On Forbes: Two Cents About Classical Music For $100

Riffing off the 2011 ionarts posts »Classical music for $100«, »Classical music for $100: "The Second $100 Dollars"«, and »Classical Music for $100: Music History Survey« which are in turn riffing off Tyler Cowen's original post (Marginal Revolution, George Pieler and I have tackled the subject of classical music for our Forbes column which we hope to spin out over a series of articles that focus on anything from the changing nature of the classical music business to questions about digital rights management and ownership. And it will, of course, include "The List". Because we love lists. And because it's been amended and attempts were made to make it iTunes, Amazon, and Spotify compatible.

[Yadda-yadda... This] beautifully frames two key aspects of the classical music world today: availability and affordability. Classical (ditto jazz) is a fascinating niche industry annually pronounced dead but more alive than ever. It’s just changing in all possible kinds of ways, at different speeds, in different countries. Pricing, production, distribution, listening and purchasing habits, even the very medium itself and its long accepted norms (like album playtime, the concept of ‘album’ itself etc.) change or vanish.

Let’s focus just what Cowen and Guglielmo touch on: price, medium, and the idea of “essentials”.

Now that Tower Records and the HMV Shop are history, how do we consumers determine price?

Continued here, at Forbes.com