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iTunes Music Store vs the Rest

For the record, not all analysts think that Apple is behind with iTMS. I heard an analyst this morning on NPR saying that he thought that Apple had significant advantages over the rest of the competition.

Intelligent commentary. One more reason that I like listening to NPR.
 
It will be interesting to see how Apple attempts to elbow iTunes into an increasingly crowded Windows market. Will they adapt the (image over function) ‘we are hip’ iPod ads to ‘we are hipp-er’ than the other guys--iTune ads? Or, will they attempt to differentiate ITMS based on substantive differences? Even at this early point in the business, it’s easy to see a convergence of form, function and price among the competing services. Although, ITMS is arguably superior at this point—overtime, differences will disappear as the services cannibalize each other’s strengths. At some point, they <inevitably> become fungible online digital music sellers—in much the same way Amazon and Barnes & Noble are fungible online book sellers. If this is where Apple is going to end up anyway, then marketing to people’s emotions (we’re hip) may be the smart move. On the other hand, since Apple is the only one stop digital solution (as service provider and player/computer maker) they can pitch synergy and simplicity.
 
It's funny that for EVERY store except iTunes, that it was pointed out that the songs "WON'T" play on the iPod.

1. This could mean that iPod won't be supporting WMA (which I doubt the analyst has such info)

2. That the iPod is so important to online music sales, incompatability is worth at least 0.5 stars off.

I still think though that if Apple's main goal is for iPod sales and maybe even mac sales, they should support as many different formats as possible. After all, do you really think WMA is going to sound better than AAC??

If people are going to use iPod, then won't they have to install iTunes, which would at least let them try it out. (a couple free downloads for iPod owners wouldn't hurt either)
 
iTunes Streaming Feature

Is there any speculation as to whether or not Macs will be able to stream the music collection of iTunes for Windows users on the same closed network??

Is this done through Rendeveous?? If so, I am guessing this feature would not cross over. I am a college student and can currently stream the music collections of every mac user in my building -- it would be amazing if this feature was expanded to iTunes for Windows. Any thoughts??
 
i read an excel type graphic in the hartford current today. it gave the itms 3 stars and rhapsody 3.5 stars. they really weret objective, and took jabs at apple whenever they could.

on the other hand, in the "con" section, they ended every paragraph with "does not work on ipod" i thought that was a nice little compliment. they went out of there way to mention that none of these services are compatible with the worlds most popular mp3/aac player. it bolds well for the pc itms.
 
Windows itunes tied to ipod only?

It will be interesting to see if Apple has the guts enough to tie Windows iTunes to work only with the iPod.

A big reason why the entire iTMS works so well is that it's tied to work with the ipod and only the ipod and hence one can update both pieces (itunes and ipod software) as needed. Witness the addition of AAC support to all generations of ipods.

If Apple doesn't have to try to be compatible with every player out there (meaning basically WMP) then they can better control the user experience and the entire envirornment.

(I think it's safe to say they won't be releasing unprotected mp3s in the windows version)
 
I know no one who uses MusicMatch or BuyMusic or whatever. But...

Don't worry.

Apple will win.

This time, Apple will win.
 
Timing

While I have no doubt that the iTMS for Windows is going to do well, I think Apple should have held out a while releasing the Mac version until there was a working Windows version, or at least had one which was very near to completion.

Whether it's true or not that the record companies wanted a trial (Mac users) period prior to letting Apple release a Windows version does not excuse Apple for not having a Windows version in the wings waiting. If it took Apple two years to put a Mac version together, they could have been working on a Windows version at the same time.

Once the record companies gave the go ahead to BuyMusic and others, there was no reason why they shouldn't have given Apple the go ahead as well. At that point, Apple could have announced iTMS for Windows and still beaten the compeition to the street.

Just my two cents. In any case. I still think they're going to do fine. I just would have liked to have seen them get the jump on the competition on the Windows side to.
 
USA Today

Have you ever stopped to think who reads USA today? That paper is for the lowest common denominator in America. This basically means, ****ing moron.
Take the article with a grain of salt, iTunes for windows will rock, you can bet on that.
 
Re: USA Today

Originally posted by odenshaw
Have you ever stopped to think who reads USA today? That paper is for the lowest common denominator in America. This basically means, ****ing moron.
Take the article with a grain of salt, iTunes for windows will rock, you can bet on that.
Click to expand...

