Apple Event Info

[MacRumors]

Apple's "Music to your Ears" Media event takes places today at 10am Pacific Time (1pm Eastern Time) and can be followed at the following locations:

By Satellite (http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030424/sfth027_1.html):

Ku-band
Telstar 5/Transponder: 25 K
Orbital Slot: 97 degrees west
Uplink Frequency: 14444.0 MHz
Downlink Frequency: 12144.0 MHz
Polarity: Vertical down
Audio subcarriers: 6.2 and 6.8
C-band
Galaxy 3C/Transponder 1 C
Orbital Slot: 95 degrees west
Uplink Frequency: 5945 MHz
Downlink Frequency: 3720 MHz
Downlink Polarity: Horizontal down
Audio subcarriers: 6.2 and 6.8


At Participating Apple stores.

You may have to call for verification of a showing.

Websites

- MacMinute.com (http://www.macminute.com) reported (http://www.macminute.com/2003/04/25/applestores) that they would be providing live coverage of the event.
- We will provide further links to sites covering the event as the time approaches.

Last Minute Articles

To tide the time until the event, you can read these last minute articles on the potential annoucements:

Apple Music Service to go Live (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1051389531103) - Financial Times
Apple Said to Be Entering E-Music Fray With Pay Service (http://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/28/technology/28APPL.html) - NYTimes

[baby duck monge]

why still no mention of this on the apple site? shouldn't there at least be a banner somewhere telling people they should watch? am i just missing something?

[MrMacMan]

Well we knew it was happening, this makes it Offical.

[shadowfax]

Originally posted by baby duck monge
why still no mention of this on the apple site? shouldn't there at least be a banner somewhere telling people they should watch? am i just missing something? i think they prefer to let others advertise beforehand. i think they'll wait to have it all announced on their own site till tomorrow at 10, or afterward.

[Mudbug]

Any word yet as to a quicktime feed for this? I'll be at work, where we've at least got cable, but can't pick up the satellite feed.

anyone got a suggestion?

[rainman::|:|]

Originally posted by Mudbug
Any word yet as to a quicktime feed for this? I'll be at work, where we've at least got cable, but can't pick up the satellite feed.

anyone got a suggestion?

i don't think there will be a live feed this time. probably afterwords there will be a quicktime version tho... at any rate, check apple.com/quicktime as the event approaches to see if they have anything on it. they might post a stream an hour or so before or something...

pnw

[baby duck monge]

Originally posted by Shadowfax
i think they prefer to let others advertise beforehand. i think they'll wait to have it all announced on their own site till tomorrow at 10, or afterward.

i suppose that makes enough sense, especially since they are not having a webcast of it. still, i just expected there would be some sort of official recognition of things to come on their splash page.

oh well, they are an odd company, and i guess i should not expect them to always do the expected...

[NavyIntel007]

They obviously told most of the press about this. I guess they want people to be like, hey, there's an apple store in my mall and I'm going tomorrow, Why don't I stop by and see what all the fuss is about. Then they walk around, see some things they like, who knows they may walk out with something.

[dethl]

As long as someone is covering this, I will be happy. I'm gonna be in the middle of telecommunications class at high school during this event.

All I can say is: Bring it on!

[yzedf]

Unless Apple unveils something radically unexpected, its service will not represent a marked difference from some of the Internet services already in existence.
oops. yet more innovation... we shall see I guess :p

[applenut]

We all know that apple innovates all the time. We'll just have to wait and see. I just hope it's an updated version of iTunes.... can't imagine it could be better than 3....?

[madforrit]

Blah! The NYTimes article says "Friday" for new ipods! I can't wait...that long...must have new ipods on Monday....but hey, what does NYTimes know anyways?:rolleyes:

[mim]

What's 10am Pacific Time in relation to GMT?

It feels like I'm going to have to wait, like, 3 more days for it to be the 28th over there in the states :D

And they think Australian's are backwards! At least they live 10 hours in the future!

[mim]

<edit: err sorry , newbie mistake...posted twice...grrrr>

[Mr.Hey]

NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO, April 25 ? Apple Computer plans on Monday to introduce a digital music service, according to industry analysts. It is a move that thrusts the company into the middle of a contentious and technologically challenging area of digital commerce.

Apple itself has provided few details of its new service, but people in the music industry and analysts said users would be charged 99 cents to download individual songs drawn from the catalogs of the big record labels. They said that once users download the music, they would be able to listen to it on their computers or transfer it to a portable music player.

