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05/22/2003: "Apple Wears the Dunce Cap"

Apple Wears the Dunce Cap

Over at brain terminal Evan Maloney seems to think that Apple's new iTunes music store is the wave of the future, where people will be able to "pay for music that they could otherwise steal online." Of course, the success of the store depends not so much on people's willingness to pay. It also depends on accessibility, a lesson Steve Jobs still has not learned after two decades.

Look through the system requirements for the store. You need a new Mac. Old ones running OS 9 or earlier are not acceptable, only OS 10.1.5 or newer is usable. This is the same mistake Steve made early in the history of the Mac, and it is a pity he is making it again. He did not sell the Mac software separate from Apple-branded machines. Microsoft sold its software to companies other than IBM. Look where MS is now. Look where Apple is now. See the difference in market share? Steve Jobs may be "cool", but cool doesn't pay the bills, nor does it move industries.

How can he expect to change the music industry if he only lets 3% of computer users use his new store?

Maloney is right about one thing: the music industry will change with the advent of per-song purchasing. However, unless more people are allowed to enter the store, the impact will be minimized or delayed. I, for one, was dismayed to see that I was excluded from the store based on my PC-color (beige). Of course, online shopping is much different than real-world shopping; this isn't 1950s Alabama. In Alabama, if I was black, I wouldn't be able to take my money elsewhere, another store wouldn't let me in the door either. Nowadays I can. I just have to find the store that accepts money spent from a PC. I don't see why Steve Jobs won't take my money, it spends just as well.

Perhaps he should talk to Bill Gates about that.

Replies: 8 Comments

on Thursday, May 22nd, Evan Coyne Maloney said

While I can certainly understand your frustration at being unable to use the service, I think your annoyance is misdirected. According to several articles I've read--ones I'll add to the post on my site to clear up any confusion--one of the reasons Jobs was able to convince record companies to allow Apple to sell music with so few DRM restrictions was that they saw less risk in deploying the technology to the relatively smaller base of Mac users. Record companies are still not convinced that they want to use this type of technology; they're still very skittish about online distribution.

And, from Apple's perspective, this was a risk as well. If the iTunes Music Store proved to be a flop, they'd have to eat the costs of developing the Windows software and the Mac software. This way, they can test the technology and gauge user acceptance on the Mac, and decide whether to build for Windows if it is successful. Apparently, Apple has plans for a Windows version by the end of the year.

(This mirrors what Apple did with the iPod. Initially, the iPod was available only for the Mac, after it was a hit, Apple made a version for Windows users.)

Two snippets from an article in the Toronto Star:

While two majors have signed wholesale agreements with Apple for a Windows product, according to sources, others are reserving judgment, terming the Mac version of iTunes "an experiment."

"We wouldn't have rolled this out wide to the PC market," a leading new-media executive at one major label says. "We would have been a lot more judicious about it."

Ultimately, the question is, will the record companies license the music to Apple if the system is as widely deployed as it would be if it ran on Windows? We'll see..

Take care,
Evan

on Thursday, May 22nd, Maynard said

Thanks for the reply, Evan.

The news about Apple being willing to develop a Windows version is news to me, and good news too. The real obstacle, as you pointed out, is the Music Industry.

I'm a little pensive about a Windows version of iTunes instead of a Web version. QuickTime, for example, has never really impressed me. I use it begrudgingly, since its the only program that reads the QuickTime format. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

on Friday, May 23rd, Jeremy said

*Jeremy is wondering how come Matt collects more intelligent traffic...*

All I get are the Nibiru Freaks

on Friday, May 23rd, Maynard said

I sent him an e-mail telling him about the posting. Also, I don't post about stuff that draws the freaks.

on Monday, May 26th, J.J. said

At least you get traffic

on Tuesday, May 27th, Jeremy said

As I was telling Matt, my sites get almost 500 hits a day.

(Yeah, I don't believe it either.)

on Monday, February 28th, Yellow Monkey said

Thank you! Chinese Apes.

on Monday, February 28th, Yellow Monkey said

Thank you! Chinese Apes.