WTHeck, Steve Jobs?! Are you really going to do this to music lovers?

Ugh, family. Is Apple trying to sell us out? 

According to Financial Times, the Mac people are working with top record labels on project “Cocktail,” designed to raise the price of singles and lower the cost of albums on iTunes.

While digital sales exceed physical albums sales, it seems people opt to purchase singles online.

Which was the point, if I’m not mistaken. 

Buying one or two songs from an artist (for $0.99 a pop) was the perfect alternative to blowing $11.99 (or more) for an LP, and you only like three songs.

Cocktail aims to make bigger purchases more compelling by creating a new type of interactive album material, including photos, lyric sheets and liner notes. 

U.S. album sales fell 14 percent in 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 

I understand why this is a cause for concern for labels: Albums can’t go platinum if no one is buying. But aren’t weak album sales the direct result of weak albums?

Talk me down, family. I’m not particularly happy about this, considering I live by my iTunes/iPod and buy singles often. Where’s the bright side? Is there a bright side?