I am a music fan. There was a time not too long ago that I was buying 2–3 albums (digital downloads) a week. Before that it was CD and cassettes. Over the last couple of years my buying habits have tapered off a little. A song here and there but nothing crazy. It has nothing to do with money - it has to do more with being uninspired by the music that is being put out. Lackluster, unoriginal, uninspiring are words that come to mind to me.
I still look at iTunes on Tuesdays to see what if there is any new music that might be interesting in some way. Admittedly I have an eclectic listening list so I hope I can find something. Last night while browsing I noticed a pre-order options for the new John Mayer album. His music varies in tone and popularity but I have always respected him as a guitar player.
The one thing that was different that I have never seen before was the ability to stream the album in whole before purchasing. You could always listen to the preview tracks of an album but there were always the .30 second to 1:30 minute samples depending on the length of the song. Click on the stream now allows you to listen to the album in entirety. Perphaps this has been there before and I never saw it. My other thought is this could be a small response to applications like NPR music which do something similar. Its availble for streaming for a linited time so if youa re interested check it out.