Apple Managers Didn't Know How Spotify Worked, Engineers Used Pandora Over iTunes Radio

[khovland92]

THIS is the biggest threat to any company.

Just look at how much Nintendo has flopped with it's Wii U. Various articles point to Wii U engineers NOT EVER USING PS3 or X-box 360. Clearly they rolled over on the name "Wii U."

Companies NEED TO KNOW what they are up against at EVERY level of management.

 

[viacavour]

that's cool. i totally understand if it doesn't work for you. Most of my friends/family are all on spotify now (few on pandora) these days which is why i feel their song selection is good enough for the masses.

I feel if you truly love a song/artist, you'll still buy their album. I still buy CDs even with all these streaming options.

Which is why I said Apple has both subscription, and purchase model now. In fact, they have slightly more than that. They also have a free iRadio service to upsell the songs if you are not interested in subscriptions.

In iOS8, it looks like they will also add Shazam upsell to the mix.

 

[Michaelgtrusa]

So a rethink.

 

[viacavour]

THIS is the biggest threat to any company.

Just look at how much Nintendo has flopped with it's Wii U. Various articles point to Wii U engineers NOT EVER USING PS3 or X-box 360. Clearly they rolled over on the name "Wii U."

Companies NEED TO KNOW what they are up against at EVERY level of management.

Nah... The bigger threat is to jump into a low margin or money losing business without knowing, and get stuck with it.

If Apple want to lose money for a streaming service intentionally, they can just make iRadio stream all songs for free instead of the ones the studios are interested to push. If it's free, people will come.

But that's not their goal. It looks like they want to protect the music industry also.

 

[TechRemarker]

Doubtful

I found this article very hard to believe.

Of course people choose Spotify over iTunes Radio, Spotify blows iTunes out of the water since it offers on demand of any song, faster and more reliable streaming and a powerful radio station system now. Pandora while not on demand is a popular additional service many people use (often for free) because it offers the best recommendations for songs.

I can't imagine anyone at Apple thought or thinks iTunes Radio is meant to be a Spotify competitor. Radio is just another push at getting users to purchase downloads. Apple could have launched a Spotify alternative they haven't because it doesn't make financial sense.

Yes, Spotify is very popular but the company has yet to make a profit because so many people use the free version and it's so expensive to license the songs for streaming. Eventually Spotify will shutdown if it doesn't turn over a profit so most likely Apple is waiting for that day to come. Also music licenses would charge far more for Apple to license their songs than Apple would be willing to pay.

That bought Beats Streaming service but that also isn't ondemand so it's far cheaper to license though since the recommendations are no where near Pandora or even Spotify for that matter it will also be a wash.

Apple is as rich as it is because unlike Google who buys and trys everything and dumps it if it doesn't work, Apple only does things that make long term financial sense since all their revenue doesn't come from ads like Google.

 

[Rogifan]

Don't forget that some of us still think it's the best way. I don't depend on a monthly subscription, I don't hear ads, I pick exactly what I want, it works without a wireless connection and I'll never get roaming charges.

Well you're in the the minority.

 

[OllyW]

I hate to be that guy in this thread... but something like this wouldn't have happened under Steve!

Are you sure about that?

Apple had a similar issue back in 2010 when it launched Ping. Designed as a social networking and music recommendation service, Ping was created to push users to purchase songs rather than as a true effort towards improving recommendations, which ultimately led to its failure in 2012. "The biggest reason why Ping failed was because Apple was not interested in making a network -- they were interested in making a purchase pusher," said one of Buzzfeed's sources.

 

[viacavour]

Well you're in the the minority.

Yes, it's not "I pick exactly what I want". It's "I pick whatever the studios and the service allow me to pick". Like I said, not all great songs are there. The total selection are carefully picked by Spotify to prevent overspending.

You still need purchase model to complement it.

This is especially true if you are a music lover. You are likely to have broad taste and long history.

 

[QCassidy352]

I would suggest everyone give Beats a try. i think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Nah, I prefer to own my music.

