90% of the price is a CD isn't distribution and packaging - an album CD in HMV at £8 costs the same to distribute and package as a CD single for sale at HMV for

90% of the price is a CD isn't distribution and packaging - an album CD in HMV at £8 costs the same to distribute and package as a CD single for sale at HMV for £2. The vast majority of cost of producing and selling a hit album is marketing, and that cost hasn't changed significantly for the labels, at least not yet. It's quite possible that the economics of 10 cents per track might work out, but it'll be without the major labels marketing teams. Whether that should bother anyone, that's the real question.