Music Is Not The Product (at least in 2012)

The idea is that music is what gives the actual products value – it’s not the product itself. The CD is the product, the reason you’re willing to pay for it is because it has music by Lady Gaga, or Madonna, or M83 on it. Same with a downloaded file from iTunes. This distinction would have been pointless to make 20 years ago because there was no alternative to the act of purchasing; whether people thought of themselves as paying for a CD or paying for the music, they were ultimately paying either way. The distinction is key now because the customer has ways to access the music without the product – and therefore the number of people willing to pay for the product is dropping. Check out why this might not be a bad thing in Tech Dirt.