I fail to see how DRM-interoperability solves the major labels’ problems.<\/p>\n
So, open up the DRM and you can listen to tracks purchased at the iTunes Music Store on competitive hand-helds.\u00c2\u00a0 This could erode iPod dominance.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, maybe not.\u00c2\u00a0 Is that really what’s selling the iPod, iTMS compatibility?\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, it might make someone think twice about buying a Creative or SanDisk product, but you’re STILL confronted with a design-challenged item, which doesn’t work with iTunes.\u00c2\u00a0 Meaning transferring tracks is no longer seamless, no matter where you buy them.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, Fairplay incentivizes one to buy an iPod, but the main reason people buy iPods is they’re the BEST.\u00c2\u00a0 The best designed, the easiest to use, the most problem free (in terms of transferability and usability, not LONGEVITY!)\u00c2\u00a0 Most people fill their iPods and Samsungs and Sonys with product stolen or ripped from CD, the fact that iTunes-purchased tracks aren’t compatible with non-Apple products is barely relevant.<\/p>\n
But let’s say the playing field is leveled.\u00c2\u00a0 That Apple is forced to open up Fairplay (assuming they don’t pull out of France).\u00c2\u00a0 You don’t have a label field day, nothing close, because of wholesale PRICE!<\/p>\n
The labels are pissed that they can’t raise the price at the iTMS.\u00c2\u00a0 Thinking that Apple is being hard-headed, and if they could just charge as much for a track as Verizon charges for a ringtone, they’d be in economic heaven.\u00c2\u00a0 Only one thing, full tracks are to ringtones as apples are to oranges.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is something YOU listen to.\u00c2\u00a0 Ringtones are something OTHER PEOPLE LISTEN TO!\u00c2\u00a0 They’re badges of identity.\u00c2\u00a0 You only buy a couple.\u00c2\u00a0 To show others where you’re at.\u00c2\u00a0 Whereas a music library should be composed of MANY tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 THOUSANDS if the price was cheap enough.\u00c2\u00a0 And, actually, it already is.\u00c2\u00a0 Music is free.\u00c2\u00a0 So, to increase revenue, one must LOWER the price, getting closer to FREE, not RAISE IT!<\/p>\n
Then there’s the feeling that Apple needs competition.<\/p>\n
If Napster is changing its strategy, depending on advertising, if no one can compete with the Cupertino behemoth, is it REALLY about DRM?<\/p>\n
But even if it is, is the pot going to increase?\u00c2\u00a0 Or is the wealth just going to be spread amongst many companies, instead of just Apple?\u00c2\u00a0 Hurting Apple a tiny bit.\u00c2\u00a0 Since really, the money is in iPods.\u00c2\u00a0 And so far, none of its competitors sell hardware (except for Sony, whose Connect and players are a TOTAL joke).\u00c2\u00a0 To stay in business, you need to MAKE money.\u00c2\u00a0 How in the hell are Apple’s competitors gonna make money at close to seventy cents wholesale?\u00c2\u00a0 Oh, if they RAISE the price (assuming the labels don’t raise THEIRS concomitantly) they end up with a larger margin.\u00c2\u00a0 But Apple doesn’t have to do this, making money off of iPods, and devastates them.<\/p>\n
Usually competition drives down prices.\u00c2\u00a0 But with wholesale close to seventy cents and retail ninety nine cents, and infrastructure costs in between, there’s no room to lower the price and still make money.\u00c2\u00a0 So, maybe music ends up a loss leader, for big sites like Yahoo and Google, just like it is in the physical world with Best Buy and Circuit City.\u00c2\u00a0 I ask you, how well has this worked out for the labels?\u00c2\u00a0 A product the retailer doesn’t respect, that he GIVES away.\u00c2\u00a0 Doing so much volume that HE dictates the wholesale price.\u00c2\u00a0 God, makes Apple look GOOD!\u00c2\u00a0 Like the labels’ best friend.<\/p>\n
The labels’ problem will only be solved when prices go down and DRM evaporates.\u00c2\u00a0 When free isn’t worth it.\u00c2\u00a0 Or when free is monetized, a la licensed P2P.\u00c2\u00a0 The labels want to keep throttling their business, squeezing their partners and raising the price on fewer and fewer sold tracks.\u00c2\u00a0 It’s INSANE business policy.<\/p>\n
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I fail to see how DRM-interoperability solves the major labels’ problems. So, open up the DRM and you can listen to tracks purchased at the iTunes Music Store on competitive hand-helds.\u00c2\u00a0 This could erode iPod dominance.\u00c2\u00a0 Then again, maybe not.\u00c2\u00a0 Is that really what’s selling the iPod, iTMS compatibility?\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, it might make someone think […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[4,2,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apple","category-music-business","category-online"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-60","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}