snapshot 4/28/08

iTunes Turns 6 - Much To Celebrate, But Danger Ahead
iTunes celebrates its 6th birthday today. With an estimated 70% of the worldwide music download market, Steve Jobs & Co. have much to be proud of. A new InStat survey predicts that 25% of the overall worldwide music market for iTunes by 2012. But to maintain its dominant position, iTunes has much work to do and some tricky competitive waters to navigate. As DRM free music spreads to more stores and new services, iTunes will find that it has more than just Amazon to compete with. MySpace Music, Nokia's Comes With Music, imeem, WE7, SpiralFrog, Rhapsody and Napster, niche players and services not yet imagined each have the potential to whittle away at Itune's market share.

Then there's the slow rate of digital music adoption. 85% or more of music is still sold via physical formats. Some consumers are unwilling to give up their home stereos and their autos don't have compatible docks. So, for many, the CD still feels like a more portable product. RIAA lawsuits, label embedded copy-protection and Apple's insistence on its own proprietary DRM have all led to consumer confusion and among younger buyers deep cynicism.


The RIAA releases in depth sales figures for 2007. via Hypbot
No surprises, but interesting reading if you want to understand the stats behind the pain. (pdf)


According To NPD, 58% Of Music Acquired By Consumers Is Pilfered
According to NPD’s Internet Use Annual Survey, 58% of music acquired by consumers is stolen not paid for…

Highlights:
· Paid downloads increased from 7% in 2006 to 10% in 2007
· CD Sales dropped from 41% in 2006 to 32% in 2007
· Music acquired from P2P Networks increased from 14% in 2006 to 19% in 2007


Five companies that sold customers down the DRM-filled river
The news last week that Microsoft plans to turn off its verification servers for its now-defunct MSN Music store, is a stark reminder of the potential pitfalls customers face whenever they purchase content crippled by Digital Rights Management (DRM) software. Any digital store that sells or loans you content in a copy-protected format makes you a hostage to that store or format’s commercial success. The Microsoft example, however, is just one of many. Here are five cases where companies have sold their customers down the DRM-filled river.