Lest I begin every blog entry in a negative fashion let me begin by saying, I love the music of Led Zeppelin.
Now that the positive portion of the evening has concluded, let me get to the reason I write today. I ventured into a Virgin Megastore on Monday to purchase a Zoso CD for my nephew who I'm trying to convert from a fan of the lowest common denominator variety of rap music. Not all rap is lowest common denominator by any means but the stuff he likes definitely hits that mark. The more ghetto the better. There's an entire other blog, or book perhaps about white kids from small towns getting in touch with urban rappers but that's for another time.
Anyway, I roll into Virgin, where up front they are selling Revolver for $9.99, to find that the music business and by association, Virgin record stores, are still stuck in the pattern of gouging that got them where they are today: a state of collapse. Zoso was priced at $18.99. Will they never learn??? Was it not this kind of obscene gouging that drove kids (and their cool, well-meaning uncles) into the arms of Napster in the first place??? You would think that some small inkling of reality might have seeped in by now, but perhaps it's the bunker mentality instead. We've got Zoso and they don't so let's rake `em while we can. Why not just drop the prices and see how much of their fading business can be preserved?
Of course I also heard, the same day I unwillingly (ain't it always the way), lost my VIRGINity for $18.99 that Virgin Megastores may be pulling their operations out of the states entirely.
These are historic times my friends. We are literally watching the record business implode before our very eyes. And for some reason the business cannot or will not get out in front of the wave.
