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While I use my iPod on a daily basis, one of the first things I did after running the install CD was dump iTunes ans switch to Winamp + Plugin. I haven't purchased any tracks from the UK iTunes site because I still prefer to have something physical in my hands when I hand over cash.
But if the iTunes business model is forcing the music industry to reign in their money-making strategies, I can't help but applaud. If they didn't have this sort of restriction, we'd probably be looking at a digital downloads market that reflects the day-to-day music industry model more. Especially considering the fact that they're more than happy to charge $2.50 for a ringtone snippet.
In a way, one can draw parallels from this situation to the manner in which Microsoft came to dominate the software market: They got in early and set the standards that everyone adopted and which are now so firmly entrenched that to change them would require investment on a worldwide scale that nobody can afford. Except of course that Apple's standards for digital downloads are still within the realm of the acceptable, as opposed to their hardware prices. Although even here there's developments that are encouraging, with the drop in price of the iPods and the mini mac.
Will digital downloads continue to grow in popularity? Probably. Will they replace CD's? In time, perhaps. The main question for me is whether they will bring about a price adjustment in high-street music stores...and this I am less certain about. Online retailers like Amazon are now firmly established and their pricing strategies don't seem to have affected the high-street merchants like HMV or Virgin. The target audiences for CD's and downloads don't intersect on such a scale yet that one will rival the other. |
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