On Demand
Album Sales: Not Dead Yet?
Friday, September 12, 2008
Chart-topping R&B singer Estelle recently had a hit song on her hands – until her label pulled it from Apple’s iTunes store. Chris Molanphy, chart columnist for the music blog Idolator.com, explains why some labels are moving to quash successful singles.
Soundcheck Blog: The Great Debate: Albums vs. Singles
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I signed into to Amazon the other day to get Beck's single "Chem Trails" for 99 cents. Can't do it, you need to buy the album. Several commenters at the site were grumbling.
Doesn't Itunes an "Album Only" purchase?
Why didn't they do that?
Doesn't Itunes offer an "Album Only" purchase?
Why didn't they just do that?
It's greed and ego. Though I don't download music from the Internet (I have a dial-up), to me the single deserves a comeback. Most "artists" simply can't deliver enough quality output to justify buying a whole album. This has been the real situation for decades.
Hey, I’m a 30 year old dinosaur who first heard American Boy at a party of late twenty year olds. I’m a dino because I went out and bought the full CD (10 bucks at Virgin) and I don’t buy music online. I just got it yesterday, and I must say after a cursory listen, I like it. I like buying CDs over popular singles because you get to hear songs you might like just as much.
Wow, It just so happened that I downloaded Estelle's single when it was available, but brought Estelle's album for a completely different reason.
I listed to her album off of a co-worker's streaming iTunes playlist at work and simply had to have it! And buy it I did, without even knowing the single had been pulled!
Hi
itunes has become such a hassel that I have switched to Sony Rhapsody and have not looked back.
What about extraction of elements from nature and waste byproducts associated with CD production? I find buying digital music to be a good way to reduce environmental impact, as opposed to buying a manufactured object.
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