The music industry was given a new impetus to develop its own channels for online music last week when a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that two file-sharing services, Grokster and StreamCast Networks, were not guilty of copyright infringement. In the face of the availability of so much free music online, the industry has yet to offer an alternative service that consumers seem willing to pay for.

Unless Apple unveils something radically unexpected, its service will not represent a marked difference from some of the Internet services already in existence. The announcement, however, will bring a big-name company into the mix, presenting a potentially significant change in what has been a tense relationship between consumer electronics makers and the music industry.

Computer and electronics companies see digital music as a way to drive sales of their hardware, and they have pushed hard to expand its availability. But the recording industry has battled technology companies on Capitol Hill, asserting that new digital products make music easy to copy and share over the Internet.

Music executives were unhappy when in 2001 Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief executive, kicked off the "Rip, mix, burn" ad slogan, which encouraged people to transfer music from compact discs onto computers and create their own custom CD's.

Now, though, they seem comfortable with Apple's new strategy. Hilary B. Rosen, the chief executive of the Recording Industry Association of America, said she believed Apple had struck an industry-friendly balance. Apple's music service "has compatibility with a hardware product that is elegant and easy to use," said Ms. Rosen, who said she planned to attend Apple's news conference. "The Apple system has the potential to do for music sales what the Walkman did for the cassette," she added.

That prospect would certainly be welcomed by Apple, which is trying to solve its marketing problems. The company's share of the personal computer market has steadily eroded about 3 percent. But it still has a loyal following, little if any debt, and around $4.5 billion in cash. Moving into the digital music business may be a smart way to expand beyond hardware, some industry analysts say.

The company's fortunes "are tied so closely to Apple hardware, and if that hardware continues to slide, they're done," said Rob Enderle, a personal technology analyst with Forrester Research. "This is a hedge," he said. "They want some products they can sell into a broad market."

Indeed, the company is expected to announce the next generation of its iPod portable music player on Friday, said Brett J. Miller, an industry analyst with A. G. Edwards & Sons, an investment firm.

Apple's foray into a digital music service comes at a time when combining music and the Internet has been a struggle. The concerns of the music industry have not diminished despite the demise of Napster, the free online sharing service used by more than 50 million people to download songs over the Internet. It shut down in 2001 after being sued by the music industry for abetting copyright infringement.

But since then, a new generation of free music services, most notably KaZaA, have arisen and are now used by tens of millions of people to share music files over the Internet. The music industry has also sued to shut down KaZaA.

In addition to free file-sharing services, paid music services have emerged that charge users to listen to songs over the Internet through streaming and to download the songs to computers. These include Pressplay and MusicNet, both of which have financial backing from the record labels, and several independent services that license music from the record labels.
page 1of2

[Mr.Hey]

part 2of2
The offerings vary, but a typical service might charge $9 a month for unlimited streaming and downloading to a computer, but does not allow users to burn the songs onto a CD or transfer them to a portable device. Some services also charge monthly subscribers an additional 99 cents for each song that they want to burn.

While offerings vary among the existing services, what is clear is that their popularity, while growing, remains meager compared to the popularity of the free music downloads. Lee Black, a digital media analyst for Jupiter Communications, estimates that the paid music services have a total of no more than 350,000 subscribers.

Even so, competition is increasing in this market. RealNetworks, which owns a portion of MusicNet, announced last week its plans to spend $36 million in cash and stock to acquire Listen.com, which offers an online music service called Rhapsody.

Technology and music industry analysts said they expected that Apple's service would allow users of Macintosh computers to download songs into iTunes software. Users then would be able to listen to songs on the computers, and also download them to iPods. It is unclear whether the service would be available to users of Windows-based machines.

But Philip Leigh, a digital media analyst with Raymond James & Associates, an investment banking firm in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the presence of Apple in the market could give a lift to digital music services beyond the confines of Apple's limited user base. The reason, he said, is that if Apple starts advertising the sale of music, "they'll be advertising to the whole world."

"It will raise the consciousness of the public that there are legitimate alternatives to KaZaA," Mr. Leigh said. He added that Apple's experiment would also allow the music industry to see how a piecemeal 99-cent offering ? without connection to a monthly subscription ? works in the relatively small universe of Macintosh users.

