The IFPI report sees digital music market taking off in 2005:

# Legal music sites quadrupled to over 230 in 2004
# Available music catalogue has doubled in 12 months to 1 million songs
# Paid-for downloads up more than tenfold to over 200 million
# Consumer attitudes more favourable to buying music online

Download here

IFPI represents the recording industry worldwide with over 1,450 members in more than 75 countries and affiliated industry associations in 48 countries.

The problems are:

1. I'm an indipendend artist. Can i sell my music throug these services (iTunes, for example) in MP3.com style ?
2. If not, why ?
3. Who decide what we can download ?
4. Do you think is correct to sell immaterial things (files) ?

i've no answers to the first three questions, but there's no reason not to sell files. i think what's a little off is how the sellers keep track of what they're selling. i think selling files with DRM is stupid, and in fact the "sale" becomes a lease with a mile-long list of conditions and reserved rights.

"intangibles" can still have a price. look at consultants - they transfer knowledge to people and get paid a large amount for it. knowledge is even less tangible than files - it can't be reduced to ones and zeros, and though it's encoded and stored in people's brains, we have no idea how this is done. yet teachers can make a living.

actually, thinking of things like that, i'm kind of glad we don't fully understand the workings of the brain - can you imagine DRM protected ideas? you're physically unable to pass on a bit of information to someone else... sort of like a non-disclosure agreement, but tied to the brain itself.. eek.

(okay, i'm a little tired at this point, so don't take this all too seriously)