Disney Releases Blu-ray Combo before DVD for Stranger Tides

Home Media Magazine recently reported that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment will release Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on Blu-ray/DVD combo a month ahead of the DVD-only release. While Disney has done this previously on back-catalog titles, this Blu-ray-centric move is a first for a major box office release.

On October 18, Disney will release Stranger Tides as a two-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack and a five-disc combo pack with 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital copy. Roughly one month later, on November 15, the studio will then release a DVD-only version of the blockbuster film.¹

With over 30 million households in the United States currently owning a Blu-ray player (according to the Digital Entertainment Group) and projections showing global Blu-ray disc sales will hit 412 million units in 2013², studios will certainly be watching this release closely to determine whether they’ll conduct similar strategies with their blockbuster flicks.

What do you think of Disney’s strategy with Stranger Tides? Will your library go with the combo pack or hold out for the DVD-only version?

¹ http://www.homemediamagazine.com/disney/disney-goes-with-blu-ray-combo-first-pirates-24497

² http://www.mwtnewsandviews.com/2011/06/report-charts-blu-rays-five-year.html

Hot This Week: July 25

New releases shake up all lists, knocking chart favorites either out of the top ten or significantly lower in the ranks. But can these new titles hang onto the top spots?

DVD

1. The Lincoln Lawyer
2. Insidious
3. Rango
4. Season of the Witch
5. Unknown
6. Arthur
7. Sucker Punch
8. Beastly
9. The Adjustment Bureau
10. Hall Pass

CD

1. Blake Shelton, Red River Blue
2. Incubus, If Not Now, When?
3. Adele, 21
4. Chris Young, Neon
5. Beyonce, 4
6. Colbie Caillat, All Of You
7. Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
8. Theory of a Deadman, The Truth Is...
9. Sublime with Rome, Yours Truly
10. Selena Gomez and the Scene, When the Sun Goes Down

Fiction Books

1. A Dance with Dragons, George R.R. Martin
2. Now You See Her, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
3. Then Came You, Jennifer Weiner
4. Smokin' Seventeen, Janet Evanovich
5. Quinn, Iris Johansen
6. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
7. Before I Go to Sleep, S.J. Watson
8. Against All Enemies, Tom Clancy
9. One Summer, David Baldacci
10. Iron House, John Hart

Nonfiction Books

1. A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard
2. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
3. In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
4. Bossypants, Tina Fey
5. Of Thee I Zing, Laura Ingraham & Raymond Arroyo
6. The Greater Journey, David McCullough
7. Seal Team Six, Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
8. Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner
9. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me, Chelsea Handler
10. Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow and Nathan Whitaker

Music Industry Sees Many Positives in 2011

“Thank you, Adele!” is what the music industry is exclaiming currently, according to two articles from USA Today. Not only is she (as well as a handful of other popular artists) positively influencing digital single and album sales, but also physical CDs.

According to Nielsen SoundScan and Billboard's midyear music industry report, “sales of recorded music are up for the first half of 2011.”¹ Overall music sales, which include music videos, albums, and singles from both physical and digital platforms, are up from 756 million this point last year to 821 million now (an 8.5% increase). And overall album sales (both physical and digital) are up 3.6%, from 213.6 million to 221.5 million.¹

Why the increases? One word: Adele. Her wildly popular new album 21 has helped fuel sales across the board. According to Keith Caulfield, Billboard's associate director of charts/retail, “she's not just a digital phenomenon… [Adele] appeals to older consumers, who will still buy full albums, and to younger people who may just buy a single track…She connects with people in a way where they feel she is a 'full-package artist' and you want to hear everything she sings."² Her album has sold 2.6 million copies, 62% of those being physical discs.

