Online piracy is no secret. It's something that has changed the industry forever, but is it because music is too expensive?

Currently album prices have a high price range, some going for £5.99 and some going to £12.99. Singles seem to range from 59p - £1.99 - are these fair?

I have no issue paying £10 for an album that will last me a long time. Singles I'm not entirely made up on: I have no problem paying current prices for them but also can't help but feel that I'd get a better deal buying the album in case there are hidden gems too that later go on to be released.

I think prices for old music seem to be a little high though: singles that are years old shouldn't be the same price as fresh, new music. An example of this is on iTunes where singles that were released 13 years ago being £1.98 - the same song from a compilation album is 99p.

What are your thoughts on the pricing of albums and singles?

One reason to get Spotify.

I no longer buy music. I pay £9.99 a month to stream it.

I have over 1000 cds and they were taking up too much space.

Streaming is the new millenium.

I don't buy singles but I do buy a lot of albums from the Amazon MP3 store and find them very reasonably priced. In my opinion, there is no excuse for pirating music as it is so available from many sources. For downloading you have services like Itunes, Amazon MP3 and now Google Play. For streaming you have services like Spotify, Last FM, and Grooveshark. They are all reasonably priced.

If you do want free music there is always Jamendo which has a lot of music by talented independent musicians on creative commons license.

We are spoiled for choice when it comes to legal, reasonably priced sources of music.

I don't think so at all, but there's several ways of looking at it. Look at it from a paid by the hour perspective and yes, the musicians get paid too much for what inevitably takes them about 2 weeks full time to do. But look at it from a 'how much enjoyment do you get out of it' perspective and it could be argued some songs are so much more valuable. I paid £3.99 for the album which became my favourite album ever, if I had to go back now, knowing what I know, and got told it was now £200, I'd still happily pay that for the good times it's brought to my life.

i really cannot get used to Spotify. I much prefer buying the odd song from iTunes for 59p/79p/99p depending on what songs i'm really loving. If there are albums i am desperate for, i pre-order them of Play.com mostly and they always come early/on time. For albums that i want but not so desperate for, i wait until they are cheaper, and nowadays you only have to wait 2-3 months at the most for albums to be on offer from HMV/Amazon etc. I love having albums on CD and then putting these on my laptop to then transfer to my iPods - i find it the best way in helping the music industry as i love my music <3

However, saying all of this, i do believe single songs should and could be cheaper, but as long as you look in the right places and have patience, you can get really good deals from online stores or HMV

Agreed.

If you think music is too expensive then you are either a spoiled brat; or more likely you were not around in the 1980s and 1990s when music cost a hell of a lot more in real terms (This month's Word magazine pointed out the average cost in real terms (taking into account for inflation) of a chart single (7 inch vinyl v iTunes download) and chart album (single vinyl album v CD album) was 2.4 times more expensive in 1982 than it is in 2012).

I only buy music from the artists i really like, buying all my cd's is unaffordable!!

Music isn't too expensive if you know where to look for it.

Amazon often have great deals on their mp3 singles and albums. Play.com and HMV online also often have good deals on physical copies of CDs.

I only buy what I really like - the odd single (79-99p off Amazon) - and then listen to anything else I fancy on the free version of Spotify.

Not at all.

No sounds horrible to me, I love to own my favourite music, streaming is so throwaway, not for me that so I hope it is not the new millennium.

Same here. I love to stick my music on my iPod and take it with me. I do enjoy Last FM though as I use it to discover new music.

My thoughts exactly.

I very, very rarely download as I like to physically buy my music. Amazon are my first stop to download as they have a lot of great albums for £2.99 while iTunes have the same albums for £7.99 or more.

CDBaby.com is another site I sometimes use - you can get some great albums on there from independent acts. I've also found out about some great artists on Jamendo.

The single prices are too high. Who really wants 5 remixes of one song for 2 quid? I prefer to buy the Now! albums as they have everything on them.

Album prices are fair but with singers re-releasing and having a new album out every 6 months, it's like throwing away money. It's better to wait a while for the price to drop. Amazon usually has great deals on new albums.

If it's good music, and you're an unnappreciative bitch, then yeah.

I think £9.99 is the right price for a new, ten single plus album. Considering it'll last long term, the price isn't too low or too high.

I'll never buy a song from iTunes or anything similar as I don't think you can beat that feeling of walking into a record shop/supermarket and finding the album you want to buy. I just hope CDs will still be available in a decade's time.

This. I generally check anything out via Soundcloud or, do the unmentionable...

If I like what I hear on the 'unmentionable'. I like to have it physically, so I buy a cd via amazon. If its not available on that or mp3, then I try via vinyl. If that doesnt work, I keep the 'unmentionable', 'cos it aint been rereleased for an age or is too below the radar for the general public to warrant a re-release - I dont feel guilty. If its got to that stage -IM PRESERVING IT!

i spent £50 on 8 albums from HMV today, took advantage of their current 2 for £10 offer. only one of those was released in 2012 though, i love older music but i just prefer to have the physical cds and i never really get around to buying those so i bought 8 that ive wanted for ages today

£5.99 is definitely not expensive at all. In fact, it's very reasonable as far as I'm concerned.

yep, its more than reasonable really.

Music has never been cheaper, had to pay a minimum of £11.99 a CD 20 years ago, if it wasn't in the chart Our Price could take you for up to £16+ for one. Then supermarkets started selling CDs and £9.99 became fashionable.

Now even new releases can be had for six odd quid.

Excuse me? What do you mean by that first statement I highlighted?
How long do you think piracy has been around?

I do agree with the rest of your post in some respects though.
The actual prices for individual albums probably isn't that expensive, but the more the years roll on the more expensive it will be because the back catalogue gets bigger and bigger.

Nobody could possibly afford to purchase the sheer enormity of music out there from down the years that they like.
The internet has even allowed young people to be aware of musical classics that they would have probably never have heard of if they only had access to traditional mainstream sources. So that's even more music that they'd like to have.
The more music you stumble upon the more music there is that's new to you which you'd like.

I always used to love to buy music when it came with a record cover for vinyl or a CD case with cover-art and sleeve notes. It felt like I actually owned a piece of art.
I think digital downloads have kind of undervalued that aspect to some extent.

I also hate the idea that you're literally relying on somebody else to play the music for you.
They could go out of business, they may go offline. At the back of your mind you always feel that you haven't actually got anything other than somebody else's permission to listen to a song that they will play for you,..as long as they're there.

Sort of.

It used to be the case when you bought the physical product and could hold it in our hands, you actually had it. You'd been waiting for this album to come out for ages and now you'd bought it, you could hold it in your hands, look at the artwork, read the sleeve notes. You'd know that you could own this for the rest of your life and play it whenever you wanted without a 3rd party having to be involved when you listen to it.

Music is far cheaper now.
I remember in 1994 buying the Beatles White Album on CD from Woolworths (RIP) and paying £35 for it.
Now you can pick up the 2009 remastered version for about £15.
Albums on average used to be at least £12 a shot now it's a tenner for new releases and a lot less online or for back catalogue stuff.
This is how I am now buying more music than I ever have done in the past.

Agree with the above comment, wake up folks music is much much cheaper than it has ever been, funnily enough I just bought All Things Must Pass on CD for £5.99 a triple album, I think I paid more than that in the 70's when it came out on Vinyl.

I bought that for a mates Christmas present last year for that price.
It made me slightly ill that it was a quarter the price I'd paid 16 years before and all nicely remastered.
Grr. Stupid deflation!