In part 1 of 2, The writer wants to know why FYE has stayed in business and why file sharing should stop? (Well besides the fact that it's illegal).
The other day I walked into the brand new FYE -- which stands for ‘For Your Entertainment’—near my home, which has opened in the space formerly occupied by Tower Records. Tower recently went out of business and so my interest was piqued by the idea that a large chain such as FYEcould remain in business while another fairly similar chain such as Tower couldn’t.
The only answer I could come to was hypothetical and that is that FYE, through strong management, has been able to hold a grasp on the dwindling market better than any other store ( but more on this in part 2).
The main thing this venture reinforced however was that online file sharing and musical theft is never going to subside, and the music industry isn’t helping. CDs were $20 a pop, easily. DVDs as equally overpriced, with the bargain section pricing out at something like $15. Now I know the music industry has taken a hit with music piracy running rampant and showing no signs of curtailing, but one would think that the ridiculous cost of concerts might help to make up the difference. Apparently not.
Basically, what this all tells, while on my digression away from why I think FYE can still remain in business, is that no college-aged student in their right mind with a working computer is going to go out and buy a CD when they can just get it online from a friend or a ‘legal’ file sharing website…
