I don't know who's running the product development team at SanDisk, but they don't get new behaviors in music consumption. Last week, SanDisk and the major labels announced that they will be manufacturing MicroSD albums, and retailing them for upwards of $10.
Dumb. Who would want to buy a pre-loaded MicroSD card with MP3 audio quality when they can download the same tunes DRM-free and load them onto their dedicated music device or mobile phone?
Today, the only reason to purchase music in a physical format is for improved audio quality, special bonus content, and a fondness for album packaging. This is why we're seeing a resurrgence in vinyl sales. The other options are simply more flexible and easier to acquire. This is why digital music retailers are winning the music shopping market. It's also why "cloud music" services and social networks are becoming so popular.
It's also why this gambit is going to fail.
At some point, the music industry and its retail partners are going to have to face up to the fact that physical format is a niche product at best and finally restructure their business models away from a reliance on selling plastic to selling popular culture.
Dumb. Who would want to buy a pre-loaded MicroSD card with MP3 audio quality when they can download the same tunes DRM-free and load them onto their dedicated music device or mobile phone?
Today, the only reason to purchase music in a physical format is for improved audio quality, special bonus content, and a fondness for album packaging. This is why we're seeing a resurrgence in vinyl sales. The other options are simply more flexible and easier to acquire. This is why digital music retailers are winning the music shopping market. It's also why "cloud music" services and social networks are becoming so popular.
It's also why this gambit is going to fail.
At some point, the music industry and its retail partners are going to have to face up to the fact that physical format is a niche product at best and finally restructure their business models away from a reliance on selling plastic to selling popular culture.
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