 

[OneMike]

Sporify is the best

 

[viacavour]

Sporify is the best

I actually think Beats is more interesting (less boring) when I tried. I like the Sentence music selection and the way they introduce the genra and artists to you. Still haven't signed up yet. Got free trial.

Either way, I am waiting for a revamp.

 

[xt8088]

I am sorry.

Spotify is currently not available in your country.

 

[OllyW]

Well you're in the the minority.

He's not.

Revenue from streaming is on the up but it is still way behind both digital downloads and physical music sales.

http://musically.com/2014/03/18/us-...ng-more-than-making-up-for-downloads-decline/

 

[Technarchy]

yeah right...It seems anyone can claim anything these days when it comes to

Yeah, I don't buy it either. There's no way in Hell Apple seniors aren't aware of what their competitors are doing in the lucrative music industry.

 

[viacavour]

He's not.

Revenue from streaming is on the up but it is still way behind both digital downloads and physical music sales.

Image

http://musically.com/2014/03/18/us-...ng-more-than-making-up-for-downloads-decline/

It is still the minority. Your numbers say so.

They also lump subscription with free streaming (iRadio and similar services) together.

Plus, these are driven by venture $$$$ before their marketing dollars run dry. Wait till they blow up. The music industry will want their money back.

 

[Technarchy]

Sporify is the best

Spotify is good, but equally good is Google play Music. Beats it's no slouch either.

Can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[HMI]

Those middle management guys should be looked into and possibly fired.

Maybe, but to be fair, most corporate middle-managers have no say in the larger decisions and the paths that the companies take. Their hands are often tied.

If a high-level executive manager tells them that iTunes Radio needs to be a "purchase pusher," then that is the outcome they will pursue.

Most mid-level managers would be terrified of using a competitors product/service at work, because that would often just be seen as unfaithfulness and disloyalty to their company.

It's easy to assume bad motives when we don't have all the information.

They might have tried to present their case for developing a more "Spotify-like" network, and were denied by higher level managers.

Should these engineers be fired for this? I don't know, because I don't know all the information.

Most companies would probably (sacrifice) fire them just to appease their PR Department/any public outcry.

I would hope that Apple make a fully informed decision.

 

[OllyW]

It is still the minority. Your numbers say so.

I know. My post was replying to Rogifan who wrongly claimed that people who want to own their music were the minority.

 

[Soccertess]

Are you sure about that?

Steve made lots of mistakes... but he did come down on his team hard when they made mistakes as to not to repeat them. Remember the mobileme debacle that happened under steve's watch?

But my understanding and correct me if I am wrong is that he flipped out at the mobile me team.

 

[OneMike]

Spotify is good, but equally good is Google play Music. Beats it's no slouch either.

Can't go wrong with any of them.

I should've said spotify is great. I never used beats music so don't have an opinion there.

I didn't like that I had to upload my Library to google to listen as with iTunes match.

 

[wsc9005]

You can use Spotify on Sonos and many different platforms.

I'll only considering iTunes Radio when it's available on Sonos

 

[nostaws]

If you're happy not to own your music and listen to music like you watch random TV programs, Spotify is great.

Have you used Spotify? You know that it doesn't have to be random right? On the computer, I can pick my own music and make my own playlists. Yes, ads are included, but it plays my playlist from beginning to end.

But that's why I went to Spotify early on, instead of Pandora. I didn't want a "station." I wanted to make my own playlists. I like a lot of music sung in Spanish and Spotify was the first service that gave me access to music from Spain and Latin America that I liked from the 90s/00s.

 

[djtech42]

How does somebody not know how Spotify works?

 

[viacavour]

I have a feeling Spotify want to prop themselves up to sell to Yahoo!.

Yahoo! will earn big $$$$$$$ from Alibaba's IPO. They will have free money to get suckered into buying Spotify.

 

[s15119]

Always suspect articles where they don't name the sources. Always.

I'm pretty happy with iTunes Radio, far prefer it over Pandora. The only music service I like better is Soundcloud.