snapshot 9/28/07

Why Amazon Will Do Nothing To Help The Music Industry
I say that this new digital music storefront will do nothing to help the recorded music industry. Why? Because Amazonmp3 will not grow recording industry revenue. This is the critical point. Here is my rationale:

I don't believe that any more than an infinitesimally small portion of the digital music market has not bought a download because they couldn't find the right store. The available supply of music downloads exceeds the demand.


Top 5 Places To Buy DRM Free Downloads
1. Amazon - This download store just opened, but it’s all DRM free mp3’s all of the time. While - like the other DRM free stores it does not have all of the major label product (only EMIa nd some Universal thanks to old school thinking at Warner Music Group and Sony BMG) - Amazon offers 2.3 million mp3’s at prices ranging from $.89 to $.99 and most albums from $4.99 to $9.99.

2. eMusic - You have to buy a subscription starting at $9.99 per month for 30 tracks and you won’t find any of the major label product from EMI and Universal available at Amazon and elsewhere, but after that if you like indie or niche music, at 33 cents per track or less you can’t beat the price.

3. WalMart - Yup. Wal-Mart.com. There’s no indie product available, but they’ve got lots of tracks from both EMI and Universal and most of them are priced at $.88.

4. Rhapsody - These guys do music subscriptions and streaming better than anyone else. On the DRM free download front, however, you’ll only find EMI product and a little bit of indie. But given their recent partnerships with MTV and Verizon, you can expect interesting changes ahead.

5. iTunes - In many other ways iTunes leads the pack, but not so in DRM free downloads. Sure they sell some tracks without the usual copy restrictions particularly from EMI. But there is almost no indie product and the tracks you buy are coded in a special Apple program that while “DRM free” is only designed to play within the iTunes software and on the iPod unless you burn it onto a CD.


Will Mobile iTunes Impact The Carriers Who Sell Over The Air Music?
But in the future, as Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch user base grows, the carriers could be in trouble if for two reasons — the shopping and playback experiences. Using the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store to purchase music is incredibly simple, playing it on the iPhone or iPod Touch is quite satisfying, whereas buying music from the carriers and playing it on small phones can be cumbersome and unpleasant, depending on the device.

With the iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store, and with Nokia’s recent announcement that it will be selling music over the air, it’s apparent that manufacturers are going to make a run at the carriers and the revenues of their online music stores. In the short term, this run may not significantly impact Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, and T-Mobile in the U.S., but over time a fun, easy shopping experience and superior playback may win out.