Liquid Audio to let subscribers burn music  [news.com] This move by liquid audio is on the right track.  Clearly, the record labels know what consumers want (I mean, besides free music).  They want good music at a good price, and they want portability.  There is tremendous opportunity for the business.  The record labels could provide downloadable music that consumers could burn onto CD-Rs.  They could sell a lot more music, because they would have a lot more music available compared to what's available in a brick-and-mortar store.  They could achieve new efficiencies in production and distribution.  And consumers could benefit by a wider selection of music and lower cost.  Then there is even room for innovation: the content owners could provide technology to help consumers find new music that interests them from artists they probably have not heard of before.

And what's holding all this back?  Clearly, it's fear held by the content owners.  They have chosen to follow an almost purely defensive strategy.  They are risk-averse, as many big companies are.  Risk-averse, one would assume, because they have a lot to lose.

To change the situation will require some smaller companies pursuing offensive strategies and some government assistance to break the monopolistic tactics of the big record labels.  Perhaps Liquid Audio will be one of those smaller companies.

8:42:16 AM