Microsoft Music Store?

I knew this was coming

MS can be without copying everything Apple does... they suck

I can see the headlines...

"For the first time in history*, you can now buy just the music you want."



*First time in history does not nessesarily mean that the capability was not available in history before this release.

Oh ****, We're screwed.

This is just another situation of Apple being unprepared to defend a great idea.

Originally posted by Wonder Boy
Oh ****, We're screwed.

This is just another situation of Apple being unprepared to defend a great idea.

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I'm not so sure, didn't Jobs say they had a bunch of patents for the way iTMS works. I wonder what those patents entail.

Originally posted by Wonder Boy
Oh ****, We're screwed.

This is just another situation of Apple being unprepared to defend a great idea.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I really hope Apple has a disaster control plan. Surely Apple didn't think Microsoft was going to sit around and drink cheerwine while iTMS was being ported to Windows.....or did they....

Hmm, interesting. If Microsoft follows its usual business models, it will probably sell the broken tracks from Kazaa, with pops, fadeouts, and cutoffs, then gradually fix them with a series of patches. Can't wait.

did anybody seriously consider apple has known about this M$ stuff for ages, and the same goes for M$ knowing about apples store.

Apple beat them to the chase, now jobs can 'it doesn't matter' 'I got the loot!' - from pirates of silicon valley

Unleash the Hounds of War (Marklar)

Re: Unleash the Hounds of War (Marklar)

Originally posted by syrreg
....

If MS wants to knock Apple down again, then I think Apple should just go for it and put out an OS product for x86.

....

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And this would help how?

releasing a product that would diminish apple hardware sales would be extremely dumb. marklar is crap in my thoughs anyways

Xboxing - What IS that in your pocket?

Runs on Xbox

That's 50 users straight away!

Originally posted by ozubahn
Hmm, interesting. If Microsoft follows its usual business models, it will probably sell the broken tracks from Kazaa, with pops, fadeouts, and cutoffs, then gradually fix them with a series of patches. Can't wait.

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HAHAHAHAHA!!! so true and the blue backlight on my iPod will turn on reminiscent of the blue screen of death.

Mike

What's all the shouting about?

Although Microsoft may or may not be getting into the music distribution business, I don't see why everyone's so hysterical.

Apple makes about $1,000,000-$1,500,000 a month revenue from the iTMS. In terms of profit, it's much lower. even considering that the market could expand by adding Windows users and foreign users, we're talking a $500M business revenue for the entire world.

Compare this to Apple's current yearly revenue of several billions or to Microsoft's tens of billions and you get the picture. This is relatively small fry for both companies.

Will Microsoft get in the market and push Apple out? Maybe, but only if they put out a workable Mac client. Otherwise Apple will continue to rule the Mac market and be a niche player in the PC market. Some good may come out of this: It may push Apple to offer foreign and PC users a client faster.

Some people have been fantasizing about Apple getting hundreds of millions of PC users to sign up to iTMS and make them rich so that Apple could offer us great hardware cheap. That is not going to happen.

apple still has a huge reservoir of purchasers waiting in the wings, i.e. non-us-based apple-users. that should propell turnover to new astronomical heights.
i doubt, that the pc-pack would as loyally use the m$ alternative as apple-ites are using the apple music store.
we vote with our feet

Originally posted by eric_n_dfw
I'm not so sure, didn't Jobs say they had a bunch of patents for the way iTMS works. I wonder what those patents entail.

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I totally agree. Jobs did say something about that, we just don't know what those patents were protecting.

And just once, why can't MS do something original? No matter how bad they do it, if they release it before iTMS for Windows, they will seize the Windows market (except perhaps a few %). The standard, gullible PC-user will accept allmost anything that Microsoft tries to sell them - just look at how many are using technologies like MSN Messenger or Windows Media Player - just because they were building it right into their OS. PC-users will be like "Other music store? Whaddaya mean? Is there anything else than the Microsoft Music Store out there?", and Apple will lose potential customers, because not many people are willing to swap provider of such a service after they have signed up with another one to begin with.

Re: What's all the shouting about?

Originally posted by synp
Some people have been fantasizing about Apple getting hundreds of millions of PC users to sign up to iTMS and make them rich so that Apple could offer us great hardware cheap. That is not going to happen.

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I'm not as concerned about the money as I am about Apple's ideas being stolen again. I want Apple to get the iTMS up and running for Windows users before a M$ offering. Then PC users have to admit Apple was first. And since it will be first to them, they will probably try it. Then they might have to admit it's the best.

Re: Runs on Xbox

Originally posted by Blackcat
That's 50 users straight away!

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Actually Xbox Live! has over 350,000 users.

