BizJournals Portfolio
Home >   Business Views, Opinions and Blogs >   Business Blogs >   Tech Observer >  

Fidelity Convenience The Record Labels Dilemma

Tech Observer

by Kevin Maney
Main
Parallels, the Company   Daily Brew: 9 Must-Get Gifts, Worst Band Names of 2007, And A Lucas Films Christmas...

Recent Blog Posts

Links

Dec 13 2007 12:00am EDT

Fidelity, Convenience & the Record Labels' Dilemma

I've been researching and writing about the trade-offs between fidelity and convenience for a while now, and it was interesting to see some of those ideas pop up in a terrific Wired story that just came out about the record industry.

From the story:

The rise of compact discs (like the rise of cassette tapes before them) demonstrated the market appeal of flexibility and convenience. CDs weren't a hit because they had the best audio fidelity; that honor still belongs to vinyl records. Rather, they gave consumers more control over the listening experience. If you wanted to replay your favorite song (or skip a crappy one), you didn't have to bother with delicately moving a phonograph arm or engaging in a frustrating rewind-stop-play-stop-rewind tango with your tape player. Everyone came out a winner. "The record companies minted money," one major-label exec told me. "We made huge margins off CDs. We'll never have those margins again."

. □

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.


Connect With Portfolio.com
Like Portfolio on Facebook

Come on, like us—you know you want to.

Follow Portfolio on Twitter

Follow us and if you're an innovative entrepreneur, we'll return the favor.

The Mix

Today's top stories, conversation starters, and the back nine business bites.

spotlight on

Slideshows

500 Startups Hits New York

Dave McClure's brainchild makes its way to New York and introduces East Coast money folks to some intriguing new companies. View Slideshow