Billboard has questions, I have answers

Billboard PostPlay: Can The Music Industry Make More Money from Digital Downloads Than It Does from CD Sales?

"Could a similar type of unexpected result also happen again as the music industry morphs towards downloads, subscriptions file-sharing, and secondary sales of used media files?

The culture shift has already happened. The tween demographic is trending towards an absolute preference of downloads or, to be blunt, anything but CDs as the standard music delivery system. A Discman is bigger than PSP, bigger than a cell phone, and not nearly as reliable. The transition to cellphones by pre-teens has already exceeded expectations, and with a large number of cellphones already capable of playing music via memory cards, the only people who think that CDs will be relevant in a decade are the people who still cling to vinyl. Yes, the standardization of CDs (and vinyl) will result in a lasting market, but that market is dwindling.

Exactly what is the opportunity cost of trying to keep distribution control?"

This is the question that no one has answers to, or at least answers that will satisfy a CFO sitting atop a large conglomerate whose main asset is catalog.