$5 should be top-tier pricing for mp3 albums. No packaging, no manufacturing, no shipping, no retail costs, and maybe 1/5th the sound quality.

I’ve mostly given up on CD’s, it’s a dead format, and I do believe that as storage space increases, MP3 will eventually be replaced by a better-quality digital file format.

However, 1/4th of the product (at best) should be 1/4th of the price of a CD. But this is the music industry, who probably won’t ever be smart enough to figure that out on their own. When was the last time a label executive had to be a music consumer? 1975?

Well put, Steve. I like the utility of downloads, but you’re basically buying nothing when the music has such little fidelity, and no tangible aspect. I’ll continue to buy CDs as long the prices are pretty comparable, because the value is so much greater. I can also still play CDs in a bunch of places that my iPod doesn’t go.

Steve and Joe, most consumers wouldn’t know the difference between an MP3 and a CD playing out of the same stereo. The thing that will drive prices down is competition. There’s just too much crap out there, and if you’re going to offer 1 track at a time, you might only sell the single, so you might as well try to get $2 or $3 for the whole album, even if most of it is filler.

That’s $3.98 more than this pissmop cvnt is worth.

comment by kkk; shut ur hole
madonna is the best

Out of curiosity, how on earth do they know Let It Bleed will be in this Friday’s discounts?

Steve: I agree that downloads should be less but certainly not 1/4. You have to remember that packaging and shipping on CDs is less than $1. Much of what is paid on CDs is royalty and licensing. Now of course the labels have their profit built in but that is true of any business in a free market. Fault gas companies, clothing labels and starbucks for mark-up b4 music labels. I believe 79 cents-1.99 p/song depending on length is fair…$10/cd is fair; $8/album download is fair. More of the profit should be going to the artists and songwriters but capitalism is what it is. And to be fair the labels do a pretty good job of marketing.

As far as MP3 quality, well it def isnt cd quality…hopefully amazon and itunes will sell lossless in the future.

KKK: stop using blogs to vent your anger from your childhood! We don’t care about your pain, thats what psychologists are paid for, to pretend that feelings of a**holes like U matter!