BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | I am a ‘net pirate’
[ . . . . ] what happens if I hear a song on the radio and I want to own that one song?
Let’s say the song is five years old and was never a chart hit and my local record store does not have a copy, or even an album on which it appeared.
The music industry makes it virtually impossible for me to buy that one song, although it is more than happy to charge me £15 for a Beatles album released more than 30 years ago.
[ . . . ] The technology to let me buy one song from the internet has been around for the last 10 years but still the record industry is dragging its feet.
Back catalogues of millions of songs remain under lock and key in dusty archives rather than being offered as potentially lucrative choices to music lovers.
Interestingly, the Beatles are notably absent from the iTunes Music Store, by far the most well-known “per track” outlet. And of course, it’s not like those 30+ year old recordings, which recouped their costs shortly after release, are any cheaper than the latest over-produced dreck.
Just imagine all the rarities collecting dust in record company vaults . . . . who knows if we’ll ever hear them, at any price?