Should music be given away free?

[pion33r]

I reckon from a music collectors point of view it would be a good idea if labels provided MP3s free of charge with every vinyl purchase. At the moment I believe labels/online stores expect you to buy both at full price if you want both, forcing the decision to one or the other. I doubt many people can really afford to buy both.

Obviously some people probably rip vinyl to MP3 straight away, however I've always found this a bit of a chore and fiddly to get the best sound from the rip. On top of that some MP3s / WAVs are superior to the vinyl pressings from the start...

Additionally there would be the benefit of instant download access to your tunes, with the physical product delivered to your door in the next few days.

Its the best of both worlds solution!

Economically viable for the music labels themselves though I don't know