Comment Re:Wrong question (Score 1) 366
You want the thing they buy once to be a loss leader, but the thing they keep paying for to make you money...
That's exactly what they're doing. Digital Music files don't wear out, they last virtually forever. iPods, however, do wear out. iPods are only $200/year. That's FAR less money anually than most serious music fans spend on music in a year. If you buy your 2 or 3 CDs per month on iTunes instead of in the store for $11.99 instead of $16.99 and you hang on to the $10-15/month that you save, you can buy a new iPod every 12-18 months and it's basically a wash. The music you'll never need to replace.
That's the other reason record labels hate it. Many music fans have fully replaced their music catalogs in the ever-changing format of choice: from vinyl -> cassette -> compact disc, with no discount for having owned the prior media. Buy it digitally, and you don't ever have to buy it again. You can simply transfer it to whatever physical medium is relevant. Why do you think record companies and movie companies are trying to find a way to popularize time-sensitive media? You know, the DVDs that die after a few days?
That's exactly what they're doing. Digital Music files don't wear out, they last virtually forever. iPods, however, do wear out. iPods are only $200/year. That's FAR less money anually than most serious music fans spend on music in a year. If you buy your 2 or 3 CDs per month on iTunes instead of in the store for $11.99 instead of $16.99 and you hang on to the $10-15/month that you save, you can buy a new iPod every 12-18 months and it's basically a wash. The music you'll never need to replace.
That's the other reason record labels hate it. Many music fans have fully replaced their music catalogs in the ever-changing format of choice: from vinyl -> cassette -> compact disc, with no discount for having owned the prior media. Buy it digitally, and you don't ever have to buy it again. You can simply transfer it to whatever physical medium is relevant. Why do you think record companies and movie companies are trying to find a way to popularize time-sensitive media? You know, the DVDs that die after a few days?
