Green

Leave it to the record companies to mess up a good thing:
Apple, record labels to face off over pricing
I guess the record companies have made their money out of ripping people off, so I shouldn't be surprised. The prices for CDs have gone up while the price to make them has gone down. I'm interested to see how they are going to spin this to make it look like they aren't the greedy bastards they are.
I predict the days of conglomerate record companies are over. Their business model is unsustainable. I can't say I feel all that sorry for them, considering how many artists they've exploited. I guess its karma at play.
I have a feeling that small boutique labels will come back in to play. A label with only a few bands so that they operators can focus all their attention on them. Keeping it small. A focus on touring, touring, touring, and of building a strong fan base before spending $1 million on making videos and "marketing." Artists don't need and shouldn't have to sell millions of albums to be profitable.
I don't think the future of the music business is finding the next britney spears and knock-you-over-the-head marketing, as success like that is only temporary. I think it'll be more organic.
I guess I'm just being naive. Oh well.