The future of music
The mp3 is changing the world! But will the mp3 close the music store? Not so fast. Free music means tough times
for the recording industry. They've needed a kick in the pants since the late 60's. Yes, the music they gave us has
always kicked ass. But there's a lot of waste (not just wasted musicians and executives) along the way. Now there's competition to the cd that you buy in the store. You can get it for free, with less quality and no booklet or cd in your hands.
If you didn't know, there are five major music publishers in the world. They sell us single cds for $15-$20 and doubles for $25-$35. I love music, but that's way too much for any content. Yes, we're starting to buy mp3 stereos. That's our leverage
against the recording industry.
I don't think we're telling them to close shop. If cds went for $5 a pop, wouldn't you be more prefer a real cd to a
lesser quality mp3? I would. I'll also try out a mp3 toy one of these days - you can't beat it for music mobility.
We may be turned on by the free mp3, but we're not trashing our cd collection.
Video didn't kill the radio star, it just added more options to our lives and acted as a check-and-balance.
How will music be sold and listened to in the future? We'll buy the latest mp3 toys, download pirated music, download music
we pay for and yes, we'll still visit the good ol' music store!
Kenny Sahr
