Why is the music industry still moaning? Does anyone know? Music piracy is slowing down, more people are buying music and the industry falling out of its slump. The reason is, that their numbers still aren’t as large as they were before. The industry bosses have spent millions and millions trying to stop us from downloading their songs but bar the investment in Napster, it hasn’t put money into encouraging us to buy music. The industry bosses haven’t come up with a solution of their own. It has been Napster, Apple, Coke and a few others who have been leading the industry. (You have got to realise your industry is buggered when its being lead by other industries.) The music industry bosses are stuck on what they know and don’t have the balls to throw the basic bread and butter system out the window. The idea of telling the radio/TV listener what will do well in the charts and therefore you should buy is now lost on all but the tweens. Industry bosses, it is time for a new business model.

The key now, is about variety and having access to preview and buy it.

Imagine how boring YouTube would be if it only showed the Top 40 videos as chosen by people somewhere in a suit. The fact you are able to search for random videos which are there forever gives you an unlimited choice of videos. You have the ability of change your mind on your preference of video you want.

Mix old music with new, folk with pop with international, put it all on an even scale. Make everything previewable. Give the user greater and easier access to different varietys of music and that will lead to the user expanding their music collection which will have a positive knock on effect throughout the music and possibly other industries. The way iTunes does this is a perfect example of this system working, and it should be followed. This weeks top downloads on iTunes (UK store) doesn’t really resemble the top 10 in the charts (UK). If the music industry bosses properly let go and let people decide for themselves what music they want, we will have a totally free, fresh and more prosperous music industry. Through free downloads this is one of the stories we have been trying to tell the music bosses. When will they stop complaining and start listening?