The music industry continues to lack a clue
Just as pay-to-download services are starting to take off, the major music companies are looking for ways to increase the prices we pay for music online. They are being incredibly stupid about this:
“The industry is also mulling other ways to charge more for online singles. One option under consideration is bundling hit songs with less-desirable tracks. … Some executives, for example, believe they should be charging a premium for the online versions of older tracks because consumers may be willing to pay more for harder-to-find material.
They will kill online music sales, given half the chance. Are they insane?
Yeah, unfortunate this is. With iTunes, I have legally purchased 20 songs in the last three months, which is more than I can say that I have for the previous four years. That the record companies seem unsatisfied with this model (where they get almost all of the iTunes revenue, by the way) is disappointing, if not unsurprising. Back to not paying (and mostly not acquiring).