The music industry
Oct 15th 2008 | From The Economist online
Falling CD sales have plagued the music industry since 2000. Blaming online file-swapping services, the four big record companies—Warner Music, EMI, Universal and Sony/BMG—have advocated using DRM (digital rights management) software to protect music files. But support for DRM began to crumble in 2007; EMI dropped it, and Wal-Mart and Amazon sell songs without it. The labels are also pursuing internet radio stations, which often fail to pay royalties. The artists, meanwhile, are making more money than ever from concerts, prompting record labels to try and sign “360º contracts” that encompass live music, merchandise and endorsement deals. Hiding the cost of music subscriptions in the price of devices such as mobile phones may offer a promising new model. Video games are also boosting music sales for some artists.
