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Napster's CEO Slams Apple

srobert

srobert

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Jan 7, 2002
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Napster's CEO Chris Gorog claims that Napster's $9.95/mo business model is the way to go and that Apple has it all wrong.

As the battle heats up for online music services, 2004 stands to be a deciding year for the increasingly competitive market. While iTunes continues to carry a strong lead, Chris Gorog, chairman and CEO of Roxio (Napster's parent company) warned music industry representatives to "stay-off the Apple platform" at the recent Midem International Music Fair in Cannes, France, according to the Mail & Guardian.

Gorog backed up his remark by explaining that more music players are compatible with Napster and predicting that its $9.95/month business model for unlimited streaming downloads will prove more popular than Apple's 99 cent a-la-carte service.

Meanwhile, Apple vice president Eddy Cue dropped an interesting new factoid regarding the iTunes Music Store: 95 percent of its catalog of 500,000 tracks have been purchased at least once. Cue also trumpeted that the highest spending customer on iTunes has purchased $29,500 music -- something that Apple CEO Steve Jobs told the crowd during his Macworld Expo keynote.

Perhaps most important to many of those in attendance at Cannes was the reiteration that iTunes, as well as Napster and other services, will soon be available in Europe. Differences in copyright practices, retail pricing, and differing release dates of albums from place to place are reportedly among the biggest obstacles online music services have had to accommodate for before they make the services live.

Source: E-Gear, Mac Observer
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Well, as for myself, I prefer to own my music. I like Apple's model better. I guess it could vary from person to person. It sounds a little presomptuous for him to say that he is right and Apple is wrong... and by extension... ME, for preferring Apple's model.
 
Gorog backed up his remark by explaining that more music players are compatible with Napster and predicting that its $9.95/month business model for unlimited streaming downloads will prove more popular than Apple's 99 cent a-la-carte service.
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Do they get to save the streaming files?

Or is it just unlimited play on your computer for $9.95/month?

With a .99 song and 9.95 album cost to be able to burn Napster songs to CDs...

I can see how people would rather pay 9.95/month to get the "deluxe" version of the Napster service so they can pay for a computer version of digital radio.

--- aka...

I can see how people would rather "pay" to get access to subscriber based radio stations on the computer instead of the digital cable radio stations through the stereo.
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
Do they get to save the streaming files?
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I don't think they can play the Streamed music (9.95/month) on a MP3 player... only the music they actually purchased (99¢ song)... just like the "All wrong" Apple Model. This guy is full of contradictions: A) Streamed is better than downloaded, B) Napster is compatible with more protable MP3 player than Apple, C) Streamed music wont' play on portable music player.
 
The CEO of Buymusic.com made similar remarks about Steve Jobs and iTunes and look where they ended up...

As a side note, my teacher bought a song from buymusic and tried to play it in class during a presentation. Unfortunately, it kept telling him he did not have access rights to the said music and wouldn't let him play it. I never had that problem with iTunes.
 
i don't understand how he ignored all the previous music services that offered the subscription model... none of them took off.

i remember jobs saying something to the extent that the subscription model is accountant friendly but not consumer friendly. no one wants to "rent" music. and thus far, he's right.

for $10 a month, i think i'd consider getting a satellite radio instead. at least i can use that on the road.
 
i get only one mental image from this.

two guys fighting, one hasn't taken a punch, the other is about to be killed. The one that's lying bleeding on the ground smiles and says "i'm winning".

paul
 
Originally posted by paulwhannel
two guys fighting, one hasn't taken a punch, the other is about to be killed. The one that's lying bleeding on the ground smiles and says "i'm winning".
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That almost sounds like a Mike Tyson vs. Howie Mandell matchup.
 
Originally posted by Sun Baked
Do they get to save the streaming files?
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the indication from their website is that you cannot. you pay for the streaming services - otherwise, they must be purchased to be saved.

(and i imagine that if it was unlimited stream/save then they'd just say, "unlimited downloads" instead.)
 

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Originally posted by paulwhannel
i get only one mental image from this.

two guys fighting, one hasn't taken a punch, the other is about to be killed. The one that's lying bleeding on the ground smiles and says "i'm winning".

paul
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Well here's another mental image....

Black Knight: Come on then.
Arthur: What?
Black Knight: Have at you!
Arthur: You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.
Black Knight: Oh, had enough, eh?
Arthur: Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left.
Black Knight: Yes I have.
Arthur: Look!
Black Knight: Just a flesh wound.
Arthur: Look, stop that.
Black Knight: Chicken! Chicken!
Arthur: Look, I'll have your leg. Right!


Arthur cuts off the Black Knight's leg.


Black Knight: Right, I'll do you for that!
Arthur: You'll what?
Black Knight: Come 'ere!
Arthur: What are you going to do, bleed on me?
Black Knight: I'm invincible!
Arthur: You're a loony.
Black Knight: The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you! Come on then.

