iTunes Music Store - 'Coolest Invention of 2003' 370
Pingsmoth writes "Time Magazine has just named the iTunes Music Store as their Top Coolest Invention of 2003. Also among this year's favorites are 'fish-skin bikinis, a new love drug, the car that parks itself, and the invisible man'."
Invention ? (Score:4, Insightful)
I remember having the possibility to purchase media online long before this.
Now, if, of course, having these integrated in iTunes is cool, I somehow doubt it is that "cutting edge" (even though I am a Mac enthusiast and I love OSX).
Hardly an Invention (Score:2, Insightful)
Much as I think Apple have created an amazing proof of concept in the Apple Music Store I am not convinced it qualifies as an invention.. Downloading music off the internet is not new and paying for it is not new either... Now if they radically opened up the distribution to bypass the majors... now that would be rather revolutionary... but we'll have to see how far they take it..
Invention? (Score:3, Insightful)
iTunes is a store. It happens to be on the internet. That's not an invention, no matter how well executed it is.
Whew... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Invention ? (Score:4, Insightful)
A New Love Drug? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not that they did it. It's that they did it RIGHT. It's an elegant solution which people actually enjoy throwing money at.
Now if they radically opened up the distribution to bypass the majors... now that would be rather revolutionary... but we'll have to see how far they take it..
Hello, we're Apple and we want to sell your music [gnutellanews.com]
Re:Invention ? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Finally, UNCOMPRESSED online music! (Score:2, Insightful)
iTunes - Apple takes it's (big) cut and then the Artist's (frequently RIAA affiliated) label takes most of the rest.
Magnatune - The artist gets 50%!!!
Again, no contest. Instead of feeling guilty about fueling a powermad monster when you buy music you can feel good about supporting the people who actually made it!
Actually, according to Steve Jobs, Apple doesn't make any profit from the iTMS. Their cut of the proceeds barely covers their costs, apparently, while the RIAA takes the lion's share (leaving the artist with a pittance, of course).
(This info came from Jobs' recent financial results conference call (of which the iTMS data can be found in this CD Freaks new item [cdfreaks.com] (with a link to the original story from The Register [theregister.co.uk].))
Other than that, I mostly agree with the points that you raised in your post.
D.
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:0, Insightful)
Plus, Apple is cool [wired.com], and Time wanted somebody cool at the top I guess.
-- james
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:5, Insightful)
One unknown record label that seems to be a refuge for bands that aren't good enough for the big time isn't gonna cut it. Imagine a grocery store that only carried generic house-brand items. Wouldn't be very popular or successful, would it.
iTMS is successful because they've made the proper deals with the right product sources, much like any other successful retailer has to do.
Greed (Score:5, Insightful)
"At most, Jobs is left with a dime per track, so even $500 million in annual sales would add up to a paltry $50 million profit. Why even bother?"
Excuse me? A paltry $50 MILLION dollar profit?!?
'Paltry' and '$50 million dollar profit' don't belong in the same sentence.
This mentality is what's screwing the entire downloadable music process. It's not about whether it's profitable, it's about whether it's profitable enough.
Just for them saying that, I'm going to download some MP3s tonight. WTF...
Tal
It just works! (Score:4, Insightful)
A product is more than a list of features. It's also about philosophy. Fairness, paying attention to the overall experience, and caring about behind the scenes detail is all part of this. Most consumers aren't likely to know that Apple is paying for the high-quality Fraunhofer IIS MP3 codec to let them use it for free in iTunes. Don't expeect to see things like that from MS/Napster. As any Linux user can tell you, beauty is more than skin deep.
Re:Invention? (Score:3, Insightful)
Apple is a company which advertises. It happens to advertise in Time magazine. I'll bet if I spent as much advertising in Time as Apple does, I too could win product of the year for my Ronco Turnip Twaddler 2003 Special Edition!
Global Community, Restricted Usage? (Score:2, Insightful)
[Breathes]
Seriously though. One would have thought that, when releasing a product to a world-wide audience, the software would be usuable by said audience. As it stands, when things like this happen, it just demonstrates that the United States still thinks that it's the center of the Universe. Grrr.
Re:What, not the Segway? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:2, Insightful)
1. Its hardware dependent.
2. Until recently it was Mac OS dependent too.
3. Terms of licensing are high with the music labels...recent articles suggest iMusic is a loss-run enterprise intended to drive iPod sales (see #1).
I've seen nothing compelling about their 'invention'...I've no reason to go and purchase an iPod or iMusic. (www.magnatune.com is closer to what i'm looking for!)
At $1/song locked into a propietary platform, I may as well stick to CDs. Future Shop in Canada has dropped prices 30-40% in recent weeks to try and drive up sales. $10 canadian per CD will bring me BACK to the CD format and BACK to supporting the 'labels, unfortunately.
Re:What, not the Segway? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:What, not the Segway? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Fuck Yeah (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:iTunes? (Score:2, Insightful)
USB watch = cool if it can stand the tortures of living on a human... most regular watches cant.
call me when they make a bluetooth one that is waterproof and shock proof.
Ok... (Score:1, Insightful)
At most != at the least (Score:3, Insightful)
That's why iPod sales are so important. When increased iPod sales, or even sustained iPod sales to Windows users in the face of new competition, and only then, is "WinTunes" a good idea and produces a better ROI than buying US Treasury bonds.
