Amazon.es finally arrives

Originally written for Billboard Magazine  - October 2011

"Now you can make your purchases in Spanish," reads the splash page, signaling that after years of having to buy music from foreign Amazon stores - and in the case of physical media, paying extra shipping charges - on Wednesday 18^th September Amazon.es arrived for Spanish music fans - sixteen years after the first purchase from Amazon.com was shipped to the country from the U.S. via the .com

With 450,000 CDs available, the company is hoping to have a big impact on Spanish music market, currently dominated by large retailers such as department stores FNAC and El Corte Inglés.

Downloads are not currently available from the Spanish portal, and when pressed on their possible debut, Vice President for Europe Greg Greeley would not be drawn on whether they would, or name a date, telling Spanish daily El País that it was policy “not to reveal our future plans.”

The arrival of Amazon.es could not have come at a better time, according to Antonio Guisasola, president of Promusicae, the country's recorded music industry trade group. In an e-mailed response he told Billboard that the arrival of such an “emblematic online brand” brought with it a “little oxygen” to a music industry beset by plummeting sales, worrying rates of piracy, and a political administration whose response to the industry’s problems is decidedly “lukewarm”.

Guisola cites the development of another channel to market, increased price competition, and a widening of the market as reasons for cautious optimism. He also hopes that a powerful international player in Spain will toughen the government’s attitude towards illegal downloads.

Spaniards certainly now have more choice with a dedicated portal, where prices are a little cheaper than in stores, bargain hunters being able to pick up this week's number one album - “Hacia lo salvaje” by Amaral for €10.79, versus a discounted €11.99 in leading media outlet FNAC.

Asked about widening its market share from a standing start, VP Europe Greeley’s stated position is that although Amazon is a late starter in Spain, it would expand much more rapidly than in earlier territories as the company already had a strong commercial route map, drawn from its experience in other European countries.

Capturing market share may be an Amazonian priority, but however you cut the cake, it is getting considerably smaller, year on year. In fact, music sales in Spain fell by around 55 per cent between 2005 and 2010 – a rate of decline well above the global average. In 2010 alone, the market fell by an estimated 22 per cent, as reported by Billboard on Jan 31 this year, to €167 million (U.S. $228 million).

Promusicae itself said in late July that the trade value of Spanish recorded-music sales was down 18.7% in 1H11. And it’s not just that physical recordings are losing out. The value of Internet-download sales was down 19.7% year-on-year, and mobile download sales fell more than 50%.

As for the presence of Amazon.es being an incentive for improving the piracy situation, where according to Nielson’s November 2010 report 45% of active internet users use services that distribute music illegally, only time - and perhaps a change of political climate after the November elections - will tell.