Requiem for the CD

I read the following in The Economist last week:

IN 2006 EMI, the world's fourth-biggest recorded-music company, invited some teenagers into its headquarters in London to talk to its top managers about their listening habits. At the end of the session the EMI bosses thanked them for their comments and told them to help themselves to a big pile of CDs sitting on a table. But none of the teens took any of the CDs, even though they were free. “That was the moment we realised the game was completely up,” says a person who was there.

If teenagers aren't buying music on CD, who is? The rest of the article describes the dismal sales (physical sales down 19% in 2007) and vicious circle that has gripped the music industry as it is currently constituted. Even paid music downloads aren't growing enough in revenue terms to keep them afloat.

One idea that was described sounds very interesting: "Comes with Music" phones that allow you to download as much music as you want to your phone and PC and keep it even when you switch phones. The record labels would get a cut of the price of the phone. This sounds appealing, but I don't think I would pay more than $50 for it.

I guess this is what you get when you sue your best customers. Way to go RIAA!

You can read the whole article here if you have a subscription.