Or at least, bitchslapped back to middle management. In an effort to sustain the record industry's current business model, Universal UK has decided to test market singles [1 song, and a few b-sides] on a USB stick, rather than a CD. What's the benefit? Well, the powers that be at the labels seem to think people really want physical product but don't think CDs are "cool" anymore. And apparently -- at at least twice the price of a CD single -- people will think USB singles are "cool."
Uh, yeah. Good luck with that, dudes.
Universal will be the first label to really test these waters, with flagship releases from Keane and Nicole Scherzinger priced at £4.99 [approximately $10] per single. EMI will follow, as they have plans to release Pink Floyd's catalogue on this format, and Warner Music UK will be releasing a half-single, half-album from Hadouken!
So how do they justify this giant step backwards, and failure to acknowledge that the future lies with digital music? Let's see what Brian Rose of Universal UK had to say:
We’re hoping that people will see USB singles as a piece of merchandise. There’s obviously a demand for collectible physical music the kind of format people want to stick up on their wall.
Yep... I bet they'd like to stick it up somewhere... and I sincerely doubt it is the wall.
