Instant Music Stores?

I awlays wanted my own music store. Where do I sign up?

If Apple doesn't make any/much money on iTMS I don't see how Microsoft can. Loudeye would cut profit margins even more.

Wow, you too can open your own online music store. Just list a whole buncha links into iTunes music store.

Of course, you won't get squat in revenue from it, but either are the big players.

Plus, you better hurry before your corner Texaco convenience store beats you into the market. Rumor has it that they are opening an online music store too.

Hurry, don't be the last one on the planet without your very own music store!

this sounds dangerous. Giving more companies the tools to create their own online music stores... using wma files.

But I'm not too concerned because I believe itms is going to blast after the pepsi and maccas promotions. And if worst comes to worst, I'm sure apple could teach the ipod to play wma files. I seem to recall steve saying they were considering all available options, but just didn't see the point right now of allowing other music store downloads to go on the ipod.

edit: are there any articles on wma vs aac vs mp3 for sound quality? I encoded some stuff on the pc at work on wma on the best setting and it was horrible. I had to assume I had an old program or wrong settings.

Originally posted by punter
this sounds dangerous. Giving more companies the tools to create their own online music stores... using wma files.

But I'm not too concerned because I believe itms is going to blast after the pepsi and maccas promotions. And if worst comes to worst, I'm sure apple could teach the ipod to play wma files. I seem to recall steve saying they were considering all available options, but just didn't see the point right now of allowing other music store downloads to go on the ipod.

edit: are there any articles on wma vs aac vs mp3 for sound quality? I encoded some stuff on the pc at work on wma on the best setting and it was horrible. I had to assume I had an old program or wrong settings.

There are going to be some big failures towards the end of this year as companies record big losses from down loading music

As they said at the end of the .com boom - "what's the business model?"

Its pets.com all over again!

Lots of me-too stores sprout up now, each trying to flog off some custom hardware/software to justify the loss-leading song downloads, but three years from now there will only be a handful of major stores and lots of kids closets full of cheap no-name mp3 players with no music to download.



:rolleyes:

In the end only a very few will survive. And Apple will be one of them. I am sure.

Because there business model is based on selling hardware - iPods. Thats where the profit comes from. Not from the store.

Originally posted by whfsdude
If Apple doesn't make any/much money on iTMS I don't see how Microsoft can. Loudeye would cut profit margins even more.

Where does it say that Microsoft needs to make a profit? Like any monopolist, Microsoft can lose money on their media store indefinitely (see "extracting rents"). Microsoft wants to turn Windows Media 9 into a "de facto" standard and squeeze out MPEG-4/AAC, Apple QuickTime, and Real Helix. This is known as vertical foreclosure and is a type of monopoly maintenance.

They've already squeezed out their own previous versions of their Media Player through the use of "optional" security updates which force upgrades/introduction of their Media Player 9 DRM as well as changes in the EULA.

The court has not yet ruled on whether or not this particular instance fits the legal definition of monopoly maintenance. Because Microsoft is a convicted monopolist, they are supposedly prevented from entering into markets that already have adequate competition (which IMO this certainly qualifies)*. Given the political situation, I doubt action will come in the United States. I imagine the European Union's reaction will depend on how Microsoft enters the market--for instance, will they strong arm OEMs to include the Windows Media music store icon on the desktop by default? Will the music store be activated automatically by software update**?

Microsoft hasn't been successful lately at foreclosing markets: internet service (v. Yahoo, AOL, EarthLink), airline ticket sales (v. Travelocity/Sabre, Orbitz, etc), game consoles (v. Sony and Nintendo), PDAs (v. Palm and now Linux), cell phones (v. Symbian and now Palm), embedded (they were doing well until Linux entered), enterprise servers (Linux has won, Windows 2003/IIS is a niche product), enterprise apps (too many competitors to list)... So I'm not going to start running around saying the sky is falling just yet.

In any case, even if the attempt doesn't work, I doubt Microsoft will make a penny until they've squeezed out Real and Apple. (Don't count out Real. One of the big "selling" points of LoudEye/Windows Media 9 is the distribution of content onto cell phones where RealOne Mobile is doing very well.***) In the meantime, they can disguise losses by folding R&D and some marketing budgets into their OS or Enterprise divisions--both of which make a hefty profit.

The FUD machine is in full force and has been bringing up the spectre of Apple's proprietary past every time iTunes Music Store and the iPod get mentioned. I think this may be a good thing because it'll force Apple to open up their DRM to other parties to counter it as soon as iPod or iTunes Music Store market share start slipping.****

And even if Microsoft forecloses this market, I can still eek out some enjoyment. Given the estimated potential size of the downloadable music market (est. $1.25 billion next year), I have no doubt that Microsoft has some plans to screw over LoudEye in a couple years and I'll get to see that unfold. I'd bet it is somewhere along the lines of how they screwed over Stack or Sybase.

* This reminds me of the origins of Unix. Most of what we call Unix is in the public domain because AT&T was a monopoly at the time and could not make money out of the code they created so distributed Unix without any copyright. This particular monopolist, OTOH, has much less federal oversight and they live and die by their proprietary software.

** I'm going to pre-empt all of you who are going to point out that this is how Apple introduced iTunes Music Store. Apple is not a monopolist, legally or economically. Remember, monopolists are forced to play by different rules because they have an unfair advantage (see again, extracting rents).

*** Just a personal note: I saw a commercial for mp3 ringtones and thought, "Is this most compelling argument that some marketer could think of for bundling a music player with a cell phone?"

**** No, this hasn't happened yet. In fact, some of the retail channels for the iPod are dry. Yeah, great for Apple, but bad for me. I want to see Apple open up FairPlay and make a fair playing field.

Microsoft does not want Apple gaining any marketshare in any way, shape, or form, whatsoever.

iTMS & iPod are opening the doors to just that type of thing.

What M$ is trying to do is flood the internet music buying service / experience with GARBAGE. This is an attempt to basically smother the competition (if you can't beat 'em smother them enough to distract).

They can afford to loose tons of money due to Windows.

I can see them putting ads in all versions of Windows sold.... or at least links for this disservice.

I have a bad feeling that all these music stores and players, and their incompatibilities with each other, are just going to seriously confuse people. Music download formats should be as standardized as VHS, DVD, and CD audio media. Each music player manufacturer should be responsible for making their hardware work multiple popular formats. I think we are a long way away from that happening.

In the mean time, Apple should market their portable music player and music store as the most simple and powerful combination available (because it already is).