CD prices drop
September 4, 2003So it looks like the price of a pre-recorded music CD is gonna drop soon. Universal is the first, but other labels are bound to follow their lead and reduce prices by up to a third.
Big f***ing deal. What this means is what we’ve all known–that the labels have been gouging consumers with over-inflated prices for their products. It’s a response to the competitive threat posed by online music distribution. That old economic adage holds even today in the Internet-enabled 21st century–competition is good for consumers.
Meanwhile the RIAA continues to claim it’s the file-swappers who are the ones causing the drop in music sales. They need to look in the mirror–it’s the outrageous prices charged by their members that are the real reason sales of pre-recorded music are way down.
I think this move by Universal smacks a bit of desperation, yet I also think it’s the right move. When I can buy an entire album from the iTunes online music store, it only makes sense that the prices charged at retail have to drop a lot closer to the online price.
God I love the market-driven economy we live in.
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