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Downloaded Music Gets More Expensive

Reverberant writes "Just as the online music market is starting to gain traction, what to music execs want to do? Why, raise prices, of course! Under consideration is raising the price of online singles up to $1.25 to $2.49, or bundling less desirable tracks with hot singles."

20 of 748 comments (clear)

  1. The price isn't going up. by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's holding steady at $0.00 per song, last I checked. ;-)

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  2. less desirable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny
    "...bundling less desirable tracks with hot singles."


    Yes, I believe this is called an "album" these days.
  3. In other news... by nebaz · · Score: 2, Funny

    Birds still fly, fish still swim, and Record Executives^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h^h wolves still hunt and kill prey.

    --
    Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
  4. Don't worry! by Cervantes · · Score: 5, Funny
    Come on people, don't worry. I just talked to one of my industry contacts, and he assures me that the price increase is a temporary measure to offset the costs of this new technology. Once it becomes more commonplace and affordable, the price will go down substantially...

    ... just like CDs did.

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    If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  5. Is this on topic? by pipingguy · · Score: 4, Funny


    ...or bundling less desirable tracks with hot singles."

    Man: Well, what've you got?
    Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;
    Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...
    Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.
    Wife: Have you got anything without spam?
    Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
    Wife: I don't want ANY spam!
    Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?
    Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!
    Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?
    Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then?
    Waitress: Urgghh!

  6. Re:They Just Don't Get It by Neil+Blender · · Score: 4, Funny

    70% of the first 5 posts in a given story get modded to +4 or better if thy contain more than three sentences related to the topic on hand. 93% of all karma whores know that.

  7. RIAA business plan by iamacat · · Score: 4, Funny

    1. Jump from the airplane without opening a parachute. When falling, sue the ground for being hard and the air for being soft, but refuse to do the sensible thing everyone is suggesting.

    2. When just seconds from hitting the rocks, finally open a parachute in desperation

    3. As soon as they slow the fall to survivable speed, start thinking about folding the parachute again and toughing it out.

    4. ???

    5. PROFIT!!!

    1. Re:RIAA business plan by MachDelta · · Score: 3, Funny

      No no, step 5 is "SPLAT".

      Which begs the question... when a music exec explodes, does it rain CDs?

  8. Like the Guiness commercials... by Jtheletter · · Score: 4, Funny
    RIAA Exec #1: Harvey, do you remember how we forced online music stores to give us 100% of their sales income?

    RIAA Exec #2: Yes. Brilliant!!

    RIAA Exec #1: Well, I've devised a new way to get even more money from them.

    RIAA Exec #2: More you say? But how?

    RIAA Exec #1: We'll charge them more and take it all anyway!

    RIAA Exec #2: Brilliant!!

    RIAA Exec #1: And you know how we can't seem to sell all this other crap?
    (Points to rotting pile of Shakira singles)

    RIAA Exec #1: Well I thought of a way to get rid of that too.
    (Staples a worthless single to a Top-40 single and doubles the price)

    RIAA Exec #2: Brilliant!!

    (Both strip off their clothes and have sex with pigs on a huge pile of cash.)

    --FIN--

    --
    -- I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist. It's not my fault that life sucks so much. --
  9. Re:They Just Don't Get It by Rogerborg · · Score: 4, Funny

    How do you know you like the album? You only get to hear the best singles on the radio or MTV-a-like stations. Care to elucidate on where you're hearing the rest?

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  10. Less desirable tracks? by SuperBigGulp · · Score: 5, Funny

    Whats up with "less desirable tracks" in the first place? Why release them if you know people won't like them?

    This is like raising the price of a pizza and then adding a side order of maggots.

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  11. Re:OMG!1 They want to make money!!!1 by EulerX07 · · Score: 2, Funny

    If ignorance is bliss, Slashdot must be nirvana.

    So CmdrTaco really is Kurt Cobain!

