What part of the authors argument puts money in Bon Jovi's pocket exactly? Particularly when they make the bulk of their money (or at least "made") from album sales? I'm assuming Bon Jovi is making the argument that iTunes has reduced (maybe greatly) their profitably from those album sales. By both reducing the money spent and commoditizing music in a lot of ways.
I get where Bon Jovi is coming from. I'm not saying he's right, but the feel good bits and bobs about carrying their music around and sharing it with your wife doesn't make Bon Jovi more profitable. They're far past the point of deriving a lot of value from word of mouth, they're looking to milk the cash cow. iTunes is apparently spoiling that party a bit.
I'm not saying I feel sorry for them in the slightest, but the authors argument likely wouldn't hold much weight with the band either.
I'm not sure that the bulk of Bon Jovi's money comes from record sales. His tours have brought in something like $500,000,000 in the last 6 years. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_Jovi)
Everything I've heard on the subject is that bands make more money touring than recording. I believe this is because even though the costs of touring are much greater, the record companies take the majority of the money from album sales.
Depending on the musician's contract, a lot of them make essentially nothing from online sales. That isn't the fault of the internet or the consumer, just bad contract decisions on their part.
I get where Bon Jovi is coming from. I'm not saying he's right, but the feel good bits and bobs about carrying their music around and sharing it with your wife doesn't make Bon Jovi more profitable. They're far past the point of deriving a lot of value from word of mouth, they're looking to milk the cash cow. iTunes is apparently spoiling that party a bit.
I'm not saying I feel sorry for them in the slightest, but the authors argument likely wouldn't hold much weight with the band either.