I don’t know how common this scenario is, but viewed through the prism of Weird Al Yankovic (a scary thought in its own right), record companies are shafting artists with the digital-download model. Read this for the gory details.

To his fans, Weird Al writes:

I am extremely grateful for your support, no matter which format you choose to legally obtain my music in, so you should do whatever makes the most sense for you personally. But since you ASKED… I actually do get significantly more money from CD sales, as opposed to downloads. This is the one thing about my renegotiated record contract that never made much sense to me. It costs the label NOTHING for somebody to download an album (no manufacturing costs, shipping, or really any overhead of any kind) and yet the artist (me) winds up making less from it. Go figure.

Ultimately, one wonders how a music-biz vet like Weird Al could sign a contract that so royally screws him.

Thanks to Nipper for the tip.