As the music industry watches in horror while physical CD sales tumble and digital sales fail to bridge the gap, online MP3 retailers are trying to stem the bleeding with an age-old technique: slashing prices.
Some new releases are being priced at a mere $3.99 for a limited time on Amazon MP3, including last week's top-selling album in both platforms, U2's "No Line on the Horizon"; the company offers some full album downloads for 99 cents. Apple's iTunes store runs spotlight specials for as little as $4.99. And subscription-based service Rhapsody routinely has deals for $6.99.
On average, a regularly priced full album digital download costs about $10.
Online retailers are keeping tight-lipped about these bargain-basement prices, usually available for anywhere from a day to several weeks, but industry analysts say the reason behind them is simple: to attract new customers, particularly the vast majority of people who aren't in the habit of downloading music.
[via boston]
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