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Sound marketing principles from an unlikely source, the Grateful Dead rock group. Jerry Garcia and his fellow musicians emerged from the non-materialistic counterculture of the 1960's to create an exceptionally strong and lucrative brand name that has stood the test of time, and even Mr. Garcia's death in 1995. The basis of the Grateful Dead brand was the group's sustained personal relationship with its customers, derived from an unusual dedication to playing its distinctive and improvisational music at live performances.

The world of digital music is a mess. The renegade startups that pioneered the industry have failed to offer viable, mass-market services. And in their place the record labels have done no better. The labels are, of course, terrified of piracy, while performers and composers fret that they're not being compensated adequately by the labels for music that's digitally delivered. And consumers still aren't getting what they want. Forbes.com reports on a tremendous market opportunity that has thus far been missed entirely.