With complex theories endlessly bandied about and "vinyl is back!" prayers going unanswered everywhere, leave it to Chuck Klosterman to drop a common-sense take on the decline of the music industry. It's not about poor product, or poor corporate structuring. People just don't want to spend money on stuff they can get for free. "Because four-minute digital-song files are relatively small (and thus easily compressed), ripping tracks for free became the easiest way to eliminate an extraneous cost. It wasn't political or countercultural, and it had almost nothing to do with music itself. It was fiscally practical. It was the first, best solution."
More »
Idolator
