Andre Yoskowitz
5 Jun 2007 19:42
The late singer Bob Marley realeased his excellent "Exodus" album in 1977 as vinyl record but now the record label has decided to re-release the album, not on vinyl, not on CD, but on a USB flash drive.
Island Records, a subsidiary of the Universal Music Group, produced 4000 of the drives for the re-release and loaded them with the original 10 songs plus additional tracks and exclusive concert footage of the singer. The drives will cost a hefty $44.99 USD.
The label says the high price relfects not only the extra content but the fact that the drive can be formatted and reused after the songs are taken off and put on your PC.
Last year, the Barenaked Ladies released their album on USB sticks as well as CDs and the drives have sold almost 1000 copies at $25 USD a piece.
“Once you upload the music to your computer, you have a piece of hardware,” says Adam Smith, who manages artists at the Nettwerk Music Group, “If you’re buying a U.S.B. stick, the cost is not so much different to buy it loaded with music from your favorite band.”
Source:
NYTimes