Jay-Z, U2 and the live experience

When music makes money, it really makes money....Jay-Z, Gangster inspired business mogul has managed to secure a ten year deal with Live nation for $150 million. Now some would see this as quite excessive. I personally think that this is a very shrewd piece of business by the live nation crew. It doesn't take a brain surgeon to work out that an album sell for approx £9 on a good day and a ticket to a live show...well it has a value only the buyer can determine(just check out Ebay). The logic is simple - In a digital, networked economy people place a very low value on anything that can be copied. Albums can be downloaded for free and those numbers that do sell are seeing their album sales decline. The live side of the music business is a different story. As previously discussed "Reality is the new experience" and the live experience is one in which the band can sell an awful lot of merchandise and offer the fan a completely unique experience, not just musically but outside of mediocrity. So it seems the technology that spawned MTV and enabled bands to Virtually tour continuously anywhere at any time and sell millions of records has performed a 360 and now reduces the value of an album to zero. This Zero value for the actual product has led bands to now seek revenue from actually toruing and  playing shows. You can't copy the experience of a live show, hence its perceived value is higher. Being in a band myself, this non-stop touring lifestyle can seem intimidating and exciting. I gather from some of the recent articles about EMI, that they are looking to start tpuring their acts intensively. I am still intrigues to see what this will bring..Will the music get better? Will bands last longer? Will we see touring festivals? This deal, along with the U2 $100 million, will make the musicians rich and if technology doesn't change rapidly.....could make the companies wealthier...Only time will tell and one thing is for sure if it doesn't work out....Jay-Z will have the cash to sue.  Enjoy the Jay-Z classic.