Is everyone asleep?
Originally posted by AHDuke99
Damn, 500,000 songs. the itunes store only had 250,000 when it launched.
But how many do they have now. It's not as easy when you're the first. iTunes had 250 mainstream songs at launch. I'm thinking their catalog has grown and they're not including indies yet.
Originally posted by paulwhannel
i'm *really* hoping apple has some tricks up it's sleeve here... i cannot believe they would stick iTMS for mac out there so far ahead of a windows version, just to spur on early competition... It's my theory that they've just given that to draw off their competitors onto a longer timetable, and they'll be releasing iTMS for windows very shortly...
Odds are, Apple the time period between announcing the Mac version and the tentative and unspecific release date had more to do with open ended negotiations with record companies than with any aspects of development. As we can see, of all the coming competition, the only one that's currently more than vaporware is a web based front end to a shoddy business model held together by far to restrictive DRM.
All these other "coming soon" services are probably still in the negotiation phases themselves over the amount of DRM required for a windows product. In fact, the smarter ones are probably waiting for Apple to make the headway in this area and piggyback off of their model much like they've already done with the concept of the iTMS itself. Odds are, Apple won't release the product if it doesn't contain the least amount of imposing DRM possible, and that's what's holding iTMS for WIN back.
Originally posted by fpnc
IMO, this new Napster effort will probably spell the end to Roxio. The management team at Roxio who thought this one up should probably start counting the days until they're gone and forgotten. Too bad, however, because Roxio's Toast is a pretty nice product. Maybe they'll spin Toast out into a separate company so that it can try to survive on its own.
As far as the 500,000 songs with all the major labels and independents, I'll believe it when I see it.
Ok, are you high?
Music store's mean little to nothing to companies like Apple and Microsoft because their income is relatively miniscule compared to that of the main revenue making business activities. But to a company like Roxio, who's main revenue is the sale of software titles, software titles that are the industry standard for music CD mastering I might add, a music store like Napster II possible income is not only comparable to that of your other offerings, but the store itself would be synergistic in it's potential boosting of sales of Roxio's CD mastering products.
iTunes is free so far. On a mac, it only costs 9.99 for the entire process of buying, mixing, and burning. If Son of Napster doesn't include a light burning software, odds are, a large enough amount of people will buy Roxio software to burn CD's with. It's only slightly iPod sales skyrocketing after the iTMS debut.
Napster: The Return only has to be marginally successful amongst these new services to have been a worthwhile endeavor for Roxio. And I'm sure they can procure more than marginal success.
Originally posted by sacrilicious
I'd sign on with Napster if I were a record company. As has been mentioned here, Napster 2.0 will have an enormous advantage because the original Napster was so widely used and discussed.
I'm sure that will be the heaviest issue weighed in the upcoming iTMS vs Napster: Rise of the Machines battle. The press will probably go gaga over the resurrection of the once notorious file stealing service because Napster was a household name.
Apple's advantage? It can be a household name now. If iTMS was only marketed well enough to be today's napster, it would atleast be on equal footing before the showdown takes place.
-Hertz
I'm tired.
