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Must a CD Cost $15.99?
scionite0 sends us to Rolling Stone for an in-depth article on Wal-Mart and the music business. Wal-Mart is the largest music retailer selling "an estimated one out of every five major-label albums" in the US. Wal-Mart willingly loses money selling CDs for less than $10 in order to draw customers into the store, but they are tired of taking a loss on CDs. The mega-retailer is telling the major record labels to lower the price of CDs or risk losing retail space to DVDs and video games. (Scroll to the bottom of the article for a breakdown of where exactly the money goes on a $15.99 album sale.) "[A Wal-Mart spokesman said:] 'The record industry needs to refine their business models, because the consumer is the ultimate arbitrator. And the consumer feels music isn't properly priced.' [While music executives are quoted:] 'While Wal-Mart represents nearly twenty percent of major-label music sales, music represents only about two percent of Wal-Mart's total sales. If they got out of selling music, it would mean nothing to them. This keeps me awake at night.' [And another:] 'Wal-Mart has no long-term care for an individual artist or marketing plan, unlike the specialty stores, which were a real business partner. At Wal-Mart, we're a commodity and have to fight for shelf space like Colgate fights for shelf space.'"
The record labels are just a bunch of whiners. They grew accustom to fat margins stemming from power over the distribution channel. Their pricing doesn't work for Walmart's value proposition but like always they blame their customers, in the case the next one in the value chain, the retailer. Blaming the customer is their favorite tactic. They blame the end customer for piracy.
The record labels will die before they realize their business model longer works. Nobody wants pay $15.99 and no amount of wishing by record company execs will make that different.
Myself, I'd rather buy indie music on CD from the bands themselves.
Ahh, would that there existed decent "indie" music. Unfortunately, my tastes run to older classics, which I'm sure brands me as a "sheep", a "tool of the Man", etc. And no, I don't need a Slashdot List(tm) of all the great indie bands that will be great until they get a record contract, at which point it will be time to abandon them for somebody that isn't popular yet.
Klingon programs don't timeshare, they battle for supremacy.
You know, when things get bad I have insurance...
You know, medical, dental, vision, life, house (one day), rental (right now), car...
Also, I have liquid assets such as savings, investment, CDs, mutual funds, stock options, 401K...
Also, I have solid assets such as equity, and things such as a decent car (which can be sold)...
AND I AM A COLLEGE STUDENT (albeit not your typical one, but my parents don't take give me money to freely invest).
I have no sympathy for the "boo hoo hoo, I am an out-of-work artist/painter/musician/actor/liberal studies major who now has no money to pay for medical bills because I haven't planned for the future. Woe is me, Brittney Spears, who has spent all of my money on things that would never stand the test of time." (Sorry for the Spears reference). Don't plan for the future? Then shut the fuck up about your problems! I have sympathy for children that get Down Syndrome, mentally handicapped, deaf, dumb, blind, ect. that didn't have the chances that you did. These people invested in things KNOWN TO BE POOR INVESTMENTS, and now are paying the price.
Yes, I know I'm harsh, but the world is what you make of it. You are a successful artist? You now have cancer and are thinking about the upcoming medical bills? Go on a come-back tour to make enough money to pay for it before it gets bad. Take some as liquid assets, take some as investments, take out a low-interest rate loan and buy a house that you rent to college students at a profit while building equity (my parents can do this making less than 40K/year). Use the profit from the house to take out medical insurance (this defrays the cost of your bills, and you can use your liquid assets to pay off the remainder while using your investments for a rainy day). If you make wise financial decisions, you don't have to end up screwed.