Pick and Mix

Just to round off on why people are buying less music - I came across this article on Competition in the Music Industry. It's not exactly fresh news - but it makes two interesting points - the first that people buying for download only choose the tracks they want - no more buying the whole album. Thus sales of downloaded music are likely to be lower than 'bundled' album sales. The second is that true competition should mean that prices are pressed and music companies are making less money.

In fact given that the sales of music seem to be shrinking so much year on year you might expect to see prices tumbling as firms compete to get a share of both CD and online sales. Unless of course they collude to maintain a minimum price. Where have I heard that before???

Also a bit long in the tooth - but this article on the right price for digital music pretty much hits the nail on the head. Like buying an airline seat at Ryanair - the price per track could vary depending on demand. Obscure tracks for minor artists would be dirt cheap - until they catch on and then the price starts to go up... And maybe next month when it's no longer hot property, the price will be back down to size...