Lasse Penttinen
25 Apr 2005 10:58
Finally. Back in the 90's I wrote a university seminar paper about the future of the music industry. Those were the times when MP3 really started to blossom. Napster made it main stream. First legal MP3 selling e-tailer were already there, while nobody had ever heard of iTunes.
It was so evident years ago that the main product of the music industry, the Compact Disc, is out of date. The supply chain is prehistoric, as audio content could be delivered via Internet. The prices are inflated, as you get whole lot more moneys worth when buying DVD movies.
People still enjoy music, and it constantly has a high demand. But with inflated prices the basic economic laws of supply and demand weren't allowed function freely. Internet gave the alternative distribution method. A black market was born. Piracy flourished. This is a very typical behavior pattern in an economic environment.
Now it seems that music industry is trying to get the grip again. Earlier, Apple (and many others) already filled the void of music e-tailing, even though the prices still very high. Dual Disc allows the industry to deliver richer content with high playback compatibility in CD and DVD players. But as bandwidth gets cheaper, and broad bands faster this ain't the ultimate cure for piracy. Movie industry is suffering from illegal file sharing as well.
Personally I am still waiting for the total reform of the music business - it's distribution channels, and pricing. I would expect that in time we will get very cheap music delivered via Internet. So cheap that the temptation to illegally copy it reduces significantly. When? I really don't know - it should have been here years ago.
A new solo album by Bruce Springsteen that arrives in stores Tuesday will be riding the latest technological wave to hit the record industry: Dual Disc.Source: Azcentral.com
With an audio CD on one side and a DVD full of bonuses on the other, Dual Disc is the latest bid by record labels to hold on to consumers who increasingly are getting their music from other sources, such as the Internet.
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"It's a new tool for labels and artists to bring consumers back into the habit of buying music by providing them with a product that has more value," says Paul Bishow of Universal Music Group's eLabs, which handles new formats.