# MP3s by the Album Sub Pop Online Store By Camster M | Published 2007-11-09 | Pop Culture Source: Trend Hunter, https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/mp3s-sub-pop-opens-online-store References: [gizmodo](http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/sweet/sub-pop-records-opens-corner-mp3-store-320670.php) & [crave.cnet](http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9813532-1.html) Sub Pop, the iconic indie music label that launched acts like Nirvana and the Shins, is now offering [MP3 downloads](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/songbits) from a rapidly expanding catalogue. But don't expect to buy music piecemeal. Not yet, anyway. You have to buy music by the album, which are priced at $9.90. That's cheaper than what albums cost on iTunes, plus they're on the 192kbps MP3 format, which means you can play them on any application or device. You also get the [album art](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/tuneshine) embedded in the MP3. I like that you need to [buy the whole album](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/bandlab-x-d4vd), and that's what makes the Sub Pop store so different. ## Trend Insights (Trend Hunter) - Score: 0.8/10 - Popularity: 13% | Activity: 2% | Freshness: 8% - Audience gender: 50% men, 50% women - Primary generations: Millennial, Gen X - Top markets: North America, Europe, Asia ## Categories [Trend Hunter](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends) > [Pop Culture](https://www.trendhunter.com/popculture) > [Internet](https://www.trendhunter.com/internet) ## Key Themes ### What's Driving This Trend - **Album-only Sales:** Sub Pop's album-only sales approach offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for other music labels and digital music stores to consider adopting. - **Direct-to-consumer Selling:** Sub Pop's direct-to-consumer selling approach offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for other music labels and artists to consider adopting, cutting out intermediaries like music retailers and streaming platforms. - **High-quality Mp3s:** Sub Pop's high-quality 192kbps MP3s offer a disruptive innovation opportunity for other digital music stores to consider upgrading their sound quality to better compete with the label's offerings. ### Who This Affects Most - **Music Retail:** Sub Pop's novel approach to album-only sales presents a disruptive innovation opportunity for other music retailers to consider implementing. - **Digital Music Stores:** Sub Pop's direct-to-consumer approach and high-quality MP3s offer a disruptive innovation opportunity for other digital music stores to improve their offerings and compete with the label's store. - **Music Label:** Sub Pop's move into direct-to-consumer selling and album-only sales approach offers a disruptive innovation opportunity for other music labels to consider diversifying their sales channels and exploring new ways to package and sell music. ## Related on Trend Hunter - [Artist-Led Music Streaming Stores](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/soundcloud-store.md) - [Music-Themed Fashion Apps](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/upstream.md) - [Nostalgic Music Piracy Merchandise](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/limewire-1.md) - [Music-Inspired Fashion Ventures](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/fashion-streaming-service.md) - [Music Download Solutions](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/suno-ai-download.md) - [90s-Inspired Grunge Band Tees](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/freaks-store-1.md) - [Music Service Concert Tickets](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spotify-tickets.md) - [Legacy Artist-Themed T-Shirts](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/gap-1.md) - [Personalized Streaming Merch Features](https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/spotify-merch-hub.md)