Back on the east coast. It’s raining.

Looking for more evidence of digital music downloading’s impact on CD sales? Remember 12-CDs-for-a-penny music clubs? At least one is closing down. BMG Music Service announced that it would close shop by 2010. CDs sales are down, and DVDs aren’t selling well, either. From the article:

One of the problems music continuity clubs face is the growing popularity of MP3 players, which give consumers access to music whenever they want it.

“Consumers want control of the process instead of the other way around, like it used to be,” Benjamin says. As a result, “continuity is in the process of reinvention” as clubs try to figure out how to give members more control. She points to HCI’s Silkies hosiery club, which now allows members to decide how often they want shipments as an example.

The growth of digital music is behind Bertelsmann’s decision to shut down the BMG Music Service club, company representatives said during its annual analyst meeting in March. The company’s US CD business fell in line with market declines in physical music sales, which dropped off by more than 20% in 2007, according to Bertelsmann. The US DVD club also didn’t perform well, and Bertelsmann is considering shutting it down, too. Book clubs, however, are relatively stable.

I can’t articulate clearly why I like reading about things like this. I’ll try. Businesses have always depended on the habits and desires of consumers. But the proliferation and popularity of the digital music file (along with file sharing services) caught the music industry unawares. I’m fascinated that the majors are scrambling to figure out what’s going on and how to capitalize on it. They slept too long. They woke up, and the party was over.

Music streaming/sharing services and music blogs/social networking sites have sprung up to fill consumer demand. In addition to covering major music news, these sites cover independent music news. They give indie bands the kind of publicity they can’t get from mainstream media.

Unfortunately, major labels are “investing” in these services to get a piece of the action. The people running these sites say they’ll remain independent and credible, despite the fact that major labels have dropped millions into their laps. OK.

Social networking site Buzznet acquired the blogs Idolater and Stereogum and news site Absolute Punk. Universal Music Group (UMG), one of the “big four” record labels, gave Buzznet $25 million. Quite a few mainstream, high-profile artists (read: moneymakers) are signed with UMG. So Stereogum, now part of Buzznet, will continue to cover independent and unsigned artists at the same rate as before? Not a chance.

But…these acquisitions leave room for other enterprising folks or just plain old music fans to start their own music web sites and blogs to fill the inevitable void left by sites that sold out, so to speak.

I’m just a bystander for now, observing, learning, and commenting. What I have to offer in the way of something substantive remains to be seen.