It has become increasingly unprofitable to publish full-length music a

Question

It has become increasingly unprofitable to publish full-length music albums. The rapid growth of digital distribution and shifting consumer habits have made it more profitable for record companies to focus their efforts on promoting single songs. While consumers are willing to pay about $1 for a song, these days they seem unwilling to spend approximately $10 for a full-length album. The days of selling more than 10 million albums are over, and as a result record companies cannot afford to take creative risks and produce exciting new music.After decades of overpaying for music, customers now have the power to pay for only the music they want to hear. Recording artists used to be instructed by record companies to include several hits on an album and then fill out the rest of the album with "filler," which were songs that few consumers enjoyed. Now that consumers can pick and choose what songs to buy, recording artists have more incentive to give consumers what they want to hear. The result is more and more interesting, hit music for consumers to enjoy.

Apt0810 · Answer

Option C since per the recording industry executive Shifts in consumer habits have forced recording companies to reconsider their strategies for producing and marketing music so that these people don't have to produce the album's and rather can shift their focus to albums

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Sajjad1994 · Answer

Official Explanation

Beware of trap  answer B  here – while the executive does admit that producing albums, specifically, is not as profitable as it once was, he does not let on that the new model cannot be just as profitable. But  answer choice C  is much more readily inferable – because the album model is decreasingly profitable and effective, record companies have had to reconsider their strategies.  Answer choice C  must be true.

Correct answer: C

yashikaaggarwal · Answer

Will mgmat IR book will help out in covering the IR section? Or do we have another source to prepare IR from. Kindly revert. 
Thank You

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Sajjad1994 · Answer

Manhattan GMAT IR Book is good but truly speaking i didn't read it completely so i cannot be judgmental about it. One thing i would like to say is that your IR prep got almost 70-80% done when you have prepared your quant and verbal sections of the GMAT completely, So don't worry about the IR prep overall, You mostly (90%) have to use your same knowledge you have learnt during your quant and verbal section. IR is a mixture of quant and verbal but presented in a different form. What needs to be done is the application of knowledge in to different forms. So all in all you can pick it up and i hope i would be enough for an average GMAT aspirant, and prepare your IR sections once your mastered your quant and verbal section, it will be easy then.

Regards

NoeticImbecile · Answer

Sajjad1994  please explain RO1 S3, how both are agreeing on "If current trends continue, there will likely be fewer songs produced per recording artist than there were in the past."

anirchat · Answer

Any explanation for Q->2.

Why would they disagree on "The quality of music that would be produced if consumers continue to have the ability to choose which individual songs they wish to buy instead of having to buy entire albums." ?

I do not find any inferences from the Record Industry Executive regarding the same.
 Sajjad1994

miag · Answer

Can someone explain Q-1 and Q-2? Got them wrong but not 100% sure of the reasoning thank you!  Bunuel   Bismuth83   chetan2u

Agam9427 · Answer

Explanations:

Record Industry Executive: Unprofitable to publish albums because digital distribution and a shift in consumer habits have made the production of single songs profitable. Consumers are not willing to spend more for full albums. As a result, production of albums has declined, and thus artists cannot take creative risks by producing more songs and hence no exciting music.

Prominent Consumer Advocate: Customers now have power after decades of overpaying. Albums usually had several hits and other fillers (songs not enjoyed by many), record labels instructed artists for these fillers. Now artists have incentive to produce more of what consumers want to hear and hence less fillers and more interesting hit music.

These are two different POVs, and for each statement we evaluate, we have to try and evaluate through these two lenses and only then answer.

Question 1. Important: the question mentions "likely agree" hence, we can make inferences

Consumers are unwilling to pay for songs on albums that are perceived to be "filler" .

POV1: RIE knows that consumer habits have changed and that consumers are not ready to pay for the entire album. Hence, RIE will agree that consumers are unwilling to pay for songs that are  perceived to be filler  ( note that according to RIE these songs boost creativity but he agrees that consumers are unwilling to pay for some of these songs  that they think are fillers ) 
 POV2 : Consumer Advocate obviously agrees.

BOTH AGREE  
 
  One of the effects of the proliferation of digital distribution is that recording artists are not as willing to take risks in creating new, interesting music.

POV1: RIE agrees as explained above. 
 POV2: PCA believes that artists have always been instructed to put these fillers in place and that artists did not show creativity through these fillers. Interesting music is even now made because fillers have been removed, as the last line suggests, "  The result is more and more interesting, hit music for consumers to enjoy  ".

OTHERWISE

If current trends continue, there will likely be fewer songs produced per recording artist than there were in the past.

POV1: Consumers are now not so okay with this creative experimentation and want single songs, and hence fewer people buy full albums with fillers, and hence artists have to drop these fillers, leading to less production of songs. Agrees (I' v e mentioned fillers here to refer to songs that consumers perceive as fillers) 
 POV2: Consumers obviously agree. they don't want fillers.

BOTH AGREE

Question 2:

The quality of music that would be produced if consumers continue to have the ability to choose which individual songs they wish to buy instead of having to buy entire albums.

POV1: RIE believes quality will not increase as artists are now not allowed to be creative and produce new and interesting music 
 POV2: Consumers believe the quality is bound to rise as fillers have now been dropped.

DISAGREE

The profitability of producing single songs versus entire albums.

POV1: The profitability of producing single songs has increased according to RIE. 
 POV2: They don't care about this. We can't infer as there is no information available on their opinion about the profitability of producing single songs.

CANNOT INFER

The degree of success that independent recording artists will have in promoting their own music given the availability of digital distribution.

POV1: Passage does not mention anything. Can't infer!

CANNOT INFER

Question 3:

As recording companies shift their focus to producing individual songs, this will likely result in songs of higher quality being produced.   
We have been arguing for the opposite. Eliminate!

Record companies will not be as profitable focusing on producing individual songs instead of full albums   
 We have been arguing for the opposite. Eliminate!

Shifts in consumer habits have forced recording companies to reconsider their strategies for producing and marketing music.   
 RIE do believe that the reason for this change is shift in consumer habits. Keep!

Consumers who purchased albums in the past have typically overpaid for their music.   
 Consumer Advocate does hold this opinion but RIE does not. Eliminate!

Recording artists would rather record individual songs instead of whole albums.   
 For profitability, yes, but the option doesn't mention profitability. Recording artist, if not for profitability, according to the passage, prefer albums as it allows them to be more crrative and produce new interesting music.

Peace <3
Agam

Agam9427 · Answer