Spending that $300 on new and upcoming bands is not the only other option though. If iTunes etc weren't around and one was only presented with the album at the front of the music store, personally I'd be spending the $300 on beer long before buying Bieber's latest.
The biggest problem facing that new and upcoming band is not that I will spend money on old bands instead. It's that I've never heard of them so don't know if they're any good and will spend my money on something other than music. iTunes (+Amazon, Rhapsody etc) does more to solve that than anything else Bon Jovi or the rest of the music industry have done.
The biggest problem facing that new and upcoming band is not that I will spend money on old bands instead. It's that I've never heard of them so don't know if they're any good and will spend my money on something other than music. iTunes (+Amazon, Rhapsody etc) does more to solve that than anything else Bon Jovi or the rest of the music industry have done.