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

I repeat. Those streaming services do NOT offer great selection. The real good songs are not there. The studios are not stupid. They don't want to cheapen everything. These streaming services have a larger number of mediocre songs and performers.

This is clearly some desperate PR move by Spotify to smear Apple. When Sporify run out of money, they will close shop, taking your subscription fees with them.
 
ziggie216 said:
Rule of life - Never build a competing product without tasting your competitor's dish
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Yes, and understanding their business model and pricing structure.

A lot of things are propped up by investors. Looks good for 5 years (that's usually the duration where investors are willing to wait at most) and then fall down like a house of cards.

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saha-med said:
Not yet. You have to wait for the hordes (new) fanbois who are going to claim the Beats tour is miles better than a Klipsch x10i
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Not yet. You have to wait for Apple to revamp their product line first. Right now it's still Beats hardware.
 
Article could be true

It could.
I'm not sure if being a manager at Apple requires to absolutely drink the Kool Aid.
I've heard reports of that being the case, too.
So, this could be the truth, or a very small part of the picture (licensing, as mentioned, being the most difficult part).
It will be interesting to see if
  • Apple will acquire a TV-streaming business in the same way and for similar reasons than Beats
  • the content-industry will include "Anti-Apple-acquisition"-clauses into the contracts
 
Yvan256 said:
Winner: iTunes Store (Canada).
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Yup. Not only is it available in Canada but Apple does not bother checking where you are so you can stream your music wherever you happen to be visiting at. The same thing applies if you have a US iTunes account. It will work anywhere in the world because it is tied to your account and not your current location.

I also see Netflix as the superior video streaming service because it works in multiple countries and will adjust what catalogue you see depending on your location. I have a Canadian netflix subscription but I will see the US catalogue when I am visiting the US and the UK catalogue when I am visiting the UK. By comparison, Hulu is a US only service and stops working if you try to use it on vacation in another country.

PS. My advice would be to avoid Beats headphones like the plague. They break far too easily and are overpriced.
 
Piggie said:
That sounds about typical for managers behavior to be honest.
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Yap especially for project managers. They are supposed to focus on delivering the project on time and on budget, not business values and terms. Those are usually covered by the marketing team and top execs.

Similarly, the engineers are focused on delivering. Doesn't mean they know what the management are doing. I mean this is Apple. Most of the engineers don't even know Swift exists. They won't know Beats negotiation has been going on for years too.
 
rickdollar said:
Rumors based on statements from anonymous people are always true.
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Actually talk from those "on the shop floor" so to speak will usually be a LOT more genuine and true than ANYTHING you hear Apple say on stage or in a public announcement.

I'm sure many many people here know what their corporations, or any size actually say to outsiders, and what's really going on behind the scenes.

Also what an "Act" so called management can put on to outsiders.
Being total moronic ass holes in reality but a beautiful public persona, Even their close friends would be shocked to know what dicks they were in the workplace.

I've see this scenario 1st hand for many years with many different people.
And how I wish I had a video or audio recording of them being utter dicks to show those outside the real person.
 
Piggie said:
Actually talk from those "on the shop floor" so to speak will usually be a LOT more genuine and true than ANYTHING you hear Apple say on stage or in a public announcement.

I'm sure many many people here know what their corporations, or any size actually say to outsiders, and what's really going on behind the scenes.

Also what an "Act" so called management can put on to outsiders.
Being total moronic ass holes in reality but a beautiful public persona, Even their close friends would be shocked to know what dicks they were in the workplace.

I've see this scenario 1st hand for many years with many different people.
And how I wish I had a video or audio recording of them being utter dicks to show those outside the real person.
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Except that in Apple, we know the engineers and managers only know what they are supposed to do. They won't know the big picture.

We also know Steve Jobs and Tim Cook can be mean. I'd be surprised if you don't know. They will of course be nice to their customers. They read and responded to customers' email all the time.


How old is Spotify ? If it's closer to 5 years, then you know the investors are getting impatient.
 
