Apple Working with U2 on New Music Format to Boost Digital Music Sales

[nick42983]

I don't think the format is the issue, it's the price. I listened to iTunes Radio for a while at the gym today and nothing I heard even made me consider tapping the [$1.29] button to purchase the track. Most people don't care enough about sound quality to make that a differentiator. Apple's earbuds have been good enough for consumers for more than a decade.

Before streaming became popular I accumulated a large collection of 800 albums (11,000 songs) which I now have on iTunes. I've bought maybe a dozen albums in the last few years. I tried out Beats Music and was disappointed by both the app and the company. If I go back to streaming it'll be Spotify, but with so much music in my possession already, I think I'll pass on spending more money on entertainment for now.

If people are still adding to their music collection, they'd be better off buying a used CD from Amazon and ripping the tracks. Many CDs can be bought for pennies, add $3.99 shipping. It's silly to buy the same thing for double or triple that. Audophiles can make their case, but when it comes to marketing a product to 100s of millions of people, price is a lot more important than sound quality, which is hard to perceive without expensive equipment.

 

[kazmac]

So why did Apple even bother with the Beats acquisition if they're going to work with U2 on a new Music format? I know Apple wanted the insight the Beats men have on the music industry and their streaming service, but wouldn't the Beats gents have a lot more to say about a new music format than U2?

Just give us non compressed files in iTunes at a lower price point.

 

[Tiger8]

Apple, you're better off giving away free Black Eyed Peas and/or Lady Gaga albums then these old geezers. OMG!

Gaga holds the shameful record of scamming her way to #1 with Born This way selling for 99 cents on amazon.

It was so bad Billboard had to change rules about what counts as 'sale' (i.e. not 99 cent albums)

 

[barkomatic]

These celebrity collaborations with Apple are getting corny--particularly with U2.

 

[MentalFloss]

A new music format? Music is music surely?

I wonder if people said the same in the early 90s when you went to the store to buy your music on tape, vinyl or CD. And then the digital music revolution happened, and people went "Ah, that is what you meant by a 'new music format'?"

 

[SgtPepper12]

As much as I dislike U2 (or rather Bono), I'm genuinely interested in what this music format should be. First thing I thought of, was something like 24bit/192kHz. But the difference between that and CD quality is quite small, especially on lower fidelity music systems (which is the large majority of music systems) and definitely not worth the extra space (more than 4 times). I don't expect this will significantly boost sales.

The other idea is multichannel support. But there are barely any multichannel mixes available (and I don't think it adds a lot to the music, tbh). Also "less known artists" probably won't have the means for something like that. It's technically pretty extensive. Also the amount of people with actual multichannel systems is rather small (by 'actual' I mean, not randomly distributed speakers), plus most of the music nowadays is consumed via headphones.

So, I don't think it's anything too technical. What competences could a person like Bono have to make technical improvements on established audio formats anyway? It's probably something different, something multi media like. Useless bonus material or interactive stuff.

And honestly, I couldn't care less about crap like that. I'm really hoping for something more interesting, but it's probably just some media stunt. The person who's responsible is more important than the thing itself.

 

[bushido]

Gaga holds the shameful record of scamming her way to #1 with Born This way selling for 99 cents on amazon.

It was so bad Billboard had to change rules about what counts as 'sale' (i.e. not 99 cent albums)

doesnt Billboard count Youtube, Vevo etc views now too? not sure whats worse

 

[840quadra]

Apple, you're better off giving away free Black Eyed Peas and/or Lady Gaga albums then these old geezers. OMG!

Did you read the article? The goal is to help boost all works, not just those from U2.

 

[Chastepe]

The new format will include an hologram representation of the artist popping up from the 4K Apple Cinema Retina Display singing the songs right in front of your eyes.

 

[odedia]

2008??? It was 2004.

 

[pubwvj]

Translation: Apple working on a new format so users have to rebuy all their music again once the existing formats are nolonger supported in future MacOSX and iOS versions.

 

[Kissaragi]

It's all in the details. A print of the Mona Lisa is nothing like seeing the real thing. Music is like that too. A compressed AAC file is deader sounding than an uncompressed AIFF. But AIFF isn't practical when bandwidth and storage is limited. So a new format that is less compressed than AAC but still retains AAC's file size frugality would be a beautiful thing. Personally, I use ALAC right now, a little compressed and somewhat large files, but not as large as AIFF.

That said I don't know how that sells more music b/c the era of big home audio is dead and portables are not going to sound much better even w/ an improved format. The real problem w/ the music industry IMHO is lack of talent. There are a lot of one-song wonders and one decent cut albums out there now, and nothing really new sounding.

Yes I should have explained better really. Obviously a new format that offered better quality at the same or even lower file sizes would be great but I couldn't see how that would help sell music either. I was thinking they meant something like bjorks biophilia app or some other way of presenting music which I cant see is going to improve sales either so what on earth are they planning?

Surely they decline of music sales is down to the streaming services? Apple have Beats music now, just overhaul that and jobs done.

 

[BJMRamage]

new music format = all music sounds like U2....kidding.

 

[bbplayer5]

Does it include forcing music onto everyone's devices?

 

[DTphonehome]

Man, does Bono have a Jesus complex or what? Thinks he's somehow the guy to change the world of digital music. Just go away, dude.

 

[X-X]

How long until Apple buy U2?

That made me laugh.

 

[JHankwitz]

How long until Apple buy U2?

They likely already have. Between Beats and U2, Apple has something evolving in the background we don't know about.

 

[T-Will]

I'm hearing Apple's new and innovative service will allow you to get 5 CD's sent to your house for free, and all you have to do is buy one U2 CD at the club price. Amazing!

 

[drewu]

Hmmmm…. I always viewed Apple as being a bit hip/different/counter culture when I was growing up (compared to MS, with their suits, formality and business buzzwords).

But this U2 fiasco…. It's a bit like watching your grandfather dancing :cringe:

Apple need to be careful, as their 'cool' rating is diminishing I think…

 

[teslo]

i'd love to see some pics of bono in the R&D HQ coding and testing music file formats.

Apple need to be careful, as their 'cool' rating is diminishing I think…

nah, the only 'cool' they ever achieved with musical artists was the white stripes when their first single was being pushed. everyone else has been pretty lame.

 

[JHankwitz]

These celebrity collaborations with Apple are getting corny--particularly with U2.

Right, about as corny as Apple launching the iPod. Most people didn't have a clue back then as to what Apple was doing with the music industry, just as we haven't a clue now.

 

[Naimfan]

The problem with music is that most of it is just overly expensive junk.

As music has gotten easier to make and distribute, the sheer quantity of what becomes available dilutes the quality.

If you want to sell more, improve the product - make the music better. Find the next REM, or Velvet Underground, Nirvana, etc.

 

[Jsameds]

If it means more free albums - great! Sign me up!

 

[Yelmurc]

The only thing they can do to help is to lower the cost of albums. At 3-5 dollars I think you could sell a lot more but no artist is going to go for that.

 

[JHankwitz]

Hmmmm…. I always viewed Apple as being a bit hip/different/counter culture when I was growing up (compared to MS, with their suits, formality and business buzzwords).

But this U2 fiasco…. It's a bit like watching your grandfather dancing :cringe:

Your perception is you own personal reality. Time will tell what's really going on at Apple.