The Music Business Needs to Adapt
The Internet has provided the music business with both an opportunity and an immense challenge. With the Internet users can access any type of digital content with very little effort. The challenge with this is two fold. First attracting attention is very difficult and it becomes harder to compete against the competition. No longer can you sell a CD with 2 or 3 good tracks and a bunch of filler as a listener can simply purchase the tracks they are interested in. This means quality is of essence. In addition, access to pirated content is widespread and the distribution mechanism well known. So to compete with this the business needs to provide a simple purchase mechanism for users to discourage them from the potentially questionable quality of pirated content. This goes for both music as well as music videos.
The businesses that can seize this opportunity will follow in the success of some of the early pioneers and far from being a threat the internet can help drive tremendous success for those business that provide an interactive experience to customers and draw in business. This takes a fresh approach to the business and an embrace of the community approach to web sites. A business that seizes on this has the potential to be a smashing success.