And he said the move could mean a long-term shift for Apple. "This signals a transformation of Apple into a digital media company," Mr. Leigh said. "Within 10 years, we'll look back and say this is when it mutated."

But Mr. Miller of A. G. Edwards said the company remained on solid footing as a hardware company. He said Apple, like others in the industry, was suffering from the weak economy.

While a music service could increase demand for Apple hardware, Mr. Miller noted that it was impossible to know the overall effect on the bottom line until Apple divulges specifics about the service and what royalties it must pay to record labels.

[Elan0204]

I really wish that Apple would stream the announcement over the web, as I can't get to an Apple store.

At least the announcement is less than 12 hours away...

[porovaara]

Hopefully we will be surpised tomorrow but if the RIAA is really backing this we can expect some rather draconian rules to what you can do with this music you purchase.

If it doesn't allow the music to be burned to CD then this service is done for in smaller markets. In those markets because people spend more time in cars and want their music to go with them. If car people have to rig up something to get their iPod going through their car stereo, oopise, ain't gunna roll.

*Crosses fingers*

[Elan0204]

Originally posted by porovaara
Hopefully we will be surpised tomorrow but if the RIAA is really backing this we can expect some rather draconian rules to what you can do with this music you purchase.

If it doesn't allow the music to be burned to CD then this service is done for in smaller markets. In those markets because people spend more time in cars and want their music to go with them. If car people have to rig up something to get their iPod going through their car stereo, oopise, ain't gunna roll.

*Crosses fingers*

I agree. I think that if there is any kind of restriction on the use of the files a lot of people won't use the service. I know I have no problem paying for music, but once I buy it I want to be able to do anything I want with it.

[neutrino23]

We happened to drive by our local Apple Store just at closing Sunday night. There was a sign by the door inviting customers to come watch the presentation at the in-store theater. There was also an invitation to return Friday night (May 2) at 6:00PM for a special event. An employee said they thought tomorrow's event would be web cast but they weren't sure.

[Flowbee]

Interesting that there has been little speculation about what the *name* of this new service will be. I guess we'll know soon enough.:)

[daddy-mojo]

Originally posted by porovaara
Hopefully we will be surpised tomorrow but if the RIAA is really backing this we can expect some rather draconian rules to what you can do with this music you purchase.

If it doesn't allow the music to be burned to CD then this service is done for in smaller markets. In those markets because people spend more time in cars and want their music to go with them. If car people have to rig up something to get their iPod going through their car stereo, oopise, ain't gunna roll.

*Crosses fingers*

I already use it the car with a tape adapter. I hardly ever burn music cd's anymore. Its all in the hard drive or on the ipod. I get my music from all kinds of places, my own collection, friends, online, etc. I would be pretty comfortable with the knowledge that I couldn't burn via a disc & would be available without an extra charge. For people who still like mix and burn cd's then this might prove a test. And yes, I think I would use the pay service if its a fair deal.

[maxterpiece]

Originally posted by Elan0204
I agree. I think that if there is any kind of restriction on the use of the files a lot of people won't use the service. I know I have no problem paying for music, but once I buy it I want to be able to do anything I want with it.

I'm wondering if Apple thinks that by making these songs only downloadable to the iPod (not burnable to CD), it will get people to buy an iPod. I think that their primary objective should be to get people to adopt this service. Once people start using it and their computer becomes their music hub, then maybe they will see the convenience of having an iPod vs. messing with burning CDs all the time. What I'm saying is that apple can't expect people to adopt this unless it is completely dynamic - that is, burnable, importable to itunes, etc. I think consumers will understand if the music they download is only playable in its digital format on their computer (IE they can't trade it freely on KaZaA), but I think a system like that used by Audible.com would make perfect sense. The music could be downloaded and played on the one computer, but could also be burned in a format that a normal CD player can handle. I believe that this is the way the service will work. Apple knows what's up.

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Elan0204
I agree. I think that if there is any kind of restriction on the use of the files a lot of people won't use the service. I know I have no problem paying for music, but once I buy it I want to be able to do anything I want with it.

ditto that, dude.

[BaghdadBob]

RealNetworks, which owns a portion of MusicNet, announced last week its plans to spend $36 million in cash and stock to acquire Listen.com, which offers an online music service called Rhapsody.

Rhapsody? Wasn't that the code-name for some fantastical Apple project to unite all operating systems or something?