Folks, Apple's a big corporation. A fifty million dollar gain annually is, whether we like it or not comparing it to the scale of dough in our bank accounts/wallets, not horribly big money.
Re:Greed (Score:3, Insightful)
Downloadable music, in and of itself, is demonstrably profitable. That the records companies are digging in their heels against the technology has to do with greed, even if it is greed in the name of shareholders.
Perhaps piracy needs to become so widespread that the traditional distribution model becomes unprofitable, or simply less profitable than legal downloads, a la iTunes.
Tal
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:3, Insightful)
Case in point: 90% of the shit that used to be on mp3.com.
Re:it's business (Score:3, Insightful)
A meaningless question in the real world. You need to look at the downside, or the overall risk. For example, what's the odds of either investment resulting in a -100% result? Most likely the 20% potential return is riskier. There's also questions of liquidity.
There's also the concepts of building a brand image and getting in early to grow a market which is still pretty nascent. *That's* how a CEO serves his long term shareholders properly. The "gimme billion percent profit margin now!" daytrader "I've owned this stock for two hours and I haven't doubled my money yet!" types can go get bent. It's their influence that has led to so many BS products and ripoffs and overpriced junk, especially in the tech market.
Re:Greed (Score:3, Insightful)
But in the case of Apple, the issue is whether the return on investment is a good business decision. If they spent $50M building the store and they're going to make $50M from it, it's not a profitable venture. Sure there are yearly residuals, but what if they put that $50M into the newest iApp, or into getting the G5 into a laptop.
But, the whole question is a red herring; on the last analysts' conference call, Steve Jobs stated that iTMS is a loss-leader to sell iPods. He questions why anybody who doesn't sell hardware is in the business:
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:4, Insightful)
> 1. It's hardware dependant.
If by that you mean that it runs on hardware, then yes. It is dependent on you having a computer. It supports Windows on any supported platform. AMD or Intel. It supports any Mac capable of running OS X. Meaning, G3, G4 or G5.
If you mean iPod dependent then you are full of crap. Perhaps you haven't actually tried it?
> 2. Until recently it was Mac OS dependent too.
This is my favorite complaint. "They did it wrong cause it USED TO have a problem." Jesus, son.
> 3. Terms of licensing are high with the music
> labels...recent articles suggest iMusic is a
> loss-run enterprise intended to drive iPod sales
> (see #1).
And your final complaint is based on an unfounded rumor...
Congratulations! You win!
Justin Dubs
Re:Hardly an Invention (Score:3, Insightful)
Then - in your opinion - does the work made on steam engine by James Watt qualifies as an invention? He had many predecessors, too - to begin with, there was Heron of Alexandria in the ancient times, there was Thomas Newcomen and various other constructors in the XVIIth and XVIII century. However, it was Watt who designed an universal engine that eventually everyone wanted to use and that was an inspiration for the modern combustion engine. You seem to assume that you have to be the author of the original idea to be called "inventor". It is simply not true. The greates inventors of our times (Watt, Marconi, Daimler & Benz, Aitken, The Wright Bros) were literally standing on the shoulders of giants, i.e. developing ideas of their predecessors.
Invention? (Score:2, Insightful)
If I build a mouse (click click, not squeak squeak) that just happens to be the most responsive, comfortable mouse on the market... Does that mean I invented the mouse?
BMW makes very nice cars... Does that mean they invented "very nice cars"? No, of course not.
Maybe if I had something truely original and revolutionary in the new design, I could claim to have invented that part of it. But just because you came up w/ a better version of what's already out.
Nitpicking I know, but I get peeved when people say Edison invented the light bulb.
Besides, I never considered Time to be a good source of judging ANYTHING. There's better stuff out there.
Re:Invention ? (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a bunch of stuff you can't run. There's a bunch of stuff you can. Deal with it.
You heard incorrectly...no breakage here, at least.
That much is true...unfortunately, it's also true about Winamp, Windows Media Player, and most other such programs. Why they all have their own non-native interfaces and widgets is anybody's guess.
Now we're back to falsehoods...while the downloaded files only play in an iPod at this time, converting them to other formats is trivial.
Re:Fuck Yeah (Score:2, Insightful)
may not be overclocked, water cooled, but y'know what? I actually use my computer now, isntead of spending my time "modding" it and "upgrading" it, and all that stuff....
heh... whatever.. right.. but iTunes is cool.
Re:Invention ? (Score:2, Insightful)
I see this style of argument used a lot these days. Folks, what makes a creation important is not who did it first, rather it's who made it useful. Some caveman invented the hammer, but the dude who invented the handle for it is the one I'd remember.
Seriously, stop harping over who did it first. If it was great when they invented it, then how come they weren't as successful with it as a competitor? They deserve credit too.
Re:Invention ? (Score:3, Insightful)
Is the list called "Coolest Consumer Products of 2003"? I though it was called "Coolest Inventions" and if so, iTunes hardly qualifies, because it is not one. It might be a cool innovative product, but it is not an invention.
Who do you think invented the radio? It was Popov [alltheweb.com], not Clear Channel, even though radio was not really used that much in 19th century and so does not qualify according to your definition.
Re:Mac users are FUCKING RETARDS (Score:3, Insightful)