For all the glitz surrounding the unveiling Monday of Apple Computer’s new music service, a quick look suggests that it’s a solid, but hardly revolutionary, addition to the market.
Apple’s Music: Evolution, not Revolution
About The Author
Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
Follow me on Twitter @EugeniaLoli
That it is more of an evolution than a revolution, but this doesn’t stop me from wanting something like this on my Linux machine and my Tivo…
Kudos to Apple…
While I found this service a good thing for users and consumers. And I feel that the harder part for Jobs had been getting all the major 5 labels to contribute songs and this is the real revolution is here, the software part have nothing revolutionnary, it’s the very good integration of different known technology.
Back in Napster time major music label were radically opposed to this approach.
This new servive is the coming of DRM to the Mac. Clearly Apple is following the same path as M$ on this issue. But Linux seems to be going the same way as well. We’re doomed….
“Apple’s new iTunes service raises the bar for digital music, but it won’t get the company out of its 5 percent ghetto in the PC business.”
That web site is very MS oriented. How about an evaluation of the service? Did that Joe even check it out? I always see a lot of comments about MACS from people who are afraid of touching one. I actually tried the service and it was great. I hope Apple brings this to MS Windows and Linux soon! It really is a “better mouse trap”. I hope Apple does not have their inovation taken away from them again. I can see the MS Borg assimilating this also, like they did with the movie making software and Novell, Linux, Lotus 123,………
This article misses a lot.
The real significance of this is Apple’s increased emphasis into software and services, and an interesting new revenue stream. While actually providing a really nicely designed, extremely easy to use music services, that both rewards consumers and offers a workable version of DRM. Not to mention the extraordinary music *sharing* abilities of iTunes 4.
Focusing on Apple’s computer marketshare is strange. What does their new service have to do with computer marketshare? Isn’t the marketshare to look at here MP3 player marketshare?
In any case, this almost certainly a test run, for both Apple and music industry. But I’d say this service and a Windows versions of iTunes as fast as Apple can code it — it has all the makings of an incredible success.
Give it a try, and see why people are impressed.
We know now Jobs’ new outlook for his company, which is fine by me. What they did with computers was amazing, and they can take their individualistic (I like making up words) and form it into something new. Like the iTunes Music Store. I think this is a revolution for this market! As well as a evolution of something already down. To say Apple is wrong of thinking their idea a revolution isn’t fair. Much respect to the companies before hand, but they could never get their product like Apple did with theres.
I was on iTunes music store all night yesterday, buying and surfing through. They have a very healthy selection of music, and was very pleased with the quality I got after downloading!
I read somewhere that Apple was going to port this service to Windows machines. But wanted to test the waters and help push their product – macs – before they move it to any other platform. Which is very smart! Make people switch, just for the service. Their stock and hopefully sales will grow because of this service.
“The company has certainly put on display its experience with ease of use.”
OK. But typical downplay strategy – you make a quick admission up front and then move on to all the negatives/criticism/etc in the body of the article.
“But what Jobs didn’t note is the debt he owes to those services and to the defunct music companies that came before them, which have spent years in painful negotiations with the record companies, progressively winning more flexibility for online music distribution. Apple’s service may be the least restrictive of the current services, but that’s largely because other companies did the hard work of preparing the way. ”
Well, what was stopping them from freeing up on the restrictions at the other label-run services? They could have done this months ago. They could have abandoned subscriptions long before Apple got its service running. This thing has been in gestation a while — in other words, the decision to sign up is months and months old. Probably last year.
“Label executives privately say the Apple service is an experiment, which could be expanded if it proves successful. Apple’s small market share means that the stakes are relatively low. “It’s a test, with a small subset of consumers,” one label executive said.”
OK, so nobody but Apple could do this. Fine, credit to Apple.
“Apple essentially used two features to persuade the labels to give the company the benefit of the doubt. The ease of purchasing music was a draw. So was the light, almost invisible layer of digital rights management software that Apple built in-house and applied to the songs.”
A “draw” Ha, ha!! Let’s get a clue people – what won over, tipped over the record companies was the sheer brilliance and ease of use of this service. That’s what caused them to cast aside their doubts. Of course acknowledging the brilliance of Apple is just real hard for lots of people to do, in the press, on this site, etc. Because everyone else has a Winblows computer and it’s not easy to acknowledge you have the suckier machine.
