The time draws nigh, my friends. Madonna dumped Warner, her record label of more than 20 years in favor of a deal with Live Nation, who will promote her concerts and release her albums. Last month, Radiohead announced a “name-your-price” download option for their new album. Amazon.com now offers DRM free MP3 downloads, and even Apple, the creators and maintainers of the world’s most common DRM, have rolled out iTunes Plus, which is DRM-free.
The record industry is crumbling, as it should, and music is slowly coming back around. If artists make only a few cents per recording, why wouldn’t they prefer to charge 25 cents a song and take home almost 100% of that? If “internet piracy” is such a problem, why not reward the true artists who can compel us to see them live, buy their merchandise, etc?
Yes, the days of DRM, the RIAA, in fact all record labels are drawing to a close. Mark my words: the music landscape will be dramatically different in a decade.
