now I'm buying music the same way

I personally prefer it that way. The record companies for years have been “extracting” value out of music buyers. It is though bundling and tying arrangements that they have created this market for themselves. I hate this for the same reason that I am so irritated that I can’t just pay for the cable TV that I watch. I only want Cnn/FN, CNBC, the discovery channel, and local channels, but yet if I really want those channels, (and I must not want them too bad because I am not paying for expanded cable TV) I have to pay for all the crap in the world that I don’t want.

Now to play devils advocate:
Occasionally I have purchased a CD for one or two songs (not a habit of mine by any stretch of the imagination) that I have enjoyed, but loved one song in particular that would have never gotten air play. Case in point: Fiona Apple – When the Pawn. I bought the album for the song Paper Bag, but I fell in love with just about every other song on that album. In fact it is one of the few albums that have defined a point in my life (Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon being another).

I'm not really trying to make a point here, but merely considering two sides out loud. I detest what the music industry has become, but they have added value to my existence.