Why not just buy the CD?!?!?!

This is the lamest thing anyone could buy. If you’re paying for it, it costs the same as a CD, and you have something physical, why not just throw the CD in there? Who would be dumb enough to pay for this? Probably a lot of people, actually.

It’s called business and marketing. It appears that Apple set up some sort of bundling deal…and a way for them to offer album art along with iTunes, which some consumers prefer.

Well, as an Apple share holder I think this is a great idea!!!

It’s time music downloading became a reality for people and not just a game for sneaky kids and shadowy European websites.

Now why didn’t I think of that?

Capitalism at it’s finest.

I’m a hardcore apple user…. but this is so wrong. Buy the artwork at the store and download the music at home?? If it isn’t bad enough that all local music stores you’ve come to know and love are suffering enough over digital downloads. What about the lost “art” of actual INTERACTING with the bands artwork as you place the CD in the tray, or, for that matter, the way albums (yes, ALBUMS) used to be like. Not to mention the fact your MP3 downloads ARE SO COMPRESSED that you’re better off buying the REAL CD for better bit rate audio… THEN put it on your iPod. The music fan is getting screwed here in my opinion… Fans! Check out your local USED bin! It’s a great value!

(Will somebody help me off this soapbox..)

I prefer the tangible quality of album/cd packaging myself, but Apple is simply just expanding its marketplace among heavy iTunes users who might not care so much about maximum audio quality. I agree that it is capitalism, but really, what else is new, and why should anybody be surprised.

This is the dumbest thing ever but it will work because their are a lot of losers out there

Of course it will work.

I think this is what they call a “gateway download” among certain circles.

Sure it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to the rest of us, but for people who have been resisting legal downloads it’s a good way to get them comfortable with juicing up on music through their computers.

My prediction is it won’t be an immediate hit, but it’s a slow process.

Personally, I’ve always liked the idea of buying those little flash media sticks (with wave files; not any of this mp3 bullstuff) from a music kiosk at a store, etc. That way vendors could have a larger stock without the space issues, and a consumer could buy individual tracks if he wanted to.