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Given that so much effort is being put into not changing the way business is done, I wonder how much pressure retailers are putting on music companies to keep their product in stores. With Sony, retailers can actually do that easily, no media players without media to sell with them. Keeping the retailers that sell Sony's media players, etc., in business is a win-win for them too. Too expensive, of course, but they get away with it with SACD, etc, so why not here? I work for a company (think coffee) that sold a similar product, and it has failed miserably. You may be in shock but these companies are nothing if not stubborn and are hoping that something similar to the old way of doing business will click with the public. The old way of doing business also applies to the board room, and in Japan where tradition and respect for what has been runs deep, we may find some of the reasons for your surprise.