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Digital Audio Insider is David Harrell's blog about the economics of music and other digital content. I write from the perspective of a musican who has self-released four albums with the indie rock band the Layaways.
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December 06, 2007
Thursday Odds and Endsby David Harrell
Slate's Fred Kaplan responds to recent pieces by Terry Teachout and Anthony Tommasini about the sound quality of the iPod and mp3 files:
It's worth noting that digital audio files will get better, just as compact discs did. (In their first decade, CDs and CD players sounded dreadful, worse than MP3s -- and much worse than some other, less-compressed, downloadable formats -- sound now...) When this future comes, we will all rejoice. In the meantime, to deny or dismiss the sonic differences not only deprecates the depths and delicacies that make music so alluring. It also tells the engineers and manufacturers that they don't need to improve their products, that bad sound is good enough.Royalty Week has a breakdown of iTunes revenues between labels and artists, contrasting the treatment of a download as retail sale vs. a licensing deal (which is the issue behind the lawsuit filed last year by the Allman Brothers Band and Cheap Trick against Sony Records).
I found one figure a little confusing. Why would a major label pay a digital aggregator a commission of nearly 15 cents for every iTunes download? CD Baby will get you into iTunes for just a 9% cut, and TuneCore doesn't even take a percentage -- just a flat yearly fee. I have to assume the aggregator is providing some major promotional work, otherwise a 15-cent per-song fee seems pricey.
Finally, a little off-topic, but perhaps of interest for anyone ordering holiday gifts from Amazon.com: In last week's Digital Pricing Conundrum installment, I referred to my informal Amazon.com shipping survey, which revealed that many customers weren't paying for shipping. Via Marginal Revolution, I just found this nifty website -- Amazon Filler Item Finder. Just type in how much more you need to qualify for free shipping from Amazon.com, and it creates a list of products, ranked by price and customer rating, that will put you over the top.
tags: digital music iPod iTunes mp3 Amazon.com
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Popular Posts
A Long Tail Experiment
By the Numbers: Using Last.fm Statistics to Quantify Audience Devotion
Lala.com Owes Me Sixty Cents
An Interview with Jonathan Segel of Camper Van Beethoven
Price Elasticity of Demand for McCartney
Sony and eMusic: What I Missed
The Digital Pricing Conundrum series:
Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four
THE LAYAWAYS
Out Now -- "Maybe Next Year" -- The New Holiday Album:
"This is a sweet treat, deliciously musical without being overbaked for mass media consumption." -- Hyperbolium
"Perfect listening to accompany whatever holiday preparations you may be making today." -- Bag of Songs
O Christmas Tree - free mp3 lyrics and song details
Away In A Manger - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or Bandcamp. Listen to free streams at Last.fm.
"...about as melodic and hooky as indie pop can get." -- Absolute Powerpop
"Their laid-back, '60s era sounds are absolutely delightening." -- 3hive
"...melodic, garage-influenced shoegaze." -- RCRD LBL
Where The Conversation Ends - free mp3
January - free mp3
Keep It To Yourself - free mp3
Download from eMusic, iTunes, Amazon MP3, or CD Baby, stream it at Last.fm or Napster.
"The Layaways make fine indie pop. Hushed vocals interweave with understated buzzing guitars. The whole LP is a revelation from the start." -- Lost Music
"Catchy Guided by Voices-like rockers who lay it on sweetly and sincerely, just like Lionel Richie." -- WRUV Radio
Silence - free mp3 lyrics and song details
The Long Night - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
"These are songs that you want to take home with you, curl up with, hold them close -- and pray that they are still with you when you wake up." -- The Big Takeover
Let Me In - free mp3
Ocean Blue - free mp3
Download from eMusic, Amazon MP3, or iTunes, stream it at Last.fm, Napster, or Rhapsody.
More Layaways downloads:
the layaways website