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RealNetworks vs iTunes Music Service

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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Forbes reports that RealNetworks positioning its music service against Apple.

The latest entrant is RealNetworks, which closed on its acquisition of Listen.com on Monday, and will now take control of the Rhapsody digital music subscription service. RealNetworks' Chief Executive Rob Glaser clearly has Apple in his sights.
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Readers will remember the launch of "RealOne Rhapsody" in May... which was based on a subscription model. ($9.95/mo for unlimited listening, per track fees for burning to CD-R)

But this Forbes article indicates that RealNetworks will soon be offering a pure per-song model, akin to Apple's iTunes Music Store.
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2003/08/05/realnetworks-vs-itunes-music-service/
What format will real use? AAC, Win Media? I still think Apple should hustle with iTunes for Windows before the market is too saturated!
 
Apple leads, and that's why it's still around

NOBODY has the ease-of-use and simple business model for music that Apple does--especially Real, known in the software biz as the clunkiest, most annoying software ever installed for multimedia use. Intel did studies that showed more users wanted to UNINSTALL RealPlayer than install it. MusicMatch was also studied, and users actually became angry when trying to use it.

Same goes for the other imitators out there. They waited for somebody to jump--but Apple is going to succeed, and they won't.

Every year Apple succeeds at doing something innovative, it is pronounced dead by "analysts". Give 'em hell, Apple. Give 'em hell.
 
itunes for windows

i just hope that apple will be able to get out the iTunes for Windows near Thanksgiving. That way they could increase iPod and maybe even Mac sales for the holidays.
 
Real will definitely be much more of a "threat" then BuyMusic, and good competition is healthy for the market. Although most people have hated RealPlayer because of the horrible UI and many other issues they have had. I for one, can't stand Real, although the OS X version of RealOne at first looked real nice, but the moment you scratch the surface I found it immensely unappealing and like Windows Media Player, only use them if I absolutely have to, thanks goodness most sites I go to I can use QuickTime.
 
I liked RealOne Player when I used it on a PC because I seemed to get better framerates with movies but I know it pisses off my PC user friends because the default setting has it change all your filetypes.

Since I'm still on OS9 I hate RealPlayer because it takes forever to quit just like the crappy Windows Media Player for Mac.
 
They seem really adamant on the let's knock off 20c from Apple's price. Will it really make a difference though??

I really don't think many PC users have flocked to any of these new models (that have copied alot of Apple's iTunes Music Store strategy) as Mac users have flocked to use ITMS.

I still think Apple has the winning formula, and once that Windows iTunes version comes out, we'll see Apple become a force to be reckoned with.
 
Originally posted by edStar
They seem really adamant on the let's knock off 20c from Apple's price. Will it really make a difference though??
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The really frustrating thing is that 90% of the songs you're going want are...wait for it...99 cents.

Unfortunately, and this is the problem Apple has (not to mention the entire world), people are stupid.

On another note, I think this whole subscription/buy individual songs thing is a little weird. I would happily pay $10 a month for unlimited streaming of any song. But it has to have that Apple ease-of-use. Bonus if I could even put those songs on my iPod, and it only had to check in at least once a month to make sure my subscription was still current.

I think the one thing record companies have over P2P, and the one thing that they must take advantage of, is the potential for unsurpassed ease of use. They simply have to offer a better experience, and people will pay.
 
Originally posted by Alexander
The really frustrating thing is that 90% of the songs you're going want are...wait for it...99 cents.

Unfortunately, and this is the problem Apple has (not to mention the entire world), people are stupid.

On another note, I think this whole subscription/buy individual songs thing is a little weird. I would happily pay $10 a month for unlimited streaming of any song. But it has to have that Apple ease-of-use. Bonus if I could even put those songs on my iPod, and it only had to check in at least once a month to make sure my subscription was still current.

I think the one thing record companies have over P2P, and the one thing that they must take advantage of, is the potential for unsurpassed ease of use. They simply have to offer a better experience, and people will pay.
Click to expand...

Plus, the thing is if you want to burn CDs, you get royally screwed. From what I can tell, it costs 79¢ a song... So you have to pay 7.99 to burn? Nah.... not worth it.
 
Great. Another two-bit company coming into a market Apple proved viable. They're definitely not getting my money. Realmedia is the only company I hate more than Microsoft
 
Without an easy means of playing the tunes in my car..no go

I have to be able to listen while i drive.
Apples plan works. period

all else are just flattering Apple with their knockoffs.
 
I don't see how Real Network's music service can compete with iTunes which is so well designed and marketed. But they do have name recognition and their service is already utilized on Macs and PCs so they do have some edge there.
 
Originally posted by macphoria
But they do have name recognition
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Bad name recognition, however. When I think of RealPlayer, I think ANNOYING... BADLY DESIGNED... ANNOYING... BUGGY... ANNOYING... POOR PLAYBACK... oh, did I mention ANNOYING?!?! :mad:

Real has pretty much blown their image, IMO, and the name recognition they have is strongly due to badly designed software and annoying attempts to hijack your file-type associations. It still gets on my nerves the way they hide their free player so carefully and make you jump through so many hoops on their site just to download the stupid thing. Someone else here put it best: I only have Real installed because some sites that I visit use it. It's there more out of necessity than preference. I certainly would never intentionally pay for a service that based itself on Real.
 
If at first you don't succeed...

Try, try, try, and try, again to be JUST LIKE iTunes.

Didn't work, yet?

WELL TRY AGAIN, DANGITT!

I am sooooOOOOooo tired of ALL these stupid unimaginative knock-offs.

GOOD NEWS everyone.... I have a G5 waiting to be shipped to me at my job.:D
 
Let's hope Mac Expo Paris will see iTMS for Windows - whilist Apple has a superior product, I think they would be wanting to get it out to the masses sooner rather than later - I guess it comes down to negotiations with the record companies rather than delays in their s/w development.
 
You know what sucks... That Apple has *once again* come up with an *awesome* idea--and *once again* it looks like they're getting screwed. :mad: Why the hell didn't they ramp up Win-iTunes for a simultaneous release? Did they think it was going to sell more Macs? By the time iTunes makes it out there, all these other wannabes will have saturated the market. They can't stay dumb forever--just like with windows, over time the usability and "stupidity" gap narrows and Apple is right back in the crapper with 3% and nowhere to go.
 
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