So 7Digital.com are going to start selling all the music on their books DRM-free. I think it’s great, however I also can’t help feeling that you may lose that sense of ownership of the music you’ve invested in. Which in turns makes me wonder as to why you’d want to pay for any DRM-free music in the first place when it’s so freely available to download elsewhere for nothing? Well it’s another commercial model to throw in the mix. Apple have been over-charging us for music for years compared to our European and US brothers and sisters, so there’s certainly no sympathy there for any impending price war.Mobile operators and handset manufacturers are also getting in on the act. In Japan most music is now bought as part of a subscription service through mobile phones, and Vodafone introduced its own version in the UK last year, the Musicstation. This also has it’s downsides though. You pay whatever you pay per week to listen to your favourite tracks and build up a library, however if you cancel your subscription you lose it all. You’re left with nada.
The most recent chatter has focused around the manufacturers themselves. The idea is to bundle in an ‘unlimited downloads for life’ package with every mp3 device sold, most notably mobile phones. This would be added in the form of a stealth tax on to the final retail price of a device and ensure some money going to the record companies, albeit with the loss of some possible online sales. ‘One-off payment for downloads for life? Well what about market saturation?’ I hear you cry. That’s a fair point. What if little Johnny buys his first mp3 player at the age of 12 and keeps it running for the next 10 years. Will that initial payment be enough cover the music he’s downloaded over that time? Probably not, but realistically how many people do you know who own mp3 players which are older than 3-5 years?
If you look at market forecasts of predicted mp3 compatible devices sales, then this could potentially mean billions of extra revenue for record labels each year.
So the main question to come from this is ‘Is there a correct single commercial model for selling music to the public?’
Well quite frankly as a user all I really care about is me me me, and not where the record exec’s next flash motor is coming from. If I were to suggest something it would go along the lines of download as much music as you like ‘illegally’ and when you stumble upon artists you like, go out and buy their nice shiny CD with a lovely artworked cover to have and to hold.
But I’d never do that of course.
Loading ...
Post a comment