…the most important lesson of the internet music revolution is that the vast majority of consumers actually reward convenience. That’s why the iPod was a huge hit even though digitally-compressed music sounded terrible at the time, and it’s why teenagers today get most of their music on YouTube, even though YouTube sounds worse still.
Nilay Patel does a good job contending Taylor Swift’s premise that the future of the music industry is a love story. I share Taylor’s optimism but think it’s misdirected. The exciting future of music will (hopefully) rest at the intersection of artistic vision and supply and demand: great bands building a legacy off the presentation and experience of their art rather than album sales/downloads. We’re already starting to see this trend, and it hope it increases in the future.
Twelve Dollar Beers 