i've heard this notion brought up before, and i thought i'd post about it:
is there anybody out there (labels, or artists) that's selling music in a purely digital (mp3?)
format? like for example - having a server that people buy a subscription to gain access
to all the releases on mp3 (high quality of course). perhaps you could offer special
releases for "free" (on vinyl, or tshirts, etc) to subscribers that you mail to them, as an incentive to subscribe
rather than just get the releases 2nd hand filesharing.
i know tracker groups do this in a way, although the ones i always followed gave their music away.
of course there alot of issues with this model, and there might be a better one.
but it would seem like something that would involve little risk to set up, as opposed
to printing tons of cds. plus it might address the fact that more and more people listen
to digital formats when it comes down to it. and it allows them to feel satisfied that
their money is going to the artists more directly.
- cutups