| | Really Annoyed By Marketing TacticsI’ve found myself remembering little things lately that have annoyed me. For example, twenty years ago, the recording industry was just starting to introduce audio CDs. Their marketing folks painted a glowing picture about how the cost of albums would come down as a result of the new media because CDs were so much cheaper to produce than cassette tapes, and instead of paying $8 or $10 for an album, we would only have to pay about $2 or $3.
So what is the situation? CDs still cost more than cassettes. And the sad thing is that there is no need, because they really are cheaper to manufacture. I can buy recordable CDs for about 25 cents each, and I can record them in less time than I can a tape. And because of its volume, the recording industry buys CDs much cheaper than I can, and automation results in thousands of hours saved in recording time.
I’m sure they would like to say that production and handling costs are up in the last 20 years, but the same is true for cassette tapes. The artists get paid the same amount regardless of the media I buy. Delivery costs are about the same. Warehousing space is reduced by CDs. So where’s the big savings they told me about all those years ago?
I think they are just making more money and justifying it to themselves with some song ‘n’ dance reasoning about how I’m paying more for the improved quality. Excuse me if that doesn’t wash down too well. They knew about the improved quality 20 years ago and were promising reduced costs to go with it.
Question: Do you feel as robbed as I do by the recording industry and marketing tactics in general?
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| | Posted 2/22/2006 4:18 PM - 1 comments
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