Music industry's latest sales-boosting scheme: flash drives!

As exciting as recent events have been for those desiring the utter collapse of the music industry, the monoliths that dominate the entertainment sector are still attempting to adjust to our rapidly changing times. So, perhaps finally realizing that the CD is 20 years old and not getting any sexier with age, music bigwigs are eying a shift to a new means of physical distribution.

Behold, the future of five years ago: the USB flash drive. As Engadget reports, three of the four remaining major labels (Universal, Warner, and EMI) are angling to sell consumers on kinda-hip (but extra expensive) flash drives preloaded with music albums and bonus material. Sounds kinda decent, until you see the price: about $10 for a CD single's worth of music and extra content. Engadget rightly points out that this stinks of the "ringle" concept that the labels dropped on us about a month ago.

Matchbox 20 (er... sorry: Twenty), rebooting its career after a four-year hiatus, is one of the first to take the flashy approach. The band's new release, Exile On Mainstream, is available on a special USB bracelet. Only for sale at Best Buy, these trinkets run at $35. Yikes... it's enough to make a fan ask himself, "How much do I love Rob Thomas?"

Thanks to The Daily Swarm for hipping us to the Matchbox Twenty item.

Related links:
UMusic.com
WMG.com
EMIGroup.com

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