Single Track Pricing
Music is now priced by the song, or track, rather than by the album. I suspect that this pricing is going to incentivize artists and labels in one direction and consumers in another.
The days of 20-minute side long tracks are likely over. First of all, there are no more sides, so the 20 minute limit on a track is gone. However, the price of a 20 minute, or 30 or 40 minute, track is the same as that of a 20, 30 or 40 second track. Or at least that seems to be the case on popular sites such as iTunes and eMusic. When consumers buy by the track, it is likely that artists and labels are paid the same amount regardless of track length.
In a McLuhan-esque fashion, this will motivate artists and labels to record more tracks of shorter duration. They might even break up an intended 20 minute piece into several shorter sections. However, consumers are pulled the opposite direction. It is far less expensive for them to purchase longer tracks, as they get more music for their money.
Tzadik pulled their catalog from eMusic, reportedly because they felt they were losing royalties on longer tracks. This serves no one, as now a large potential audience doesn’t have access to their offerings.
In my own purchasing on eMusic, I find that I tend to buy longer tracks more on whim and at the spur of the moment, and tend to delay or avoid purchasing albums with more than 12 or so short tracks.
Obviously there is a middle ground, and it has been adopted by other sites, most notably the battered AllOfMP3, where pricing is based on the length of the track or album. This is a fair solution for both producers and consumers.