:D :mad: :D I SMELL LAW SUIT! :D :mad: :D

Stupid doubters. What does that NY Times rag know about innovation anyway...

Edit: BTW, who the heck wants to bother with any more Real products? Not me. Sheesh their stuff is annoying.

[maxterpiece]

I know that once people have burned their music to a CD, they could just pop that CD back in and rip the tracks into plain MP3 format, but certainly that is no different (or worse for record companies) than buying a CD and ripping it. Maybe they have some way of dgitally marking the a CD that has tunes that were downloaded from their service so that iTunes won't let you rip it. Maybe each track, when ripped to AIFF form, will have a little noninterfering code that tells iTunes (and the whatever the software that Windows eventually has as its equivalent for the apple music service), not to rip it. Even then, though, there'd be a way to work around it (there always is). This would also not stop a person from burning two copies of a song onto a CD - that is, share their music with friends, but this would be no different from the way people copied tapes... it would not be possible to share songs in KaZaA which I think is the hitch that the record companies are caught up on. Once again, I would not have a problem with this format. It would allow me to do whatever i want with the music... I just couldn't give it away to an absolute stranger.

[punter]

Originally posted by mim
What's 10am Pacific Time in relation to GMT?

I think Pacific time is -8 GMT.

[woodsey]

Originally posted by mim
What's 10am Pacific Time in relation to GMT?

It feels like I'm going to have to wait, like, 3 more days for it to be the 28th over there in the states :D

And they think Australian's are backwards! At least they live 10 hours in the future!

Yeah, its on at 3am tues morning in adelaide. I got Uni the next day, so i guess ill just have to check macrumors when i get up!

[BaghdadBob]

Originally posted by punter
I think Pacific time is -8 GMT.

That's correct (if you're in PST...look down, it says down there in the blue part at the bottom)...

[porovaara]

Originally posted by BaghdadBob
Rhapsody? Wasn't that the code-name for some fantastical Apple project to unite all operating systems or something?

Uhm rhapsody is OSX, well 5+ years and many, many changes later.

[mim]

Originally posted by Flowbee
Interesting that there has been little speculation about what the *name* of this new service will be. I guess we'll know soon enough.:)

I wouldn't be suprised if it was just billed as a function of iTunes, and may not have a name other than "that download thing in iTunes". At least that's how I see it being used - you listen to your music through iTunes, decide you want to check out new stuff, browse for new music via iTunes, stream some samples, and click on the ones you want. It would be more complex if it was presented as a separate app or web service.

I wonder if that means that there will be iTunes for PC now? Or will PC users be excluded?

[Snowy_River]

Originally posted by mim
What's 10am Pacific Time in relation to GMT?

It feels like I'm going to have to wait, like, 3 more days for it to be the 28th over there in the states :D

And they think Australian's are backwards! At least they live 10 hours in the future!

Originally posted by punter
What's 10am Pacific Time in relation to GMT?

I think Pacific time is -8 GMT.

10 AM PDT = 5 PM GMT

Pacific daylight time is -7 GMT

;)

[Snowy_River]

You know, I have a slight issue with DRM. I am one of the honest ones. Once I've bought something, I like to have the freedom to do what I want and need to do with it, without needing to look for work arounds.

I have a couple of songs that I've downloaded, that I would have willingly paid a buck each for. The only reason that I downloaded them is because I wanted to know if they were worth my interest. The only reason I didn't go out and spend the $12 for the CD that the songs were on was because I concluded that the other songs on the CD weren't worth it.

All of that said, if, once I download a music file (paid for and downloaded through the Apple service), I cannot do things like copy it to another computer in my home (suppose it's my wife's computer, and she has a separate Apple ID than I have, will she be unable to use the file?), or burn a disc, and then rip it back (if I had a computer crash, I'd like to have a way of getting the music back onto my computer), then I'll be very reluctant to use the service. I might buy one or two songs, but, in general, I'd rather buy the CD and have the freedom to do as I see fit.

[mim]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
...I might buy one or two songs, but, in general, I'd rather buy the CD and have the freedom to do as I see fit.

Apple must have convinced the copyright holders that owning a cd, and having DRM'd music files on a computer are no different really. All those mp3 on the net came from CD's originally.

I suspect the original AAC files will have reasonable restrictions. But you'll be able to burn them to CD, and then do what you want from there. So, it's no-more uncontrollable in terms of copyright loss than CD piracy, but competes with p2p networks in terms of convinence (and probably betters them with available range of music if they've got independent labels on too...).

