Sink or Swim: Are Music Subscriptions the Record Labels’ Life Raft?

It's no secret that the top four record labels have been struggling to find their way in recent years. When it comes to the expolsion of online music, the big four are certainly not at an enviable place: sink or swim.

The record labels' apparent answer to their dilemna? Music subscriptions.

I was one of the many who assumed that eventually the digital download would replace the CD. For me it was a disheartening realization. Instead of packaging a dozen or so songs together on an album, labels would be forces to sell these songs individually, and in my opinion, lose a great deal of the artistic impact an album would have. (But that's for another post.)

However, single downloads don't seem to be what the recording industry is vying for...simply because the industry can't possibly sustain itself with download sales alone.

David Ring, the executive vice president of business development for Universal Music Group's digital arm said at the Econ Music Conference, "If what we're trying to do is one-by-one downloads...that's not a business that can grow. It won't be healthy for the industry."

I've questioned for quite some time why record labels continue to cling to music subscriptions, as consumers haven't really accepted the idea of renting their music. Well, there's our answer folks: the recording industry is trying to ride the subscription wave because they haven't found a better way.

I'm sorry to say that I don't have an answer for the recording industry; however, I might advise them that I don't know one person who uses a music subscription service. Of course the vast majority of us pay for some sort of subscription: magazines, insurance, cell phones, internet access, but people just care about their music too much to see it disappear once they stop paying fees. You can change the game, but consumers aren't willing to settle for anything less than what they want.

Here's to hoping that the big four find another life raft to jump onto.  Otherwise, we might be looking at the Titanic of our century.