While Adele leads the pack, a handful of other artists have also helped both digital and physical sales soar: “Lady Gaga's Born This Way, which had the biggest single sales week with 1.108 million, is second with 1.5 million. Rounding out the top five so far are Mumford & Sons' Sigh No More (982,000), Jason Aldean's My Kinda Party (763,000) and Bruno Mars' Doo-Wops & Hooligans (686,000).”¹

So with digital sharing the limelight with CDs, what does the future look like for physical albums? “Physical CDs still make up two-thirds of all sales, so it's unlikely they'll disappear anytime soon,” assures USAToday.² "‘The reality is that digital formats have shown growth because they started from zero, but they haven't come close to replacing the physical totals of 10 years ago,’” says Paul Resnikoff, publisher of Los Angeles-based Digital Music News. He surmises that after a couple more years of growth, digital will flatten out.²

Either way, the country is embracing the album, both physical and digital. What trends have you noticed in your library? If you offer a digital music service, do patrons seem more interested in full digital albums or simply singles?

We’d love to hear your opinion! Share your comments on the music industry by clicking the Comment button below.


¹ http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2011-07-06-music-sales-jump-this-year_n.htm
² http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2011-07-13-eminem-adele-digital-sales_n.htm

Hot This Week: July 18

While the DVD chart remains almost entirely unchanged, established favorites Born This Way, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, and Lies Chelsea Handler Told Me see a resurgence on the CD, Fiction, and Nonfiction lists (respectively).

DVD

1. Season of the Witch
2. The Adjustment Bureau
3. Unknown
4. Sucker Punch
5. Beastly
6. Hall Pass
7. Battle: Los Angeles
8. Just Go With It
9. The Eagle
10. Red Riding Hood

CD

1. Beyonce, 4
2. Adele, 21
3. Selena Gomez and the Scene, When the Sun Goes Down
4. Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
5. Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel (EP)
6. Jackie Evancho, Dream with Me
7. Jill Scott,The Light of the Sun
8. Lady Gaga, Born This Way
9. Big Sean, Finally Famous
10. Lloyd, King of Hearts

Fiction Books

1. Now You See Her, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
2. Smokin' Seventeen, Janet Evanovich
3. The Silent Girl, Tess Gerritsen
4. Against All Enemies, Tom Clancy
5. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
6. One Summer, David Baldacci
7. Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan
8. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest, Stieg Larrson
9. Betrayal of Trust, J.A. Jance
10. Silver Girl, Elin Hilderbrand

Nonfiction Books

1. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
2. In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
3. The Greater Journey, David McCullough
4. Bossypants, Tina Fey
5. Seal Team Six, Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
6. The Miracle of Freedom, Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart
7. Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner
8. Lies That Chelsea Handler Told Me, Chelsea Handler
9. Demonic, Ann Coulter
10. Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow and Nathan Whitaker

We Want Your Feedback!

Yesterday we emailed our customers a brief survey regarding our catalogs. In case you missed it, but would still like to help us out by providing your feedback, I've include a link here on News & Views.

Thanks, and happy Friday!

Midwest Tape's ALA New Orleans Video Recap

Check out our brief video recap of ALA 2011 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. In it, we highlight our focuses for this year's show as well as our booth and Customer Appreciation Reception.


ALA New Orleans Recap from Midwest Tape on Vimeo.

Do you see yourself or any librarians you know in our video? Have you ever been to New Orleans before? What did you think of the city and your ALA 2011 experience?

Hot This Week: July 18

Beyonce diva’d her way to the top of the CD chart; Sucker Punch and Beastly debuted on the DVD list; and while the Nonfiction list saw little change, James Patterson dethroned Janet Evanovich after only one week at the top of Fiction.