[pianojoe]

I love that part in the Financial Times atricle where they call MacOS a "proprietary" operating system (apparently, as opposed to Windows.)

[BaghdadBob]

Speaking of the Financial Times, what's up with everything underlining when you mouseover? Is that just me, or Safari, or was the Born-on-Date on my Budweiser horribly inaccurate???

Oh, and what's the difference between PST and Pacific Daylight Time (that means you, Snowy, you smartass...) is that unadjusted for Daylight Savings or what?

Oh, and all you people who think you should be able to use something freely for your own use once you've bought it...do NOT buy Intuit's tax software....*shudder*

[trebblekicked]

Originally posted by mim
So, it's no-more uncontrollable in terms of copyright loss than CD piracy, but competes with p2p networks in terms of convinence (and probably betters them with available range of music if they've got independent labels on too...).

i'm in the minority, but this is a key for me. independant labels put out 95-100% of the music i listen to (and 100% of the music i buy). if they aren't involved the service is useless to me.

most rumors indicate that you can burn to cd, and once you do that (cda files contain no DRM) you're free to do what you want with the music (including covert to mp3, for those of us with car mp3 cd players). the service can definately compete with p2p for these simple reasons:

1. garunteed download speeds
2. garunteed bitrates
3. garunteed availability

the three things that annoy most p2p users, i would say. if something happened that forced me to need an n'sync song, i'd like the fact i could use apple's site, download it at 90 kbps, have it at a 190 bitrate, make a cd out of it. seems fair, easy and fast.

[rockman2023]

Originally posted by mim
I wouldn't be suprised if it was just billed as a function of iTunes, and may not have a name other than "that download thing in iTunes". At least that's how I see it being used - you listen to your music through iTunes, decide you want to check out new stuff, browse for new music via iTunes, stream some samples, and click on the ones you want. It would be more complex if it was presented as a separate app or web service.

I wonder if that means that there will be iTunes for PC now? Or will PC users be excluded?

does anyone smell iTunes 4 or perhaps an iTunes update in the near future? why wouldn't this new service be integrated or incorporated into iTunes; it wouldn't make sense for it not to be (at least to Apple's standards).

[rockman2023]

Fortunately, I have an hour break from 1pm to 2pm. I can check out the webcast right after class http://forums.macrumors.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

[maxterpiece]

Originally posted by Snowy_River
You know, I have a slight issue with DRM. I am one of the honest ones. Once I've bought something, I like to have the freedom to do what I want and need to do with it, without needing to look for work arounds.

I have a couple of songs that I've downloaded, that I would have willingly paid a buck each for. The only reason that I downloaded them is because I wanted to know if they were worth my interest. The only reason I didn't go out and spend the $12 for the CD that the songs were on was because I concluded that the other songs on the CD weren't worth it.

All of that said, if, once I download a music file (paid for and downloaded through the Apple service), I cannot do things like copy it to another computer in my home (suppose it's my wife's computer, and she has a separate Apple ID than I have, will she be unable to use the file?), or burn a disc, and then rip it back (if I had a computer crash, I'd like to have a way of getting the music back onto my computer), then I'll be very reluctant to use the service. I might buy one or two songs, but, in general, I'd rather buy the CD and have the freedom to do as I see fit.

if the service works similarly to the audible.com service, you will be able to register one account to up to 2 computers (at least 2, it might be 3). Once you buy a song, that song will remain in your library and you may download it as many times as you please. If your computer crashes or you delete the song for whatever reason, you could redownload it. The 2 different versions of iTunes, however, would be the only two computers you could play the song on. You could then burn the song from either of those computers to a CD, put it on any iPod that is plugged into it, etc. You, however, would not be able to simply drag it into your shared folder for Acquisition (or KaZaA or whatever), and share it with the rest of the world because the rest of the world would not have a copy of iTunes that is registered under your account. For me, this seems fair. It gives the user a lot of options with their music, while still preventing them from easily sharing it with 10 million KaZaA users. It is definitely more dynamic than CDs were before MP3 ripping hit the mainstream. It definitely seems to me like a fair compromise.
max

[mim]

trebblekicked: you've got it exactly right.

The problem is that for total domination of the market, they need the big 5. And to be fair, a lot of smaller obscure lables are distributed by Sony, for example. You'd be suprised.