The other remarkable thing is how amazed people are at the ease of use. It’s like, wow, using a computer can actually be easy. Amazing!!! Which if you use an apple you know is just par for the course. Says something really about how stultifying and shitty windows really is.
“Other music services welcomed Apple’s marketing muscle to the business and said they were eager to win the same rights that Jobs touted.”
Good luck on the ease of use guys, you don’t even write software. Let alone have the talent apple has in the that department. You use a web browser. 90 percent of what makes apple’s service great is the lack of a web browser being the interface. It’s sherlock for music.
“I believe the rights will be offered to us before Apple moves to the PC,” said Rob Reid, chairman of Listen.com,”
Yea, I am sure this is what you’re counting on to prevent your total extinction. But again, will you be as easy to use?
“Rivals weren’t convinced Apple’s pay-per-song model marked any improvements in music distribution.”
WHAT A JOKE! Not “any” improvement, not the slightest bit.
“A lot of people are going to fight not only to keep up with Apple, but to surpass them,” said Zack Zalon, general manager of Radio Free Virgin, the online radio service of music retailer Virgin Entertainment. “They’re an excellent software company, not a music retailer.”
Wait, isn’t this about software?
Not sure if all of the other service’s use a web browser interface. But all the same, ease of use is not used in the same breath as these services.
Actually if you watch the video. You will see that a Windows version of this service WILL be available near the end of the year.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/specialmusicevent/
Also that international service is planned as well, their just are issues with the labels contracts that need to be worked out. This is why its U.S. only, for now.
why did record companies, artists and now users find it so appealing, when practically nobody has signed up for the others?
“Apple Unveils Revolutionary Online Music Service”
http://www.wininformant.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=38820
Also see: http://storage.ziffdavis.com/article2/0,3973,1047634,00.asp
The title of the article shows bias in itself. The assumption is that it had to be revolutionary or its a let down, another apple disapointment.
Who said it ever had to be revolutionary and who cares either way. It is a nice way of making money for apple (hopefully) and its a nice distribution mechanism for the record companies that will cut down on some (some= < 30%) of pirating. That is all. Oh and it integrates nicely with apple further expanding the value of their “entertainment hub.”
This is more window-biased spin, and its even in the title. That is bad. This is basically a masked put down. Good try cnet you’ve become the fox news (fair and balanced if you are an ultra-right wing facist) of the tech world. Oh and just so i don’t piss off the fox news lover, CNN and MSNBC are also horrible. They are all so bad that i wait for the BBC news and i live in the US.
“I have seen the future of music and its name is iTunes
Apple’s new online music-buying system is everything Napster promised to be — cheap, easy and, best of all, legal.”
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/04/29/itunes/index_np.html
The extent of cnet’s biasedness against macs is perfectly evident from thier reviews of Dell’s Inspiron 8500 and the Powerbook.
While the bigger, heavier and less battery-life endowed Dell gets 8.3, the Powerbook (similar price, near identicle specs, and yet thinner, lighter, more battery life and WAY more beautiful) gets 8.2.
It’s not a huge difference in rating, but if anything the powerbook deserves a few points more than the dell – even a Dell using buddy of mine is willing to admit this.
Go figure.
not to mention the fact that news about apple’s new service has slipped down and out of sight very quickly, while news of Longhorn’s build leaks (for which the final product is over 1 year away) remains a top news headline for them…..
At spymac.com
Music stations coming to Apple Stores
Following the successful launch of the iTunes Music Store, recent information reveals that Apple plans on providing access to its digital music shop from the dozens of retail outlets spread throughout the United States.
Although the iMac-powered kiosks will double as information and showcase displays, customers will be able to purchase music and take it home with them, provided they bring along an iPod or purchase a disc to burn. “Apple wants to get the point across that the [iTunes Music Store] is a real music shop,” says our source. “It’s just digital.”
Payment procedures are not known at this time and may end up as simple as customers having to sign in with their self-created Apple ID, or as integrated as having the music kiosks directly tied in with the in-store sales system.
“Either way, the iMacs will be running a modified iTunes 4 in kiosk mode and at least one staff-member will be assigned to assist each unit.”
