Free Prince CD

Unbelievable. Record shops in the UK are complaining about Prince's decision to give away his latest CD for free in the Mail on Sunday. Their complaint is that they stuck by Prince in the past and consider this a kick in the teeth.

What?

They are complaining about someone who, let's get this straight, made the record business MILLIONS of pounds in the past, who has decided that the music that he has written, performed, recorded, should be distributed by someone who has paid him £250k . Give me a break.

The whole music industry needs to wake up. Record companies and record shops are no longer the central elements of getting music from performer to consumer. They can put tracks up on websites for free, they can give CDs away. The labels and shops realise this and are getting worried. And so they should.

Online music is continuing to grow, and it doesn't show any signs of stopping. The labels and stores have had years to prepare, but instead have gone after file sharers using organisations such as the RIAA which simply alienates the consumer even more.

We are at the point where the power in the music business is going to move from the labels back to the artists, which is where it should be.