Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Scale Of Enjoyment

I've long suspected that the pricing of books and music backwards.

Most books are only read once, yet are often priced north of $15, $25 for a hard cover. Books are a great value when you divide the cost by the hours of entertainment that book provides, but the initial cost can be steep.

Music, however, strikes me as absurdly cheap, even at $12-$15 for a full CD. If that CD turns into a favorite, you will play it dozens of times over its life. I have a few recordings that I am sure I have listened to over one hundred times. My marginal cost per listen is somewhere around ten cents.

If anything, the pricing should be reversed: cheap books, expensive music.

No comments: