(From HypeBot.com) Volumes have been written on the troubles facing the music business: illegal downloading is decimating sales, broadcast radio's dominance as a promotional tool has bee diminished by new media, music creation, distribution and discovery is now in the hands of the many rather than the chosen fe w. All are causing seismic shifts in the music business.

The problem with this doom and gloom is that they are talking about the record business and not the music business.

New professional discussion group, called Merchandise and Digital Music Connection, moderated by Tunipop Founder Andy Young, has been formed on LinkedIn.

Summary: Merchandise aka "fan gear" has obvious potential to drive new music related revenues. This group is for those who are interested in rationalizing the intersection of non-recorded merchandise and the evolving digital music 2.0 marketplace.

Click here to join the group/LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/1115857

In the next few days, Hot Topic, a brick and mortar retailer with a chain of stores that sells music inspired clothing and accessories will to be the latest entrant into digital music sales with a new online store called ShockHound. (www.shockhound.com) While existing digital music retailers, fans sites, and media outlets have presumably been eyeballing the margins in merchandise sales for some time, it would appear that HotTopic has been looking towards music download sales as a way to drive new business.

(Digital Music News) Does selling music still matter? Payouts on downloads are paltry for most artists, and the broader format appears to be hitting a plateau. Meanwhile, CDs are continuing to plummet. That raises the question of whether artists are smarter to give away their recordings, and focus on more lucrative areas of the value chain. Instead of charging 99-cents for an MP3, why not charge $9 for a t-shirt, and $29 for a concert ticket from a stronger flow of fans?