But you're right, if they don't have atleast the biggest inde labels on, they'll probably alienate a huge percentage of Mac users. It's like how >everyone< quotes "Apple has 3% of the market...". That's fine, but how many of that other 97% are internet capable, can burn CD's, etc etc. Percentages lie. I'm sure inde lables have something like 3% of the music market. But I'd be it's more like 20-30% for mac users, who lets face it, are a more discriminating customer than Joe Blow (I just made those numbers up btw, don't quote them).

This will be really important in Europe...even in just the UK. Huge amounts of music are released by UK labels like Ninja Tunes, Skint and Warp. Big selling bands are on French labels like F-Comm. They really need to be going to these people, not waiting for them to come to Apple. Otherwise it won't fly.

[robbieduncan]

Originally posted by pianojoe
I love that part in the Financial Times atricle where they call MacOS a "proprietary" operating system (apparently, as opposed to Windows.)

Windows is more open than MacOS is one (and I think in this respect important) way. You can install Windows on almost any x86 PC. You can only install MacOS on a Mac.

[pinks]

Originally posted by BaghdadBob
That's correct (if you're in PST...look down, it says down there in the blue part at the bottom)...

Be aware, the time in the blue panel at the bottom of the thread-posts is not GMT as it professes. As I pointed out in another thread this time is, in fact, BST (British Summer Time) - the current time in London, which is GMT +1.

Therefore if you are using the MR clock, be sure to recalibrate yourself or you may be a whole hour late :eek: or early :mad: depending on where you are.

Can't wait though.

- p

[trebblekicked]

mim-
i certainly agree. the service would need matador/merge/touch n' go/jeepster ect to get me interested, but even then, i'd just as soon order a cd from the label site. most indie cd's can be ordered direct for less than $12 USD per.

the international music thing is important too. this could be a way for me to check out the good new stuff from yr side of the pond w/o paying $22 USD for a cd (and vice versa). how do UK indie labels with no US distro fit in? these details seem small now, but they are important. just ask anyone who runs a record store.

[maxterpiece]

Originally posted by mim
trebblekicked: you've got it exactly right.

The problem is that for total domination of the market, they need the big 5. And to be fair, a lot of smaller obscure lables are distributed by Sony, for example. You'd be suprised.

But you're right, if they don't have atleast the biggest inde labels on, they'll probably alienate a huge percentage of Mac users. It's like how >everyone< quotes "Apple has 3% of the market...". That's fine, but how many of that other 97% are internet capable, can burn CD's, etc etc. Percentages lie. I'm sure inde lables have something like 3% of the music market. But I'd be it's more like 20-30% for mac users, who lets face it, are a more discriminating customer than Joe Blow (I just made those numbers up btw, don't quote them).

This will be really important in Europe...even in just the UK. Huge amounts of music are released by UK labels like Ninja Tunes, Skint and Warp. Big selling bands are on French labels like F-Comm. They really need to be going to these people, not waiting for them to come to Apple. Otherwise it won't fly.

I disagree with your percentages. I'd say maybe 30% of the macusers likely to post on a site like this listen to more indie stuff, but the mac hits four main markets: families, students, schools and creative professionals. Of those four markets, I'd say the family market is the one that apple needs to concentrate most on. They have the most money. They are the least computer saavy, and because of this, they are the least likely to use a service like KaZaA. They are looking for something that is easy to use, almost falls right into their laps (they don't have to seek it out... they can pretty much watch an ad for it then go right to it on their computer without any learning curve), and they are the ones whose acceptance would push the media to portray and accept this kind of service as something that is real... they would cover it and treat it like something that "people use". This service obviously doesn't make much sense for schools - computer labs. Although some students might listen to indie type stuff, they are probably, person for person, the biggest supporters of big record companies. Maybe the biggest drop-off in record sales has come as a result of the increasing computer saaviness of the college student, so that market probably has the largest potential. If apple can get its student users to drop .99 cents for a song because suddenly that is more convenient than KaZaA (which, for a computer saavy student, is more convenient then going out and wasting $15 on a CD where only 3 tracks are good). The graphics professionals are a smaller market in that they don't necessarily spend a huge amount on music, nor are they particularly central to the audience that the media concentrates on (families). They too, however, are computer saavy, and appreciate the convenience of sitting at home and choosing, track-by-track, the songs that they want, without having to spend on a whole CD. I think there's a huge potential for this kind of service. Nothing like it has ever been done before. The other music services were, if anything, less convenient than KaZaA. They don't have the reputation that Apple has (trustworthiness). They aren't integrated in any way into an operating system or "digital hub". And very few people ever are going to make the effort to explore them when KaZaA is free and doesn't have any DRM limitations. They had no diversity to their service - they couldn't integrate into iTunes. They was no incentive for people to make the effort to experiment with them. Apple will push this service with advertising and will make it as easy as pie to experiment with.

