Selling CDs and MP3s is a dead model.
Technology allows us to download music for free and record companies have to exploit other qualities of musicians and their music to earn profit. There are many avenues. Some use performances...
The band The Roots makes money by being the house band on Jimmy Fallon. Also, vinyl is making a strong resurgence. If the record companies advertise their vinyl recordings they can make huge profits because these cannot be pirated like MP3s. They need to shift the market somewhere where they can make money and accept that people will download music for free. In turn, the law must change as well to reflect the shift.
Relevant Article:
The article "Why Last Month’s $675,000 Judgment against a BU Student Won’t Stop People from Downloading Songs Illegally" in August 25th 2009's Boston Globe, highlights why seeking profit from CD’s and downloads doesn’t make sense going forward. The article discusses how “13 to 17 year-olds bought 19 percent less music last year than in 2007, and specifically, sales of CDs to teenagers dropped 26 percent and downloads plunged 13 percent.” It goes on to note that for the first time legal downloads has surpassed illegal downloads. Although this is a promising statistic for the existing business model, most youths quoted in the article mention how they freely steal and share music. The music industry continues to struggle and sparking interest into higher-margin products like vinyl may spark a music-purchasing renaissance.
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