What percent of music purchased was by college age students in 2004 vs. 1994? My trip to Durham to watch Duke crush Maryland inspired this thought. My first stop as I drove out of the RDU airport was 9th Street in Durham. I wanted to visit Pointdexter's, the record store where I bought all my CDs while I was at Duke. Of course, Pointdexter's was no longer in business. Why? Must be because college students simply don't buy CDs anymore. They are either buying the music online or more likely, pulling it down from a file sharing service. Anyway, I would love to see the data if anyone has it.
I know that the popular thinking in the blog world is that DRM is evil and the record labels will be able to make more money if they just set the music free, but it seems to me that what is required is more like a complete reinvention of the business model. We shall see if the labels are capable of making it happen. I continue to be amazed at the power of technology to bring entire industries to their knees in a very short period of time. Of course, this has been happening for centuries but the speed that Kodak went from most admired company to teetering on the edge of extinction is breathtaking. Digital cameras do that for you.