They put a date on their windows version, but not on their international version of their music store.. That’s such a bad sign imo..
I can only imagine it’s b/c the US version is within their control. It’s just a matter of getting the software done (themselves or with music match) and then deciding when to release. Int’l however is prob. dependent on redord companies, legal restrictions etc… something beyond apple’s control.
The Apple Music service is evolutionary, but it hardly deserves the ho-hum attitude of the author.
The music industry has desperately been trying to find a way to make this whole thing work. Jobs is standing on the shoulders of others, that is for sure. But, with his charisma, Apple’s abiliy to make things easy to use yet innovative, I believe the music industry is praying this will be the answer to their problems.
objective cold hard facts. That is all i need thank you. Why must journalists always add their own spin to everthing.
The service is cool. CNET: Stop the cr*p and start acting like real journalists and not advocates.
Where are all the linux people? I’d expect them to have come here in droves saying that the article is right and that all the music in the Apple store sucks because its not GPL’d. Oh wait… their getting bent over and DRM’d too
Are you suggesting that the article Eugenia pointed us to was written by her?? It’s not.
By the way… you never responded to my huge list of problems with OS X that you asked about in the story forum that is back there in the archives… I was hoping to see some kind of response from you since you asked the question “what kind of problems are you having.”
As a “Linux person”, I readily accept the fact that there will be DRM, and that it might be a good thing. There is nothing wrong with companies attempting to protect their IP. The _problem_ is when the protection goes too far.
If you spoke with intelligent people who use Linux, instead of some of the trolls who hang out here, perhaps you’d stop wondering, and start thinking.
-Erwos
“…a quick look suggests that it’s a solid, but hardly revolutionary, addition to the market.”
The key word above is “solid,” not “revolutionary.” Sure, Apple’s going to toot their own horn as much as they can…that’s to be expected from ANY business. But as long as it is quality stuff, it’s a keeper.
No, what I am saying is that eugenia likes to put up negative articles about apple. why? I don’t know but I think it’s to “establish” that there’s no such thing as great. Everything is equal, more or less, once you take the upsides and downsides into account. This is often true. However, it’s not always true. For example, apple has the best online download service. It’s better than the others. BETTER.
As far as your offtopic thread, I didn’t respond because I never saw it. If you provide a link and it’s still on the system, I will respond. I just don’t remember the exchange, sorry.
When Apple is revolutionary like with the Newton nobody buys their wares, and now that they are being more smart about timing they get slammed for not being innovative. I guess Microsoft is their God at CNET.
Linux enthusiasts don’t want DRM because of how Microsoft is implementing it and their lack of trustworthiness. The good thing about open source is choice, not saving money.
You mean getting, what five huge profit hungry, technology feering, corporations to agree that online distribution is worth pursuing and choose your service as a means to pursue isn’t revolutionary?
If not revolutionary it is certainly new. I wish audiogalaxy rhapsody had the support this has.
I found this on macrumors.com
Apple has already reported that they would be introducing their Music Download service for Windows later this year… and Forbes has already suggested that iTunes is coming to Windows.
As confirmation, Apple has posted a job listing on Monster.com for a Senior Software Engineer for iTunes for Windows:
Apple Computer is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to design and build one of our newest Consumer Applications, iTunes for Windows. Must be possess strong skills in the areas of application design, solid API design principles, user interface engineering, and have a strong understanding of customer and workflow issues. Experience with Windows logo certification preferred. Candidate should have a history of successful large volume consumer product shipment.
But what about putting such kiosks into other stores? Traditional music stores might not be thrilled about it, but what about retailers like Best Buy, who could use this to greatly reduce their inventories and available salesfloor space? (no need to stock more than a token few CDs for the customers who actually care about having the jewel case and included paper bits.)
I hear that approximately 500,000 of the 700,000 iPods shipped are for Windows. So Apple pretty much has to port iTunes.
Windows is the biggest driver for the iPod that is why USB2 was included.
Overall, I think it is a great service, especially after Apple expands the labels and tracks. I’d rather buy from Apple than from lame subscription service.
regardless of the exact degree to which the service is revolutionary (i think medium->good myself), can anyone honestly stand up and say that they don’t want a 30GB variant of the newly released ipod?!
