Paul Cantor reminds us that, only a few years ago, we were told that paying for actual music was over:

Beyonce has completely turned that logic upside down. With this release, she has bypassed the gatekeepers, done away with the traditional promotional cycle and appealed directly to her fans. And by making it a more comprehensive experience, she’s made the album itself— not a concert, not an HBO documentary that she shot on her Macbook— the priority.

She’s saying that in a world where nobody wants to pay for music anymore, she wants you to buy this. Beyonce`is $15.99 on iTunes.