Big four labels adopt slotMusic memory cards for music sales

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 23 September 2008 06:34

Your IT - Entertainment

While flash memory is cheap, it's still more expensive than CD. And bypassing the physical media is even cheaper, so download services are likely to keep a price advantage.

Yet there are suggestions that slotMusic cards could sell for less than $US10, which is competitive with the prevailing 99c per track charged by online music stores such as the iTunes Store.

Younger music buyers have grown up with downloads, so going back to physical distribution may be a big ask for them. But if slotMusic albums were offered as an impulse purchase - perhaps at mobile phone stores, airports, or at live performances - maybe there is a worthwhile niche to be filled.

Still, the move away from purchasing complete albums to cherrypicking preferred tracks could mean the concept is doomed as far as the mass market is concerned.

But there is an opportunity for 'special edition' slotMusic albums - a band might offer a version in a different colour plastic only at tour venues, for example. Don't underestimate the power of collectability - hardcore fans will purchase the same album from different countries just for minor differences in artwork.

And there's some suggestion that older buyers prefer to get something tangible for their money rather than a series of bits.

Recent stockmarket slumps notwithstanding, there are a lot of affluent older consumers out there SKIing (Spending the Kids' Inheritance), so it might be sensible for the record labels to scour their back catalogues as well as their current rosters when deciding what albums to offer on slotMusic cards.

But don't underestimate older generations' technical adroitness, or the music labels' desire to regain control of their business. Please read on.