Digital-only releases: the future of the music industry?

The future of the music industry seems rooted in everything but the industry. This month has certainly showed how far that reality is after Radiohead's self-release of In Rainbows, the band's seventh album, as an internet-only download (for the time being). But Radiohead is not the only successful band to eschew the input of the music industry. Even before Radiohead's album became sensational news, fellow English band Oasis had announced the release of an internet-only single, "Lord Don't Slow Me Down," as a self-release as well.

Two examples may not seem threatening for an industry that has been around for decades, but when artists can self-release music as wide as these have been, the music industry certainly looks decrepit. A self-release always seemed to amount to nothing more than an underground tape, or a limited pressing, but with the internet and the "efficiency" it has over the music industry, that just is not the case anymore. These two examples (and many other cases not mentioned here) are important because artists do not need the industry anymore.

What remains to ask is if we, as consumers, need the industry anymore? It's too early to give a well-educated answer to that, especially as many of the big artists are still "controlled" by the industry. This should not sound as a industry blast either, because despite the decline that seems to be occurring, the music business still offers a number of products and offers that are entertaining and wanted. At this point, we need the industry and that may never change. What will change hopefully is the way the music industry operates.

If the industry could make is all more accessible, then there would be no question between paying less for an album in ten days versus waiting three months for an overpriced CD.