Compact Disc format is 25 years old, and possibly soon to retire. I just wonder, what will this mean for music packaging? The lo-res cover jpg that comes in the iTunes store just isn't enough. I hope there will always be a demand for haptic packaging, but how about a means of web-packaging too? Buy the album on iTunes, and you get access to a website that is filled with artwork, interactive, notes, lyrics, possibly videos, extra downloads, etc.

The closest, albeit half-hearted, attempt I've seen to do this was Beck's The Information that released on iTunes with a Flash "interactive booklet". The extent of its interaction was a couple of links to song lyrics. It tried too hard to behave like a printed booklet. The actual printed booklet that came with the CD was more interactive than the digital one, which was pages of empty grid that came with stickers, inviting listeners to make their own album cover.