Arthur cuts off the Black Knight's other leg.


Black Knight: All right; we'll call it a draw.
Arthur: Come, Patsy.
Black Knight: Oh, oh, I see, running away then. You yellow bastard! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!
 
Originally posted by mactastic
Well here's another mental image....

Black Knight: Come on then.
Arthur: What?
Black Knight: Have at you!
Arthur: You are indeed brave, Sir Knight, but the fight is mine.
Black Knight: Oh, had enough, eh?
Arthur: Look, you stupid bastard, you've got no arms left.
Black Knight: Yes I have.
Arthur: Look!
Black Knight: Just a flesh wound.
Arthur: Look, stop that.
Black Knight: Chicken! Chicken!
Arthur: Look, I'll have your leg. Right!


Arthur cuts off the Black Knight's leg.


Black Knight: Right, I'll do you for that!
Arthur: You'll what?
Black Knight: Come 'ere!
Arthur: What are you going to do, bleed on me?
Black Knight: I'm invincible!
Arthur: You're a loony.
Black Knight: The Black Knight always triumphs! Have at you! Come on then.

Arthur cuts off the Black Knight's other leg.


Black Knight: All right; we'll call it a draw.
Arthur: Come, Patsy.
Black Knight: Oh, oh, I see, running away then. You yellow bastard! Come back here and take what's coming to you. I'll bite your legs off!
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ROTFLMAO :D

For $9.95 I would rather subscribe to satelite radio and be able to take it with me.
 
Originally posted by spinner
For $9.95 I would rather subscribe to satelite radio and be able to take it with me.
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Exactly - and as an owner of an XM Radio I already do. Apple has free iTunes radio links, which is fine. If you had to choose what songs you listen to for the download, it would get tiresome fast enough - too much time figuring out what you want to listen to and not enough listening.

XM Radio is fantastic and they also offer a PC version that lets you listen by download.

D
 
Originally posted by mactastic
Well here's another mental image....
Click to expand...

Ah! i knew there was a scene from a movie that i was thinking of, i just couldn't quite place it :) ty.

at any rate it'll be fun to watch napster die again.

paul
 
To the CEO of Napster:

You don't frighten us, you Napster pig-dogs! Go and boil your bottoms, son of a silly person! I blow my nose at you, so called Napster CEEEEEOh! You and all your silly streeeeming music!

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty-headed animal food-trough wiper! I f@rt in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!

Now go away, or I shall taunt you a second time.


Moof!
 
Originally posted by Mr. Anderson
....it would get tiresome fast enough - too much time figuring out what you want to listen to and not enough listening.
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Man, could you imagine? "Okay, I want to listen to Relient K. (click-click-drag-click)". 2 minutes later: "Okay, now some oldies. How about Aerosmith? (click-click-drag-click-crash-restart-click-click-drag-click)".
How stupid. And bashing the Apple model when they offer the same exact service sounds like bashing/desperation. I can do without Toast to. Screw em.
 
Originally posted by paulwhannel
i get only one mental image from this.

two guys fighting, one hasn't taken a punch, the other is about to be killed. The one that's lying bleeding on the ground smiles and says "i'm winning".

paul
Click to expand...

Indeed...The Black Knight. "Let's call it a draw!"
 
here's how it is...

When a CEO gets up in front of a lot of people like that and bashes a competetor like he did, and can't even get his story entirely straight while doing it, and something as weak as 'stay away from Apple' is just as weak as .. we all know the movie the waterboy right? momma tellin little bobby that girls/football/ and other things were 'the devil'... basicly momma (and the CEO) have no reason for people to stay away from the competitor other than they're just plain scared to lose them, and this is a last chance ditch effort to scare people away from Apple. Will it work? In the long run of things probably not. So they can cheap shot away all day, fact of the matter is Apple has a good setup and people are using it.
 
the highest spending customer on iTunes has purchased $29,500 music
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If memory serves, iTunes claims to have moved 30 million songs. At $.99 each, this person seems to represent about 1/10% of all their business. Talk about a good customer!
 
Originally posted by idea_hamster
If memory serves, iTunes claims to have moved 30 million songs. At $.99 each, this person seems to represent about 1/10% of all their business. Talk about a good customer!
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Assuming a minute a song to select and download, that's nearly 500 hours.

That's like a part-time job!
 
I liked how he slammed apple store for providing only 30 seconds stream as opposed to their full lenght streams.

Here is some usefull info for you sir:

preview also pre·vue n.
An introductory or preliminary message, sample, or overview; a foretaste.

Did the guy even tried itunes? Looks like he does'nt know what he's talking about.
 
one thing... at ~$29500 spent, the difference between 99 cents and $1 becomes quite significant! (even though 99 cents is usually used to "fool" customers into thinking it's a lot cheaper than the $1)

it's 29,500 songs at $1 or 29,797 songs at 99 cents. almost 300 "extra" songs!

:eek:
 
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