DVD

1. Season of the Witch
2. The Adjustment Bureau
3. Unknown
4. Sucker Punch
5. Beastly
6. Battle: Los Angeles
7. Hall Pass
8. Just Go With It
9. The Eagle
10. True Grit

CD

1. Beyonce, 4
2. Adele, 21
3. Big Sean, Finally Famous
4. Selena Gomez and the Scene, When the Sun Goes Down
5. Jill Scott, The Light of the Sun
6. Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
7. David Cook, This Loud Morning
8. Jackie Evancho, Dream with Me
9. Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel (EP)
10. Scotty McCreery, American Idol Season 10 Highlights: Scotty McCreery (EP) (digital only)

Fiction Books

1. Now You See Her, James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge
2. Smokin' Seventeen, Janet Evanovich
3. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
4. Against All Enemies, Tom Clancy
5. One Summer, David Baldacci
6. The Devil Colony, James Rollins
7. Silver Girl, Elin Hilderbrand
8. Folly Beach, Dorothea Benton Frank
9. Maine, J. Courtney Sullivan
10. Carte Blanche, Jeffery Deaver

Nonfiction Books

1. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
2. In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
3. Bossypants, Tina Fey
4. The Greater Journey, David McCullough
5. Miracle of Freedom, Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart
6. Demonic, Ann Coulter
7. Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner
8. Seal Team Six, Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
9. Lost in Shangri-La, Mitchell Zuckoff
10. Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow and Nathan Whitaker

Requesting Titles on MidwestTapes.com

Got a title in mind, but you aren’t seeing it on our website? Request it with our Title Request tool, accessible from our homepage under “Customer Service” in the right column.

Upon clicking this link, a form will appear. Simply complete and submit the form, and (after receiving a confirmation email) one of our Collection Development Specialists will work to fulfill your request. To ensure we find the exact title you're requesting, be sure to provide as many details as you can on the form.

Requesting multiple titles? Click "Submit and Request Another Title" to fill out additional request forms.

Have you tried the Title Request tool? We’d love for you to share your feedback. Got an idea of how we can better aid your browsing and selecting? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

Hot This Week: July 4

Matt Damon's Adjustment Bureau lands at the top of the DVD chart. Meanwhile, Adele and Gaga both tumble down the CD list in lieu of new releases; Laura Hillenbrand reclaims Nonfiction's number one spot; and Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum snags the top seed in Fiction.

DVD

1. The Adjustment Bureau
2. Unknown
3. Battle: Los Angeles
4. Just Go With It
5. Hall Pass
6. True Grit
7. The Eagle
8. Red Riding Hood
9. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules
10. I Am Number Four

CD

1. Jill Scott, The Light of the Sun
2. Bon Iver, Bon Iver
3. Adele, 21
4. Jackie Evancho, Dream with Me
5. Justin Moore, Outlaws Like Me
6. Bad Meets Evil, Hell: The Sequel (EP)
7. Pitbull, Planet Pit
8. Lady Gaga, Born This Way
9. Weird Al Yankovic, Alpocalypse
10. Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party

Fiction Books

1. Smokin' Seventeen, Janet Evanovich
2. Against All Enemies, Tom Clancy
3. The Devil Colony, James Rollins
4. State of Wonder, Ann Patchett
5. One Summer, David Baldacci
6. Silver Girl, Elin Hilderbrand
7. Carte Blanche, Jeffery Deaver
8. Folly Beach, Dorothea Benton Frank
9. Fallen, Karin Slaughter
10. Sisterhood Everlasting, Ann Brashares

Nonfiction Books

1. Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand
2. In the Garden of Beasts, Erik Larson
3. The Greater Journey, David McCullough
4. Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson and Joshua Rosner
5. Bossypants, Tina Fey
6. Demonic, Ann Coulter
7. Through My Eyes, Tim Tebow and Nathan Whitaker
8. Seal Team Six, Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin
9. Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me, Chelsea Handler
10. Those Guys Have All the Fun, James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales

Happy Fourth of July from Midwest Tape!

We'd like to help you celebrate the Fourth of July all month long. Click the images below to view print-ready 8.5x11 PDF posters. Each poster focuses on Independence Day and also promotes your AV collections, specifically American films, music, and literature on audiobook.

We'd love to hear how your library is celebrating this patriotic holiday! Share your library's Independence Day memories and plans in the comments section below.

Happy Fourth of July!