Originally posted by Trimix
apple still has a huge reservoir of purchasers waiting in the wings, i.e. non-us-based apple-users. that should propell turnover to new astronomical heights.
i doubt, that the pc-pack would as loyally use the m$ alternative as apple-ites are using the apple music store.
we vote with our feet

Click to expand...

I _really_ hope that Apple iTMS users won't swap to a Microsoft alternative - that would be really bad. But they won't switch (the wrong way).

I, for one, would use the iTMS if it was available in Norway, but it's not. Not that I am against downloading from services such as Limewire, Direct Connect etc., it's just that with the iTMS, you get things a) Faster b) Better quality c) Straight to your music library and iPod and d) With correct tag information.

First priority: Go international
Just-below-first: Go Windows
Just-below-just-below-first: iTunes for Windows (which might be a part of iTMS for Windows)

Re: Re: Runs on Xbox

Originally posted by MorganX
Actually Xbox Live! has over 350,000 users.

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Imagine trying to find just the song you want in a 200.000-song library with your game console remote. If done properly, it might work, but when did Microsoft do anything properly?

I seriously don't think that many people use their Xbox as a music library - and I don't even dare to compare it to the iPod.

Re: Re: What's all the shouting about?

Originally posted by RHutch
I'm not as concerned about the money as I am about Apple's ideas being stolen again. I want Apple to get the iTMS up and running for Windows users before a M$ offering. Then PC users have to admit Apple was first. And since it will be first to them, they will probably try it. Then they might have to admit it's the best.

Click to expand...

Apple's ideas aren't being stolen. Music Services existed before iTMS. Apple's implementation of someone elses idea, has proven to be much more integrated and easier to use, resulting in more use, more revenues.

With Microsoft's strong support of DRM, the only thing that will be different from the music stores that exist now, will be that it's bundled in the OS and therefore will immediately reach millions of users.

One of the biggest reasons aside from DRM responsible for the limited success of music stores that existed before Apple, whose ideas Apple stole and extended (sarcasm), is that they have a limited users base. Not too many home users go out on the web and sign up for a music service. If it's right there integrated into the OS and built in media player you use everyday, that's a different story.

If you review the advanced DRM MS has been building for years, you will know that Apple's iTMS has simply hastened plans already in motion. Now that that's out of the way, the answer is for Apple to get busy and get iTunes over to Windows ASAP. And iTunes for Xbox with and iPod kit wouldn't be a bad idea either.

Apple just doesn't have the killer instinct because they are focused on margins which they can get from a small market willing to pay.

Apple HAD to have seen this coming! I cannot imagine why Apple would have not developed a full Windows version CONCURRENTLY with the Apple version. I know the licensing isnt done, but at least get the code setup and READY TO GO the second the agreements are signed.

If I were Steve, I'd be putting hardcore resources on this. Even pulling away from Panther and 970 -- hell we can wait a few more weeks Because if MS gets a store out first, iTMS is OVER. Windows people will JUST use what Microsoft gives them. I download Phoenix or whatever it is called now on my friends XP machine and said JUST give it a try. It was trashed -- nay, recycled -- within seconds. "Why should I?"

Re: Re: Re: What's all the shouting about?

Originally posted by MorganX
Apple's ideas aren't being stolen. Music Services existed before iTMS. Apple's implementation of someone elses idea, has proven to be much more integrated and easier to use, resulting in more use, more revenues.

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I'm not saying that it was Apple's idea to sell music or to sell it online. But I am assuming that M$ will steal some of the details of the way Apple has done it better than its predecessors. If Apple's store and ideas have nothing to do with the new services being contemplated, why did everyone wait until Apple showed how it could be successful before trying it themselves? You didn't hear a bunch of talk about everyone opening online music stores at once before Apple did.

Re: Re: What's all the shouting about?

Originally posted by RHutch
I'm not as concerned about the money as I am about Apple's ideas being stolen again. I want Apple to get the iTMS up and running for Windows users before a M$ offering. Then PC users have to admit Apple was first. And since it will be first to them, they will probably try it. Then they might have to admit it's the best.

Click to expand...

This is a crucial point. Being first to market gives you a kind of brand aura, at least for a while, and at the moment, no-one is doing this properly for Windows.

Don't forget it needs more than M$ money to make it happen, the record labels (at least the big 5) have to go with it and perhaps they might have a bit of loyalty to Job's vision (and style), or am I deluded here?

Having Microsoft mp3's of a couple of labels won't be better than the big 5 and a swag of indies on iTunes for Windows, and there is the copy-protection issues as well, which M$ will no doubt make a botch.

This story is puffery thus far and only states the obvious - that Apple will soon have stiff competition for its music service.

Was it the LA Times that "broke" the Apple buying out Vivendi story? Brohahahaha