Comments on: Will iTunes dominate the world?

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 12:44:22 +0000

It seems that it’s impossible to have a reasoned debate about iPods, Apple, DRM, P2P and Music. Every conversation descends into the same bollox as debates about USA Politics.

Just stand back a moment and look at AllOfMp3 purely as a web service and ignore where it’s located and questions about it’s legality or otherwise when used from round the world. It just works. It just works at least as well as iTMS. And for the customer there are clear advantages that AllOfMp3 has over iTMS.

Now imagine AllOfMp3 transplanted into the west and with a pricing model that charged the same as iTMS for the first 3 months after a track’s release and then falling to AllOfMp3’s current pricing. Do you want to bet that it wouldn’t be hugely successful? Now try and imagine a world where the major record labels understood that this means they don’t need to lock everything up with DRM. That what they need to do is to give the customer a product they want at a price they’ll pay.

Yeah, I know. Never going to happen, is it.

Now since that hasn’t happened yet, I personally have a choice. I can buy CDs from Amazon and rip them myself. I can buy expensive, low quality, DRMed files for download from iTMS. I can buy cheap, high quality, non-DRM files from AllOfMp3, paying via paypal. I can run the gauntlet of P2P and spend lots of time that I don’t have to find, download, tidy, clean, rename, “free” files. Guess which option I take?

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:06:58 +0000

Is there a reason why allomp3.com is based in Russia ?
Are you a bit naive?
Is there a reason why most hardcore and kiddie porn sites are based in Russia and Eastern europe?
Is there a reason why there is utter lawlessness and collapse of societies in many such Eastern Europe countries that coincidently host these illegal-in-the-rest-of-the-world sites?
I cant believe people still hyping allofmp3.com as if this is the business model to be followed - base your company out of the reach of law and hope that the country will not have extradition proceedings with others.
How naive CAN you be?
AM

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 20:01:21 +0000

Made me laugh on a Monday!
Thanks…
Calling iPod/iTunes “closed” - while lauding p2p and Microsoft for bein open is the “standard” response to the iPod dominance.
Nevermind that music on iTunes can be ripped to a DRM free MP3 in about the same or less time than it takes to find a “good” version on a p2p network. Is my time and my computers and kids security worth 99c or $9.99? If music were to be “free” then why not food, housing, why even you whole life could just be “free” - why pay for anything?

p2pnet is purely to promote p2p networks - hopefully those who read this article will realize it.

And I dont even have an iPod!!

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Mon, 03 Apr 2006 13:50:59 +0000

It just struck me, there is actually a difference between the 2nd run physical CD and the online one.. almost zero distribution cost for keeping it in circulation online vs. a definite cost and occupied shelf space when it’s not selling. you could argue therefore that there is *less* of an arguement to discount older songs (to the same rate)online as the label and store don’t have to worry about inventory costs and limited shelf space being taken from higher return items. I do kinda agree that prices should really vary to fairly reflect the market but we have to recognise that this isn’t the physical market so it doesn’t have to necessarily directly reflect it just because we are used to it.

Also I agree with the next poster abot the original article:
> I get the impression you don’t like Apple or iTunes.
> Thing is, it’s a pretty good computing experience, and works well.
I’m a happy listener, I continue to buy things when I want from the outlets I choose (my local record store, itunes, warchild + blogs)

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 14:26:10 +0000

About a month ago the number of mobile phones that play music overtook the number of ipods/PMPs. The iPod/pmp is no longer the dominant mobile music player.

At around the same time, sales of music (full tracks not ringtones) direct to mobile phones overtook iTunes.

The reason we don’t see either of these things is because they’re not happening in the USA or Europe. They’re happening in the far east.

Meanwhile AllOfMp3 continues to rise and they’ve just released a tool for buying AllOfMp3 tracks on a Symbian phone.

As regards pricing models. Cheap and Easy beats Free and Hard. If you have a choice of searching the P2P networks, completing the download, tidying the tags and filenames or just going to AllOfMp3 and paying £0.10 per track, which do you choose? If time is no object, and you don’t mind the hassle, then it’ll be P2P, for everyone else we don’t mind paying a small sum but we don’t like being ripped off.

When 2nd run CDs can be had for $5-8 and DVDs are $10-$20, iTMS tracks at $0.99 each just look way too expensive. What we will see (with everyone kicking and screaming in the process) is a gradual drop in price for everything but the first 3 months of Hit Singles, to a natural level. That level is somewhere between $0.10 and $0.30 per track. At that point, overall sales will start to approach the same level of activity as P2P.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 10:49:43 +0000

“Apple’s claim to fame is the iPod” - mmmm. So not: popularising the GUI, initiating home computing, industrial design, integration, user friendliness, slower processors (in the past) etc etc. I get the impression you don’t like Apple or iTunes. Thing is, it’s a pretty good computing experience, and works well. You might want to try it sometime. iTunes is free, and you’ll be used to not paying for things via P2P…

in terms of dreaded “market dominance”, there are many choices out there available for people, even including buying CD’s and ripping them. This is a free market, and people freely vote with their money and their mouse. iTunes and iPod are just popular - people like this software and hardware combination. Is that your real problem? There is no shortage of ‘net outlets for independent creators - I know - I’m one of them. I’ll still be selling my work on iTunes as well though. Market success isn’t evil, it’s just success.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 06:44:10 +0000

The cartels had their chance to supply music at low prices and failed. I’m now past all that and will never buy anything in the future from them.

I enjoy all my music/movies/tv-shows completely free and, thats the way it’s staying. People can buy from itunes if they like, doesn’t bother me in the slightest, personally i like the freedom i have now, which comes at a cost of $0.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 06:26:03 +0000

I ain’t queasy about anything. And I’m so tired of hearing about iTunes.

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 04:21:18 +0000

yeah and in Australia digital sales are booming at around 1.31% of the market share

By: Reader's Write

Reader's Write — Sun, 02 Apr 2006 00:48:25 +0000

It’s already dominating the world… at 70% market share.