I think I have to add that this isn't really about the 'music experience'. This is about the music cartels no longer being able to keep a CD priced at $15 (one of the few things that has YET to see a price drop despite the fact the cost to create it has dropped like a rock) - so, yes, it certainly does affect the money. The question is, of course, is this a bad thing? We aren't talking about thin margins here - the cost to produce a CD is fairly quickly recovered and it becomes a very high profit item very quickly. The entire music business model is skewed - the top 5 bands make 90% of the money (my exagerated numbers - but it's something along those lines) - I fail to see why we should want to see that model revived. Personally, I see the new attempt at re-forging to the digital album as simply a way to get back to gouging people. That said, I'm all for choice - as long as we continue to be able to buy seperate tracks (and we will, because the moment that stops, welcome back to the days of napster. That genie is way out of the bottle) I'm fine with whatever other buying options they want to offer. The one great thing about all of this is they are fully aware there is price tipping point. They jump tracks up to $3, people will simply go back to pirating. I always said the moment you can easily get a track for $1, most people won't bother to pirate. I'd rather hop on amazon, find it, preview it and zap it to my MP3 folder for .99.

The irony here is that the music companies create the monster they are now dealing with. They stuck their heads in the sand as the digital age grew bigger and bigger. They clung to their $15 albums for as long as they could - but in doing so, they released the MP3 onto the world. People knew there was a better, cheaper solution and they went looking. Had they bother to keep up and move with the times, they could have actually kept some control. Now it's too late.

Can't say I agree much with the idea that the 1 or 2 tracks on an album are some how made better by the other 8-10 crap tracks on it - but again, whatever floats your boat. Choice is a good thing.