The NPD Report
This is fucking crazy. Doesn’t anybody at Reuters have any power of
ANALYSIS??
In case you missed it, the NPD Group, whoever the hell THAT is, now states
that the iTunes Music Store is the second most popular online music source. The
report states that 1.7 million U.S. households downloaded at least one song
in March. NPD says this ties it with Limewire, and puts it right behind WinMX,
which had 2.1 million households using it.
Let’s see. Assuming these statistics are true… Isn’t this like saying if
the same number of people visit a 7-11 as a supermarket, sales are equal, 7-11
is TAKING OVER THE WORLD??
If you’re familiar with 7-11, and if you live in the U.S. you must be, you
know the outlets stock limited inventory at EXORBITANT prices. You only go
there when you’re desperate, for convenience. Willing to overpay for one item,
knowing you won’t have to wait in a long line to check out. Hell, they don’t
even have SHOPPING CARTS at 7-11, that’s how little they expect you to buy.Â
Hell, they don’t even have those HANDHELD BASKETS!
People go to supermarkets to buy MULTIPLE ITEMS, to STOCK UP! They don’t log
on to Limewire to download a track or two, they take dozens, hundreds,
sometimes THOUSANDS!!! How many people log on to the iTMS and download dozens, hundreds, even THOUSANDS of tracks? HUH?? I’d bet almost NO ONE!! Because not only do you have to pay, it’s a bad deal. You’re paying the aliquot price of the CD for a track, and getting shitty sound, copy protection and no artwork.Â
This is the savior of the business? Are you KIDDING ME??
And what about the FREE downloads on the iTMS. How many of those 1.7 million
visitors just took the FREE track? Hell, I’ve NEVER purchased anything at
the iTMS, but I’ve downloaded a free Kathleen Edwards track.
This NPD report is the kind of irresponsible research that is flogged by the
RIAA and trumpeted in the media resulting in the public being given a
completely incorrect view of reality. Kind of like the President stating that CIA
research told him that Iraq had nukes. Oh, the "New York Times" blindly repeated
this, only checking itself AFTER we invaded Iraq and U.S. soldiers, never
mind many more Iraqis, died.
Face facts. P2P downloading DWARFS legal downloading. Sure, P2P is aided by
being FREE, but to only focus on that factor is to miss the issue. P2P is a
different paradigm of music acquisition. It’s about downloading MASS
QUANTITIES of music, for which the RIAA and publishers should extract a low price, one spread out over millions of now non-music buying citizens, such that these
entities make MORE money than they do now. Don’t get people to buy ONE track,
get them to buy TONS, charging them FAR MORE than ONE costs, making them think
they’re getting a deal. Which, THEY ARE! But, EVERYBODY IS BENEFITING, the
companies, the creators and the public.
The iTMS is a zit on the ass of online music. I don’t think it should be
eviscerated, but to see it as the savior of the business is to be so myopic and
ignorant as to make ANYBODY tech-savvy laugh hysterically.
As for Rhapsody, Yahoo! Unlimited and Napster…Â You can’t fight human
nature. TODAY people want to own. They might want to rent in the future, then
again, the sale of DVDs as opposed to the rental of VHS tapes doesn’t portend
that this will be the case. Furthermore, why did DVD blow up? Why does DVD now
eclipse THEATRICAL revenues? BECAUSE THEY’RE CHEAP!!!!