That may be, but that's a population Apple is trying to appeal to... :)
 
Re: Timing

Originally posted by rotorblade
While I have no doubt that the iTMS for Windows is going to do well, I think Apple should have held out a while releasing the Mac version until there was a working Windows version, or at least had one which was very near to completion.

Whether it's true or not that the record companies wanted a trial (Mac users) period prior to letting Apple release a Windows version does not excuse Apple for not having a Windows version in the wings waiting. If it took Apple two years to put a Mac version together, they could have been working on a Windows version at the same time.

Once the record companies gave the go ahead to BuyMusic and others, there was no reason why they shouldn't have given Apple the go ahead as well. At that point, Apple could have announced iTMS for Windows and still beaten the compeition to the street.

Just my two cents. In any case. I still think they're going to do fine. I just would have liked to have seen them get the jump on the competition on the Windows side to.
Click to expand...

Yes, but...

If Apple signed a contract that stated they would give the Record companies a six month trial period (anyone notice how close we are to exactly six months since iTMS was originally launched?), then they might not have had a choice about when iTMS for Windows could be launched. Whether or not the Record companies decided to grant similar (or not-so-similar) licensing agreements to other companies (i.e. BuyMusic.com) would be completely irrelevent.

Personally, the timing of this makes me think that this has basically been the plan from day one. (Or at least since iTMS was first launched...)
 
Originally posted by arn
Napster is not due until later.

I think it's a bit unfair to compare an announced "500,000" to a presently available 200,000+. But regardless. We'll worry about Napster when it gets here.

MusicMatch is of some concern... especially since it has the PC side of the iPod market... but I hopefully, Apple will be able to market their way up.

I'm not sure -- can Apple easily provide updates to the PC iPod population? I'd guess not at present.

arn
Click to expand...

I'm sure iTunes Windows will be a free download. I haven't looked at the site, but USA T makes MusicMatch sound like a bit of a dog to use, with no real benefits other than integration with the jukebox software (ala iTunes).

I'm sure a good number of folks will think that maybe their iPod will work better with Apple software, and then see the nice pretty iTMS and migrate over.

Also note that MusicMatch tunes won't play on the iPod it came bundled with! :rolleyes:
 
iTMS won't be late. Specially when it will be bundled with iPod, it'll catch up and pass the competition :D

Did anyone notice that in the Cons, most had that the service didn't work with iPod?
 
The disingenousness of USA T

To quote such a low consumer recognition of Apple should have alerted USA T that something was amiss... Apple is considered one of the most recognized brand names in the world. The quality of reporting from Reuters and too often, USA T, including Rob "the sky is ALWAYS falling in on Apple" Enderle's silly comments make notable quotes but those quoting these dingbats place them in an all together much too favourable category- that of exspurts! What is so delightful is that for a year or so now, Apple has been on track in a resurrection of sorts that almost defies belief. One stunning software and hardware product after another. I know of NO other company in the computing world doing anything like this. Apple you amaze me... hence my new G5 and 17" PB (minus white spots!). Oh and Dell's ripping off of University of Texas in their anaemic cluster is more than shameful... it borders on a litiginous event. And a superb example of how cost effective the Wintel platform is...NOT! 30 times more so than an Apple offering. Hopefully people of decision-making status will take note of this!
 
Originally posted by reedm007
And, is it just me or does USA Today seem a bit biased toward subscription services?
Click to expand...
Well, I have to admit that I can see the writer's point. A flat-rate service is a great way to discover new music. (Presumably. I wouldn't know firsthand, because I've never been enough of a sucker to subscribe to one... except for one of those Columbia House "nine CD's for a penny" scams way back in the 1980's. Fool one once, shame on you, and so on.)

But the thing is, iTMS isn't a "music discovery service." It's a bloody music store, period full stop. Judging it on the grounds that it's only a fair music discovery service misses the point. We all know that.

I'm most intrigued by the rumors we've heard of a new "loan" feature in the music store. I was thinking about this just last night. I think it would be great, a real differentiator, if you could download an album and listen to it for 24 hours before deciding whether to buy it. I'm not sure how FairPlay could be used to implement that, but it would absolutely kick ass, if you'll pardon the expression.

I thought about it in these terms: the big selling point of subscription-based services like Emusic and whatever else (I don't even know their names, for the most part) is that you can download stuff that you've never heard before just because you like the cover art or whatever. iTMS doesn't give you that sort of capability, currently, because each download costs you a buck. But if iTMS incorporated a try-before-you-buy feature, that would put the last nail in the coffin of the subscription services.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how that could work with Apple's existing technologies. But if anybody can figure it out, Apple can.

