AnywhereCD 30 Cent MP3s

Filed in archive Commentary , Companies , Industry , Marketing , Retail on April 27, 2007

This article is part of a series reviewing the AnywhereCD bundled CD+MP3 album store.

1. Anywhere(CD) But Here (Warner Music).

2. Anywhere(CD) But Singles.

3. Anywhere(CD) is Better Than Nowhere.

4. AnywhereCD 30 Cent MP3s

The subversive angle on AnywhereCD is that it prices digital singles at 30 cents. How so? Consider a typical CD that retails online for $12. AnywhereCD sells the CD plus all the digital cuts for $15. So the digital files are $3 extra. Assume 10 tracks per CD. That results in 30 teeny cents per tune. Note that this isn't for crippled DRM files that normally sell for $1, but open format MP3s for which iTunes charges $1.30. Or that AnywhereCD's sister MP3tunes sells for 88 cents.

Now I grant that this isn't an exact comparison. Consumers can't directly buy individual 30 cent MP3s. They have to buy the CD. But this is what they will see and take away from AnywhereCD. The bundle is a packaging vehicle only.

30 cents for a single is not a bad price. A few studies have shown that many consumers value a digital single in this range.

To a tiny part of the consumer market, the impulse buyers and superfans, this digital pricing will be perceived as fair. If you buy the CD and want the entire album in digital form, getting the singles for 30 cents each is reasonable. There is no incentive to obtain the digital files illegally. It's cheap enough that if you don't like half the singles from the album you can delete them without thinking you got ripped off.

But this 30 cent offer does not apply to most consumers. Digital music is social and fungible. There are many ways to obtain MP3 files, which will continue to be used. People trade files on P2P and IM networks, send them via email, download libraries from other iPods, and now they can copy them from friends who are AnywhereCD or iTunes Premium buyers. Technology continues to chip away at the artificial price of music. Give this group the opportunity to buy singles for 30 cents and a huge dent could be made in non-purchased music.