Radical concept (for 1998 or so): The Tennessean discovers there are artists who can make money from giving away music. (However, I think it is quaint they use “CDs” in the headline.) Reporting from somewhere under a rock, the daily newspaper of one of America’s major recording industry centers has the following quote in 2006:
“As radical as the notion of allowing fans to download an album for free may seem, Hutchison said record companies have been giving away albums to radio stations in a similar fashion since the dawn of the recording industry. “It’s the same principle, just a different technology,” he said. And it’s precisely because radio is still available as a powerful exposure vehicle for well-established stars that Hutchison doesn’t expect to see the likes of Madonna start offering free album downloads anytime soon.
Tune in next week when the paper discovers MySpace.
