potentially go the no-CD route soon as well. Multiple sources report that Target has told music suppliers that it wants CD’s to be sold on a consignment basis. Billboard is reporting that “Target currently takes the inventory risk by agreeing to pay for any goods it is shipped within 60 days and must pay to ship back unsold CDs for credit. With consignment, the inventory risk shifts back to the music labels.” If these requirements are not satisfied Target says they will reportedly discontinue all CD sales.
Billboard also reported that Best Buy and Target have both been decreasing the number of music titles they have been carrying in recent years. It looks like CD’s are the new cassette tapes.