Friday, October 03, 2008

Digital Media in a Recession

It will be interesting to see how what looks to be a severe recession impacts the new media economy. In relatively flush economic times (which, all things considered, describes the past 15 years or so), perhaps the "give away the music and make money on t-shirts and touring" model works, or the "1000 True Fans" model works. In the near futher, a lot more people will download the music and simply not have enough money to buy the optional fancy packaging or fill their tank with gas to drive across the state to a show. It may be tough for artists. There is nothing to be done about the change in technology; we may actually be forced reconsider how we fund the arts to publicly subsidize more activity.

On the other hand, lots more young people will have time on their hands and fewer prospects, which is often good for rock and roll, at least.

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