Cost of Music...

What should be the cost of music today? Today's generation seems to think it should be freely available online. Should it? With the growth of broadband internet access it has become ridiculously easy for anyone to download a song or album for free. That does not even include all the people who burn copies of whatever music they are looking for without even going onto the internet. Radiohead embraced the new world order and released their latest album online only at whatever price fans are willing to pay for it. And I am sure there are fans that will pay them a fair amount. I know a lot of people who will never buy an cd at a store, but have no problem buying them directly from the artist at concerts or on their website. As a fan we realize if we want more music the artist has to be able to make a living. The problem for most of us is the high cost record companies insist on charging. In the age of digital downloads there is no justification for what record companies think we should pay.

I remember when cds first came out. The price was very high at the time. We were told that the price was high because it was a new technology and once more plants were built to meet demand the prices would fall. Well, they never did fall until big box retailers undercut the music stores. Even those prices are higher than fans and artists think they should be. Concerts and merchandising are where the money is now. That is the business model artists have to embrace. Fortunately more and more of them are seeing the light...