(Dammit, now I'm getting my hopes up. I didn't want to do that.)
 
Originally posted by mms
If Apple has bad marketing like they usually do...
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, I don't mean to be dense, but... was this remark intended to be sarcastic? Cause, you know, it seems to me it's either tongue-in-cheek or totally wrong.
 
Re: iTunes Streaming Feature

Originally posted by JohnGillilan
Is this done through Rendeveous?? If so, I am guessing this feature would not cross over.
Click to expand...
It's utterly trivial to implement Rendezvous on Windows. Earlier this year I used Apple's example source code to develop a Rendezvous-aware application for SGI's IRIX operating system. It's easy, easy.

So yeah, it's entirely possible that Apple might include Rendezvous streaming in iTunes 5 (or whatever it turns out to be).
 
Originally posted by Jeff Harrell
I'm sorry, I don't mean to be dense, but... was this remark intended to be sarcastic? Cause, you know, it seems to me it's either tongue-in-cheek or totally wrong.
Click to expand...

As someone who loves Apple products, let me clearly state that I agree with MMS to some extent on Apple's marketing.

Apple is hit or miss when it comes to their advertising. The original Mac 1984 commercial, the Think Different campaign, and the iPod "Dancing Nerd" commercial: Brilliant

The original G4 "Tanks" commercial, the "Switchers" campaign (aside from Ellen Feiss and Janie Porche), and the G5 commercial: Lame

Apple knows how to get it's brand out there...but seems to preach to the choir. I've seen Apple ads on TV while watching with PC friends, and none of them have ever said "Whoa...that makes me want to go out and buy an Apple product".

Apple designs commercials that appeal to it's fan base...with messages that are so low key they are almost subliminal. But their commercials don't hit very hard to a non-target audience. And that is what I wish would change. Something that punches PC users and analysts in the face and says "Take that, motherf*cker!" in a booming Samuel L. Jackson voice.

Wait...there was one. The G3/Pentium "Snails" ad...another classic. I wanna see more of that, and less of the new iPod "Psychedelic MTV Urban Funk" commercials. Excuse me while I go vomit now...
 
I really don't consider this to be a problem because Apple is hardly late. Yes, a few sites have launched on Windows beforehand, but none enjoy the credibility or reliability that Apple can supply. The major competitor that Apple has to worry about is M$, but they likely won't have hardware to go with their release and will come after Apple.

I attend one of the largest Universities in the nation and, from what I see, Apple has a sterling reputation, even among PC users. Most people crave Apples, they look enviously at Apple products, and they know that Apple makes things easy. I think iTMS for Windows will succeed and own the largest market share, just like the iPod because it gives PC users a glimpse into the Mac world. If Apple can provide a solid, reliable version of iTunes for Windows, I think this will be huge and will help convert people to Mac. Once processor speeds begin to scale well again I think we'll see an increase in Apple marketshare and a price drop as well - due to new revenue sources and increased share. I'm very optimistic at this point and feel that Apple's sales may top 5% by next summer for the computing market. I also think that iTunes and the iPod will command at least 40% of the digital music market, which will make both the clear winners for marketshare.
 
The key question is How well iTunes and iTMS for Windows is implemented. If it is as good as it is on the Mac, then we have no worries. It'll spread like wildfires.

As many of these windows music service announcements as we have seen, the hype generated by these have been virtually nil. Ask an avg. Joe about whether they've heard of this new service from Musicmatch or Buy.com, and they won't have a clue. Ask them about the iPod, and it'll be obvious how much more of a market advantage Apple has. iPod is THE most sought after gadget for teenagers and college students. Make sure the iPod works seemlessly with iTMS and only with iTMS, and it's game over. Thanks for playing.

The hype generated by Thursday's announcement will be huge. I'll be shocked if Apple doesn't do 1 mil songs in the first couple of days, 3-4 mil in the first week.
 
Originally posted by dongmin
Apple's big secret weapon is the iPod. Apple can really go to town in integrating the iPod with iTunes and iTMS.

Apple should bundle music with the iPod, e.g. 100 'loaner' songs with each iPod purchase. Or 20 free iTMS downloads with each iPod purchase. This will make the iPod a more attractive purchase AND get people into the habit of using the iTMS to buy music. Once you start, you can't stop.
Click to expand...

take it one step further, and give the users who already have an iPod and use Windows an incentive, like 10 free downloads when you switch to iTunes for Windows. That way you get some of the already existing musicmatch users switched over to a better service :D
 
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