Minneapolis, Minn. – Best Buy said it is willing to work with the recording industry, manufacturers, distributors and other retailers to develop an anti-copying process for CDs.
Best Buy president/chief operating officer Allen Lenzmeier told Reuters this week that the company supports a hardware or software solution that would allow consumers to make a limited number of copies for personal use while preventing wholesale replication.
Best Buy is the nation’s No. 1 seller of pre-recorded music, but also sells the CE hardware used to copy CDs and download and record music from the Internet. The chain said continued softness in music sales at its Musicland subsidiary will impact current quarter profits, and attributes the weakness to Internet file swapping and a lack of hit albums.
In related news, music distributor Handelman Co. said it is providing Best Buy with direct-to-store shipment of certain pre-recorded selections, including new store opening inventory and replenishment of selected product.