1. Why are SoundScan’s annual summaries of recorded music sales deceptive?
2. Explain the “lie factor” involved in the deception. What is the number of the “lie factor”, and why does it have that number?
3. The RIAA claims that the prices used in its annual summaries are retail values. Is this right? Discuss.
4. Give some reasons why the Billboard 200 Album Chart is becoming outdated.
5. What did Geoff Mayfield, the ex-Director of Charts at Billboard, suggest might be done to better measure success of artists?
6. Discuss the evolution of a record through the charts in the past, and contrast it with the current situation.
7. What are the two sources that track Live Music sales in the US? How are those sales computed?
8. What is the problem with the current computations of income from live music? What needs to be included to give a better perspective to this source of musicians’ income?
9. Is measuring the value of live music from a musicians’ perspective valid? Why or why not?
10. By how much do the estimates change when you add weddings to the current computations of income from live music?