Google is (rumoured to be) planning to include a music search which will allow songs to be streamed from the search results (using LaLa and Imeem and iLike) and provide links to buy those songs.
Apparently this was all the idea of the music industry!
Problem solved? No. iLike and Lala are US only.
Yawn. If Google somehow manages to make this service work for the whole world I'll be stunned.
Meanwhile, iTunes Australia users are paying over 50% more for their songs than iTunes USA users. Aus $1.69 = about US$1.51, while US iTunes songs cost $US0.99 cents. Thanks booming economy! On the plus side, Amazon is looking even more attractive! Sorry Australian economy!
Meanwhile, speaking of downloads...
I recently decided that I'd happily pay Aus$1 per download of a TV show episode (in DivX please). Currently on iTunes they're around $3 I think (and in some stupid unusable format). I'd always hated the idea of paying for a download of TV because over a season the cost added up to a sizable portion of the season DVD cost. I'd rather wait and buy something physical. But over the years I've mellowed. I'd happily pay $12 or so to watch a season over the time and not buy the DVD at the end of it. Happily. $12 well spent, not $12 down the toilet as I had always previously thought. Minds change.
Except even if iTunes Australia dropped their TV price to under their music price (never going to happy), they only sell TV that has played on Australian TV.
And, the industry seems to have fallen in love with streaming.
How much money in advertising does a TV channel make per person watching a TV show? I know it varies, tell me on average.