20GB was too small, as that’s the exact size of my music collection. 30GB… now that’s some headroom. and i could stash a few movies on it too that could feed my laptop while travelling. heck, i could fit whole SERIES of television on it!
all good stuff. sony’s engineers must be frothing at the mouth – thee are all sorts of rumours that they’ve designed similar things, only to have their music division suffer viciously allergic reactions to the sound “MP3” uttered anywhere near them… being a content provider and a hardware manufacturer has never looked more schizoid
Apple’s music: Microsoft’s sour note?
“Apple Computer’s new music service could help shift the battle to control digital media away from Microsoft’s proprietary file formats, according to analysts.”
http://news.com.com/2100-1027-998880.html?tag=cd_mh
If these record companies had any brains, they would simply tell MS that they are not going to license any music to MS, or sites using Windows Media format on the same liberal terms of the Apple Service. They should tell MS to use AAC or stuff it. You’d have to be braindead to “partner” with those monopolists/bastards.
This service will bring extra juiciness to music and beat all that has come before it, all songs will be like new, it will revolutionize the world, why ?
Because it is done by Apple!
Everything they do is pure gold lined with platinum.
Their Machines beat any PC by miles, no more, millions of miles! my G3 400 imac does more clockwork per cycle than any intel or AMD, if i benchmark it it is faster than at least a Northwood 2 Ghz or an Amd 2200. Why?
Because it is APPLE, praise the god for creating this company, praise buddha and Allah to, because they are IT!
Some Windows users can whine and complain all they want, Apple has got it right on this one.
I have downloaded my share of music for free, but the way Apple has put this together, I am glad to shell out 99 cents for a High-Quality download (and yes, the AAC format is much better, the quality is head and shoulders above even the best mp3 I have downloaded from the file-sharers).
The only people who will bitch about it are those who haven’t tried it, because once you have, you realize that this is the way it was meant to be, and history will judge this as the point where Paid downloads became the norm.
In the meantime, I’ll watch the cry-baby WindowsFanBoys bitch and complain just like they did when the iPod first came out….until it comes out for Windows, and then they’ll be tripping over themselves to get aboard.
This is on Monster.com
Apple Computer is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to design and build one of our newest Consumer Applications, iTunes for Windows.
Must be possess strong skills in the areas of application design, solid API design principles, user interface engineering, and have a strong understanding of customer and workflow issues. Experience with Windows logo certification preferred. Candidate should have a history of successful large volume consumer product shipment.
A B.S. or better in Electrical Engineering or Computer Science is preferred. Required skills include C, C++, UI, MFC, Win32, COM, DirectX, Installshield and application engineering. Exposure to networking and device drivers a plus. Minimum of 10 years of directly related experience.
I didn’t see that info was posted. As a Windows user, and soon to be a Macintosh one, I love iTunes and can’t wait for it to be ported so both of my machines have it.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=711&ncid=1292&e=1&u…
http://slate.msn.com/id/2082157/
Funny how you get 50, 100 comments for a thread entitled, “Does Apple have a future?” or “Apple introduces new hardware” — and lots of mac haters going on and on about how there’s nothing about the mac that is any better than windows.
But these people have all disappeared, in this thread at least. Where are you Dohnert? Seth? No comment, I guess.
iMusic is very good, its hard to refute it once you show it someone. I showed iMusic to one of the PC techs at work and all he wanted to do do was change the subject. Its a new way to distribute music that is simple, fair and inexpensive.
The music is so easy to buy once you have an account setup. I don’t have to go to the music store or the mall. I don’t have to mess with crowds, parking or the service at Beast Buy. I can sample a lot of music in a short amount of time and get what I want, its simple.
Is it fair, sure if you plan on burning it to CD or putting on three Macs or as many iPods as you can afford. It may not be fair if you plan on distributing it however.
Cost is not an issue despite the “incredibly expensive” $1 per song. Some people won’t pay for music but don’t complain about high gas prices, don’t have problems shoving tar into their their bodies with cigarettes and get slightly lit with alcohol every evening. A dollar is cheap unless you are homeless or have a drug habit.
Remember the iPod was a “dumb and stupid” idea too.
The only gripe I have is that the bit rate should be higher like 160k.