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In 1999, the recorded music industry was swimming, drowning in money. CDs had been on an upward trajectory for more than 15 years, reaching sales of 2.4 billion globally and one billion units in the U.S. alone in 2000. Despite the massive scale of the CD industry and plants running flat out around the world, the promised decline in prices never came. In fact, the industry was caught in a price-fixing scheme that inflated the cost of CDs between 1995 and 2000 with a marketing plan called “minimum advertised pricing.” It’s estimated customers were overcharged US$500 million and up to US$5 per album. (The case was settled with a fine and a promise to give US$75 million to public and non-profit groups.)At the same time, labels moved to eliminate the more affordable CD single. “Want just that o...

Therapeutic is how Saqib Saleem describes his maiden collaboration with filmmaker Sudhir Mishra, on his latest series, Crime Beat. The actor, who plays a rookie crime journalist in the Zee5 show, says while he was intimidated by the maverick initially, he was in awe of Mishra’s spirited nature by the end of the shoot. “Once you get to know him, you realise he is younger than you at heart. He has a great sense of humour and is an ideal director for actors because he empowers them. It was a therapeutic experience working with him. I feel I have come out as a better artiste. He was always trying to figure out how to best express his thoughts and story. That was inspiring. After so many years, only if you still have that desire and zeal, can your work stand out,” he says.  Nurturing collabora...