Did you notice that Steve Jobs’ iTunes presentation had an unusually aggressive tone? Nivi says that the real message wasn’t iTunes 5, the iTunes phone, or even the iPod nano. In retrospect, it’s totally obvious.
Also, thanks to Nivi for adding a new word to my vocabulary.
9 Comments
That’s fantastic. All those things needed to be said and the only one that would ever people able to get away with it was Jobs.
Bill? Oh, sorry, Steve. You reminded me of someone else.
(Please note the intentional lack of grin during the previous statement.)
If there’s one person in this country that I wouldn’t mind having a monopoly on anything it’s Jobs. Partly due to aesthetics, partly due to frame of mind and partly because he’s a fantastic high-level thinker and designer with the end consumer in mind.
Better him than BG.
One thing to keep in mind is that Apple has used its market power to keep music prices low. The music industry has been trying to force the price of digital music up. So far, Apple has been able to successfully fight them off.
Gabe: Jobs used to be all those things. Starting with the defection to Intel, he’s been getting more and more Gates-like every day. It disgusts me; especially since I used to think he was better than that.
Matt: It has? Not up here. Music & media have been climbing steadily, not dropping. Must not affect anyone outside of the US. All of Apple’s contributions to the music industry (for lack of a better descriptor) are the most expensive available; whether it be media, hardware, or the STILL-not-in-Canada iTunes store. Even if it were here, there are cheaper places to legally purchase MP3 music online around here anyhow… judging by the set prices Apple uses.
I should have been more clear. I’m talking about music download services. The music industry has been trying to raise the price from $0.99 per track to $1.29 (or more). So far, Apple has been able to hold it at $0.99 because of their market power.
Ah. Well, there are still places here I can get downloads for cheaper than that (bearing in mind the currency conversion rate), so I guess it’s not a universal benefit.
However, I know the greed lobbying to get those prices raised is also in effect, so who knows what’ll happen — that is, if Apple ever decides to extend their store to Canada. At this point, I’m starting to think they’re avoiding doing so on purpose. I mean, it’s everywhere else, and it’s not like we’re across the globe. :-)
Paul: Canadians can buy music from the iTunes music store, & have been able to for awhile.. I bought an album about 6 months ago. Not only that, but they have Canadian spotlight artists.. The iTunes store isn’t just for the U.S., it’s a North American store.. Also, media as in DVD/CDR has been getting cheaper in Canada. I remember a 100 pack of DVDS used to cost close to $100.. Now it’s about $40 for the same thing. Obviously it depends on the brand of DVD/CDR that you buy, but even the higher quality brand names have been declining in price just to catch up to the rest of the pack. If you’re talking about Media as in Music & Movie DVDS.. then they have more or less stayed the same for new releases, but once it’s 6 months old you can buy most DVDS for $10-$15 here.
Even if it’s not with our interests in mind, Apple is trying to keep digital music prices down.
One Trackback
[...] About three weeks ago I pointed to Nivi’s post about Apple’s digital music monopsony. Last week, the music industry started firing back (via Slashdot). Apparently, it’s not enough that Apple has sold millions and millions of songs for the music industry. Now they also want a cut of iPod revenue. This is greed at it’s finest, folks. 10/1/2005 3:10 PM | Tags: Music, Apple, iTunes | RSS | Trackback [...]