Play It Again...

Blake Shelton's label is releasing packages of six songs to generate more interest.

Image: Courtesy Warner Bros. Records Nashville

A steep drop in the number of physical albums being sold has not deterred record labels from trying what they can to squeeze the last dime of revenue out of the compact disc.According to Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan, CD sales were down 17.9 percent to 110.3 million units in the first half of 2010, while digital album sales increased 12.7 percent to 42.2 million units.

“In 2010, to say every artist should be treated the same is ridiculous. Sign the best artists, decide who is the best audience and tailor a plan to that audience," says Jay Frank, vice president of music and strategy at Country Music Television.

Here’s a look at some of the ideas hitting the wall.

• Two-for-one: Starting this year, Christian label the Watering Can Collective decided to include an identical extra CD, which can be detached and given as a gift, with each album.
• Flower power: What started as an effort to be green turned into quite the marketing ploy for Glotown Records, which released Big Kenny’s “The Quiet Times of a Rock and Roll Farm Boy” in a biodegradable package embedded with flower seeds.
• More of less: In March, Warner Bros. Records Nashville released Blake Shelton’s first Six Pak album, an experiment offering six songs for $6. Shelton’s second Six Pak, “All About Tonight,” will be released next month. The hope is a lower price will boost sales and rapid-fire releases will maintain interest.
• Loss leader: Veteran music publicist Jules Wortman of Wortman Works Media & Marketing said an increasing number of artists are willing to look at CDs as a “loss leader” and do whatever it takes, and costs, to get physical product in consumers’ hands. They hope it will create new fans who will go to concerts and buy merchandise and music in the future.