I find this 'news' dubious and question Buzzfeed's 'source(s)'. Just because an employee says this is what's going on doesn't automatically make it true.

And.. subscription based music services are yet another way to screw the artist out of royalties.
 
Look, I love AAPL just as much as the next guy, but I bailed on iTunes long ago and went to Spotify. I gladly pay $9 a month for that amazing music service.
 
viacavour said:
I repeat. Those streaming services do NOT offer great selection. The real good songs are not there. The studios are not stupid. They don't want to cheapen everything. These streaming services have a larger number of mediocre songs and performers.

This is clearly some desperate PR move by Spotify to smear Apple. When Sporify run out of money, they will close shop, taking your subscription fees with them.
Click to expand...

have you even tried spotify? I'm not going to say spotify is perfect but it's still very good. Michael Jackson's latest album was available when it was released. sure they don't have EVERY song the entire world but they have a ton of music that would satisfy most listeners.
 
trunksu said:
have you even tried spotify? I'm not going to say spotify is perfect but it's still very good. Michael Jackson's latest album was available when it was released. sure they don't have EVERY song the entire world but they have a ton of music that would satisfy most listeners.
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Yap, they still don't have a lot of songs and performers I tried. You have to pay for them individually. They will have some newer ones for promotion of course, but the studios want your money too you know.

When their funds run dry, and can no longer afford the hot properties, it will just become a sea of mediocrity. Enjoy it while it lasts.
 
If they're that ignorant hopefully Cook pulls music from Eddy Cue and let's Iovine take over. I wasn't crazy about the Beats acquisition but I think they would be able to build a streaming music like Eddy Cue is apparently unable to. Plus Apple is making a huge push with iCloud so that's where Cue's focus will need to be. If they have problems this fall there will be a lot of unhappy customers.
 
Rogifan said:
If they're that ignorant hopefully Cook pulls music from Eddy Cue and let's Iovine take over. I wasn't crazy about the Beats acquisition but I think they would be able to build a streaming music like Eddy Cue is apparently unable to. Plus Apple is making a huge push with iCloud so that's where Cue's focus will need to be. If they have problems this fall there will be a lot of unhappy customers.
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Giving it to Iovine is fine since he will still report to Cue. Switching to lousy streaming deals will hurt the music industry + talents too. So Apple will have to be sensitive to those good folks in the business. Spotify and Pandora are just looking after their own cash flow and runway before they become dry.

The hard part is the margin. Running a streaming radio service is a tough distribution business. Beats is unique in the sense that their headphone funds the service.

And they do all kinds of endorsement. Apple just won't do those. It is more exclusive, like Bentley. That is why the Beats brand is important to Apple.
 
I love how someone says this happened, won't name a single person, yet it just has to be true. :eek:
 
chfilm said:
I hate to be that guy in this thread... but something like this wouldn't have happened under Steve! :(
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Oh please. The biggest reason Apple is behind in music streaming is because Steve's MO was that you should own music not rent it.
 
cocky jeremy said:
I love how someone says this happened, won't name a single person, yet it just has to be true. :eek:
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You know the article is driven by other business interests.

Don't know how Spotify works ? Haha, that's a good one.

Now tell me, do the engineers and so called mid level managers know how Beats + Apple business work ?

If someone is at fault, I'd say it's the engineers who made the song repeat too often. Perhaps that's why they were let go ? If these implementors can't handle this detail, they definitely are not high level enough to know the plans.
 
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Guess I'm disconnected too because I don't want streaming, I don't want radio, I don't want TV. I buy for download the songs I want and arrange my play lists to be the way I want. That's what it's all about. iWant.
 
Rogifan said:
Oh please. The biggest reason Apple is behind in music streaming is because Steve's MO was that you should own music not rent it.
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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.
 
viacavour said:
Yap, they still don't have a lot of songs and performers I tried. You have to pay for them individually. They will have some newer ones for promotion of course, but the studios want your money too you know.

When their funds run dry, and can no longer afford the hot properties, it will just become a sea of mediocrity. Enjoy it while it lasts.
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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.
 
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