[nagromme]

I predict that the service will be named iTrax.

AAC is necessary for quality, therefore a new iTunes... and new iPods too.

[valypan]

What do you guys think the chances are that the music service will be available to Europe too?? A few weeks ago there was a leak of information about the service, attributed to a european apple executive. I took this as a good sign that the service will be available here too...but now I am not so sure! I start dreading the announcement! Any of you can bring me some comforting news? :eek:

[mim]

Originally posted by trebblekicked
mim-
this could be a way for me to check out the good new stuff from yr side of the pond w/o paying $22 USD for a cd (and vice versa). how do UK indie labels with no US distro fit in? these details seem small now, but they are important. just ask anyone who runs a record store.

Yup - I'm hoping this does for music what Amazon has done for 2nd hand book shopping. I mean I can order a second hand rare out of print book that comes from some tiny Alaskan outpost store through Amazon, and have it arive in Australia in 5 days? Alien technology for sure. I'm looking forward to being able to see what music people with similar tastes to me listen to. You know..."if you liked this, check this out" type thing. And then download it instantly.

At the moment, I think most UK labels sell to the US if you buy from the web sites. Which is funny, seeing as a number of now-well-known inde artists (say from Detriot) get their first releases on Warp, get picked up by London DJ's, and then exported back to the US. The music service could open whole new markets for these guys, and re-invigorate the mainstream music scene.

Talking about dj's - I have no idea why I still can't use the iPod scroll wheel as an input to help beat mix tracks. Or two iPods together. Let people program the 'pods Apple, damnit!

[bdkennedy1]

Originally posted by baby duck monge
i suppose that makes enough sense, especially since they are not having a webcast of it. still, i just expected there would be some sort of official recognition of things to come on their splash page.

oh well, they are an odd company, and i guess i should not expect them to always do the expected...

I switched a year ago and have learned most of what Apple does is unexpected. That's what keeps people sitting on the edge of their seats, and unfortunately, I'm one of them :)

A year from now, Apple is going to be known as the company that changed how you purchase and listen to music.

[boobers]

To say that KazAa is an advanced users program is simply not true..i know people that ONLY use KazAa to open files that they dl'ed...infact they listen to music through KazAa and open other programs like it was their finder.
KazAa is stupid easy to use. I still see ppl using KazAa over Apple's service.

[williwilli]

http://www.spymac.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=27110

[sparks9]

WOOOOWOOOWOOOHOOO!!! So when is this in "real" time (GMT)??? It will be very exciting... I have been waiting on the new iPods for awhile now.
:D :p :cool: :confused: :D

[sparks9]

Originally posted by neutrino23
We happened to drive by our local Apple Store just at closing Sunday night. There was a sign by the door inviting customers to come watch the presentation at the in-store theater. There was also an invitation to return Friday night (May 2) at 6:00PM for a special event. An employee said they thought tomorrow's event would be web cast but they weren't sure.


From this (and the nytimes article) it seems that the Music Service will be presented today, and the new iPods on Friday... :( .... but still :D :D :D

[effectivity]

"Combined Ordinary and Extraordinary General Meeting"

Tues April 29th 3pm Paris Time

http://www.vivendiuniversal.com/vu2/en/_home/home.cfm

[melchior]

a big fat 4 hours and 8 minutes countdown!

[richard5mith]

Isn't the fact that only US/Canada .Mac and Apple ID's were combined a good sign that this music service won't be available to anybody outside of that region?

[robbieduncan]

Originally posted by richard5mith
Isn't the fact that only US/Canada .Mac and Apple ID's were combined a good sign that this music service won't be available to anybody outside of that region?

My .mac and Appli IDs were combined and I'm not in the US?

[froggy78]

I´m from Europe, using .mac and even my .mac and Apple-IDs are the same now. So let´s hope it´ll start worldwide...:)