  12. Business model of the future. by CmdrTallon · · Score: 3, Funny

    RIAA should catch on that the on-demand world is the way of the future. Software providers realize this, the internet is on-demand, we have movies-on demand over our cable and internet. If they would catch on with the rest of reality perhaps illegal downloads would diminish and they might actually start showing a profit on their product. As consumers, we hold the ultimate power. However, that power is distributed amongst millions of people. If somehow a movement could be coordinated to flat out stop buying music then perhaps our voices would be heard! The music industry is lucky that the 'free music business model (p2p)' hasn't made it's way back into the picture. It seems that if the RIAA have their way there will be two options: Pay an arm and a leg for music and get more stuff you don't want, or download it illegally and gamble with the consequences. Personally, I either listen to the radio or Rhapsody's streaming audio. The world on-demand is the way of the future.

  13. The missing link by Kjella · · Score: 2, Funny

    4. Change the laws (of physics)

    Kjella

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  14. Re:They Just Don't Get It by WIAKywbfatw · · Score: 3, Funny

    Well, isn't it?

    --

    "Accept that some days you are the pigeon, and some days you are the statue." - David Brent, Wernham Hogg
  15. Re:Sounds fine to me by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Yea, but is it dry and crumbly crap, or is it warm, moist and steaming the way they likes it? Maybe with bits of peanuts in it!

  16. Wasn't the whole point... by h4rdc0d3 · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...of buying/downloading tracks online to get exactly what you wanted; to purchase ONLY the songs I wanted to listen to and not have to waste my money on "filler" that I don't want? Now we won't even be able do that. We're starting to do exactly what they want us to do, pay for the music we download, and now they want to ruin that too?!

    Who the hell is running these music companys? I'm beginning to think it's just a room full of monkeys.



    Random brainwashed RIAA marketing employee: (Opens door to boardroom filled with monkeys wearing sport jackets jumping about) Look at these figures! People are finally starting to purchase music they download online instead of stealing it!

    Some monkey: oooooo-AAAAAAAAAAAHH!!

    Random marketing employee: What? Fix prices on internet music too? Don't you think it's a little early for that?

    Same monkey: AAAAAH-AAAHH-OOOO-AAAAAH-EEEEEE!!!

    RIAA Employee: And you also think we should start making them download crap with every song just like with CDs?

    Some other monkey: Pulls finger from butt and sniffs it.

    Marketing Employee: BRILLIANT!


    It was hilarious in my head, use your imagination ;)

  17. Re:I like how... by UrGeek · · Score: 4, Funny

    Silly wabbit. Those peskie anti-trust laws were secretly repealed back in 1980 when the last bit of civilization in the United States was destroyed.

  18. Re:They Just Don't Get It by carpe_noctem · · Score: 2, Funny

    As a college DJ, I resent this post. Only about HALF of live airplay is done while stoned/drunk!

    --
    "Quoting famous computer scientists out of context is the root of all evil (or at least most of it) in programming." - K
  19. Can you blame them? by jdreed1024 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Basically, i can see how this decision was made: "What do you mean they're only buying *some* of the songs? They can't just buy some of the songs, they have to buy all the songs, dammit." What is it about these guys, were they dipped in clue-be-gone when they were young? When somebody goes this far out of their way to shoot themselves in the foot, you just gotta wonder.

    Can you blame them? Really, can you? Let me give you an example of how they think:

    Picture this. You own a company that manufactures shit. No, literally shit. You have a warehouse full of dogs taking a dump, and you collect it and package it. You have a few specials on MTV where you put some shit on the stage, wearing sparkles and exposing its midriff. And maybe have it endorse a few products. And people are breaking your doors down trying to by more shit. You can't keep up with demand. Then, one day, some enterprising young college student looks in the toilet before he flushes it, and figures out "My god, here's some shit for free." Sure, it's not necessarily the same quality you get when you have a whole warehouse to select from, and sometimes it gets, er, damaged in the processing, but darn it, it's free. Now you're the executive of ShitCo. And suddenly, after nearly half a century, people don't seem to want to buy your shit. They'd rather use their own. You're losing money. What do you do? It can't be that your stuff is too expensive, or not good enough - they couldn't get enough of it in the past. So, you do the only thing that makes sense - you raise prices. That'll increase your revenue. It's the only thing that makes sense.

    There, now you know how it works.

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