It was working so well, it was about time the music industry decided to screw things up. Yep, it looks like the big recording labels aren’t happy with the way Apple’s iTunes does business. Instead of the current 99 cents per song, they want variable pricing (read more expensive) - in some cases raising the price of a song by 50%. The New York Times has a great article on the coming pricing battle between Apple and the recording companies. An overpriced crappy product is what spawned the original Napster. It was the sensible pricing and good business sense of Apple CEO Steve Jobs that has started to stem the tide of music swapping on the net. The music industry had better think long and hard before they start trying to squeeze a few extra cents per song out of their customers. The iTunes music store has gone a long way in fixing the piracy situation, but at the end of the day, the bigger problem of the music industry churning out a crappy product remains. While people may tolerate paying 99 cents for a song by the likes of Ashley Simpson right now, a 50% price hike might just make them think twice about that purchase. Or even worse for the music industry, it might make folks think about firing up their now dormant copy of whatever file swapping program it was that they used to use. Either way, the music industry loses. Apple... not so much. By all accounts they don’t make a whole lot off of the iTunes music store anyway, but they are going to keep selling a crap-load of iPods, regardless of whether people are acquiring music via iTunes or some file swapping program. And no, I don’t believe most people will ever switch over to the iPod incompatible Widows Media based music stores. So big music loses, and Steve Jobs and the boys at Apple will keep watching their bank accounts grow. The big music companies also appear to be a tad bit unhappy with Apple’s dominance in the MP3 player business. Given what just happened to one of Apple’s better known competitors in the MP3 player market, Rio, big music would be well advised to not rock the boat. I doubt Rio will be the last to exit this market, and I think some of the online music stores will likely go a similar route. Companies like music label Sony BMG should just sit on the sidelines and keep their mouths shut; especially given that the consumer electronics division of Sony has had such a noticeable lack of success trying to take on Apple in the MP3 player market. Every time I hear about a new copy protected CD from Sony BMG I have to wonder if they would be churning out such items if the Walkman was the best-selling MP3 player. I guess we’ll never know since the days of Sony being the dominant leader in the portable music industry are long gone. Unless of course their new “Bean” suddenly turns the MP3 player industry on its head. I’m guessing that is about as likely as an ice sculpture contest in Hell. (By the way Sony, maybe you might want to hire people to spell check your ecommerce site. I’m pretty sure the color of that Bean is supposed to read “Cotton Candy Pink”, not “Cotton Candy Pin”. No doubt your keen attention to detail has contributed to your success in the MP3 player market.) Nothing big music does is going to hurt iPod sales, or turn people away from iTunes towards rival online music stores. If anything, any damage that big music inflicts on iTunes as it looks to inflate its own bottom line will turn people back towards rampant piracy again. They certainly aren’t going to turn to the music subscription (read rental) services. And as with the original rise of Napster, the only ones to blame will be the big music companies. So to big music industry executives I say, please listen to Steve Jobs, he’s smarter than all of you. In the end both you and your customers will win if you stick with current iTunes pricing scheme. To customers, if they do raise the prices, don’t steal the music. Instead spend your money on used CDs. That way you get the music you want without being a thief, and the music industry doesn’t get a red cent from you. (Although some other poor schlub has already contributed to their bank accounts.) Truly a win- win situation if you ask me. On the other hand, if the recording industry does come to its senses, you really should keep supporting iTunes, it’s a pretty darn good deal the way it is right now.

¶ 8/27/2005 03:48:00 PM //

CNN has a Reuters story quoting Robert Redford as saying “there's something rolling around that we're talking about” in reference to a possible big screen re-teaming with Paul Newman. While there has been speculation what the project might be, Redford wouldn’t confirm anything. He did, however, confirm that he is planning on a sequel to his 1972 movie, The Candidate, where his character from that film would now be President of the United States.

¶ 8/26/2005 09:11:00 PM //

The BBC looks to become the first major broadcaster to embrace the idea of letting viewers watch shows via their computer as opposed to the traditional scheduled television broadcast. In addition to a simulcasted internet broadcast, BBC News is reporting that viewers could well have the ability to watch shows on the net up to a week after they air. Unfortunately, for those of us in North America, the current plan will restrict usage of the new service to UK viewers only.

¶ 8/26/2005 08:57:00 PM //

So I had heard that CNN wanted to relocate their morning show, appropriately titled, American Morning, from its current set with all the pretty windows that front on a New York street. Apparently a set with windows just isn’t serious enough for CNN, so a windowless room it is. At any rate, I tuned in this morning and it looked like the AM gang has relocated to something that was left over from Laugh In - the darn thing even came complete with poka dots. I’m guessing this isn’t the new set - since it looks like the old set, just with tie died curtains covering the windows, but it sure didn’t make me feel like I was watching a serious news show. Instead all I felt was queasy and claustrophobic. I ended up having to change the channel to Good Morning America; ironically the light shining in from their picture windows didn’t make the show seem less newsy. It seems like everything CNN does these days they manage to screw up. I’m not sure if the current AM set is a temp or not, but would the windows have been so bad for a few more weeks until the new set was done? If this is the new set, it won’t last long, because my guess is that it will turn current viewers away as opposed to bringing new ones in. Speaking of sets, what the heck is up with that new Wolf Blitzer show, The Situation Room? The poor guy just stands around in front of a giant video display. Is that supposed to make us take Wolf more seriously? Wolf looks like he should be giving a weather forecast, not reporting on Iraq. He also spends half of his time looking at this giant screen - with his back to the camera. Yep, somebody really gave that one some thought. Sorry CNN, it isn’t your sets that are going to save you, although they may help to propel you more quickly on your current downward spiral. The only thing that is going to refloat that sinking ship is for you to spend some money on some real anchors - maybe ones with a wee bit of credibility. You can put up as many recycled poka dot sets as you want, but as long as the low-rent talent keeps showing up on them, people are going to keep changing the channel to one the features anchors that they respect. CNN might be “the most trusted name in news”, but you can’t say the same about most of the anchors.

¶ 8/23/2005 09:49:00 PM //