I cogitated on the Apple Music Store all afternoon, racking my brain for the name of a band, any band, where it would make financial sense for me to pay 99 cents for digital files of their songs. The group had to fit two criteria;

1. Their price of their compact discs had to cost more on average than 99 cents a track, even on the used market, and
2. They had to be somewhat difficult to find on the pirate services, for they were easy to find, why would one pay for them?

I finally came up with one, the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra. You've likely never heard of them, though they do a kick-ass version of the Sesame Street song. I am regularly outbid for their discs at auction, and the cost per track average at Amazon is well over two dollars per, even before shipping. A Kazaa search for them turns up exactly four songs that meet my desired quality level of 160 kbps, all of which I already own.

So, having actually found a band for whom I was willing to shell out a buck a tune for, I downloaded and installed the ITunes music update on my Ibook, clicked on store, searched for Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, and got........."no music matches your search". Bloody Apple, bloody music labels. Since I was already there, I searched on a few other bands.

No Toasters.
No XTC.
One Zombies song.

They did have the Osmonds, though, in case I was suddenly seized with a need to be even more retroactively whitebread than I already am. Can't swing a dead cat in the music business without hitting an Osmond, it seems.

So, I didn't buy anything. I did submit a request for TSPO to be added, so there is that slim reed of hope. I shan't be holding my breath, though.