The easy availability of music via paid or free sources may be devaluing music for consumers a new study suggests. "Getting access to music is so easy now," researcher Adrian North of the University of Leicester in the UK said recently according to Digital Music News. "But this tremendous supply has meant listening to music is no longer a pastime but has become more of a habit. People are taking music for granted." The study was based on a survey of 350 people across various occupations and age groups including some who regularly carried thousands of tracks with them.
But does this really mean that consumers value music less in their lives or just that they don't want to pay so much for it. After all millions of iPods and other portables are being sold and an increasing number of people are carrying and enjoying music everywhere. How much of the bonding experience is lost when no photos, lyrics or information are a part of the package? How much can be blamed on labels trying to produce quick hits rather than nurturing talent? How many more consumers were finally turned off by digital rights management schemes ranging from iTunes restrictive technologies to Sony's dreaded rootkit?
The technologies and methods exist for those in the industry to begin to "revalue" music, but thus far few in the industry seem willing to take the lead.
