Kevin Sutton on DG's gouging:

> Vadim Repin-Deutsche Grammophon- $2.99 per track
>
> Interestingly enough, I searched three other DG artists (Martha Argerich,
> Herbert von Karajan and Maurizio Pollini) to discover that Rhapsody
> offered their tracks at $.89.

It occurs to me that maybe the price per track for the Repin is steep
because it's still fresh on the market, and DG's commitment to virtual
sales isn't as complete as it could be.

That is, maybe their fixation continues to be on shop sales, such that
DG'll consider this release a success or failure by the yardstick of
CD sales, as ever.  Much like how we're led to believe that Hollywood
film-makers are fixated on earnings over the first weekend after a
release, pinning just about everything on those numbers -- thereby
overlooking the huge international figures that trickle in slowly,
and also the considerable DVD revenues to come even after that.

It might account for the steeper price for these DG tracks, as against
those others from their stable.  It also suggests that the price will
drop after a few weeks, once it's not a novelty item.

Plausible?  Maybe marketing experts can set me straight on this.  But,
going on Kevin's data -- viz.  that DG permits others to sell its music
at competitive prices -- my guess is that a price drop on the Repin is
likely to come, which would confirm this conjecture.

Bert Bailey

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