bapu
I wouldn't pay $7.99 for my own music.

Most people would pay a lot more than $7.99 to avoid listening to mine.  

It's not just music, it seems the complaints about "too expensive" turn up anywhere something is downloadable.

For example, I know a small software company that make niche-genre games. People will happily pay £24 for the PC downloadable version, but the port to iPad, which contains everything the PC package does (including multi-player and the same AI as the PC version in single-player) which sells at around £8 or £9 attracts the complaints of "too expensive, ipad apps are cheap and throwaway and should only cost a couple of pounds at most".

There have always been complaints in the UK about CD prices as well. While there is some justification in that UK prices, ignoring taxes, worked out higher than US and even other European prices. As did (and do) a lot of things. Which is pne reason why we were known as "treasure island" by certain far-eastern companies. But the complaints mostly consisted of "a CD costs 50pence, how come I pay £15 for an audio CD? It's a rip-off, should be a couple of quid".

That the audio CD is well-packaged, professionally made and recorded, royalties-paying and any given artist can only produce so much work so needs a decent return on what they do all being ignored. No different to assuming the price of a gig ticket, including even the VAT, goes entirely into the artist's already over-full personal bank account when complaining about paying £20 to see a band.

My personal gripe for many years was the price of Fender, Gibson and Martin instruments and amps in the UK compared to the US. And that Fender US customers got a case included while UK customers were expected to pay another £40-£100 for the same case. To be fair, it seems the import agents of the time (and some retailers) were responsible for some of that, but it wasn't half annoying.

batsbrew

Rain
 I love albums. Not those overly self-indulgent 90 minutes contemporary records, but albums in the classic sense. I like to sit back with a record sleeve or a cd booklet in my hands and read lyrics and notes and credits. Or just listen. And form some kind of bond with the music, make the record a part of my life.
 

that describes exactly the kind of product i've been working at putting out,
now for almost 10 years.
 
i have 3 full albums out now,
that more or less fall into the category that rain defines...
 
and yet it seems the great majority of folk just don't realize what it takes to create these things...
that it's not 'junk art', or 'the flavor of the week', but something that is meant to go 'further'...
 
but folks stole music via Napster for so long,
and it ends up with a situation like mine.....
 
where i get paid from spotify, google, rumblefish, iTunes,  every so often,
and the amount is some fraction of a cent that i cannot even relate to.
 
$0.00082062
 
what is that?
 
LOL
 
i am wrapping up the re-release of my first album, "Trouble", right now...
and i'm on the fence with whether or not to even offer cd's for sale,
or just do a 'digital' download version of it,
because it's not fun ordering a box of cd's and just sitting on it.
 
 
 

 
I was a bit of a classical guitar snob because I got so good.  What I learned was that the audiences need to be educated about the music itself.  In other words you have to EXPLAIN the music in order for them to appreciate it and value it.  There were a lot of poseurs everywhere, people who wouldn't even get past the first stage of a competition, trying to convince audiences that they're great players.  The audiences didn't even know the difference!  (mostly a problem on the west coast).
 
The other thing I've noticed about audiences recently (and this is born out by the raise in ticket sales) is that their value propositions are EXPERIENCES.  So to sell records it needs to be explained to them why you're worth listening to viz an experience.

eph221
In other words you have to EXPLAIN the music in order for them to appreciate it and value it.  

Pedro has been trying to do that for years here.
 
I'm still not sure what he's on about.

People will always whine that everything they want is too expensive. I've studied this for a bit and I think I understand it now.
 
Teeming Masses: "We want that thing that you have."
Artist: "Great! You can buy it for $7.99."
Disgruntled Horde: "But, if we give you our money, we'll have less and that will hurt our Feewings."
Artist: "Uh, it's only $7.99. It took me three years to create it."
Belligerent Crowd: "Who cares about you? You want to take our money. You're bad. You don't care about our Feewings."
Artist: "What?"
Angry Mob: "Give it us! We wants it! We needs it! Give us our Precious!"
Artist: "That escalated quickly."

UbiquitousBubba
People will always whine that everything they want is too expensive. I've studied this for a bit and I think I understand it now.
 
Teeming Masses: "We want that thing that you have."
Artist: "Great! You can buy it for $7.99."
Disgruntled Horde: "But, if we give you our money, we'll have less and that will hurt our Feewings."
Artist: "Uh, it's only $7.99. It took me three years to create it."
Belligerent Crowd: "Who cares about you? You want to take our money. You're bad. You don't care about our Feewings."
Artist: "What?"
Angry Mob: "Give it us! We wants it! We needs it! Give us our Precious!"
Artist: "That escalated quickly."

UbiquitousBubba
People will always whine that everything they want is too expensive. I've studied this for a bit and I think I understand it now.
 
Teeming Masses: "We want that thing that you have."
Artist: "Great! You can buy it for $7.99."
Disgruntled Horde: "But, if we give you our money, we'll have less and that will hurt our Feewings."
Artist: "Uh, it's only $7.99. It took me three years to create it."
Belligerent Crowd: "Who cares about you? You want to take our money. You're bad. You don't care about our Feewings."
Artist: "What?"
Angry Mob: "Give it us! We wants it! We needs it! Give us our Precious!"
Artist: "That escalated quickly."

Wow, what a thoughtless artist!  He should give the horde $7.99 along with his music.  I think a mass protest to government officials should bring about this change, ya?

Glyn Barnes

bapu
I wouldn't pay $7.99 for my own music.

Most people would pay a lot more than $7.99 to avoid listening to mine.  

So, the Coffee House is now the old ladies tearing up because ... because ... 
 
... really ... 
 
... let me get my hanky and join you guys! ... 
 
I would buy mine, btw!
 
AND, I've said it many times ... I would buy the CHB stuff in a minute if it showed up on CD. I think it is a lot better than some crap out there, and funnier!

it's not too expensive, but people prefer to pay once and use forever