Digital Music Frontier

- Apparently, Steve Jobs hasn’t changed his mind on the subscription model, yet. “Never say never, but customers don’t seem to be interested in it,” said Jobs, to Reuters. “People want to own their music.”

Um, yes, this is one of many reasons why eMusic is doing so well. You subscribe to a plan, but also own the music. It gives the labels some certainty, while still allowing people to own the music they download. Sure it would cost quite a bit more, if it involved the major labels, but a hybrid subscription model, like eMusic, from iTunes would be hugely popular.

- Hypebot argues that Apple isn’t really into the whole DRM-free thing. If Apple wanted to, says hypebot, they could have had indie labels selling DRM-free music already. While it’s true that they could have had indies selling DRM-free music (like eMusic) on iTunes, I think that Apple is more concerned right now with putting pressure on the majors. The indies will fall into place later, by their logic. This Reuters article seems to back me up.

- Coming in “late-June”…the iPhone…I wouldn’t be surprised if this inches back even further from the early-June date they gave in January.

Okay, so I’ve been away for a while. Blogger was creating some real headaches for me so I went ahead and did the inevitable and switched to Wordpress. As you might imagine, the transition wasn’t easy for a blogging newbie like myself, but, I made it…Finally.

Anyway, it was a busy week, and one of the major stories this week involved a new competitor to the iPod, the Sansa Connect.

The Sansa Connect is a 4GB flash-based Mp3 player with wireless capability. With a decent WiFi connection, the Sansa Connect will allow users to connect (I’m seeing a theme developing here) to the Yahoo music service.

I’m not going to do a full analysis, partly because there are already some very good ones, here and here. What is really interesting, though, is how this could effect the nature of next-generation Mp3 players, like the next iPod and the iPhone.

Last week, there was a report that within six months Apple may add a subscription service to its digital music empire.

WiFi devices like the Sansa Connect will make these subscription services more attractive. With the ability to download songs and switch internet-radio style playlists on the go, WiFi Mp3 players give the music fan more ways to listen to and buy music. And as David Card from JupiterResearch Analyst Weblogs points out, this will only increase the chances of a “jukebox in the sky” music future.

In the short term, though, the Sansa Connect may not be the answer. As attractive as it is, it doesn’t have a keypad, so users won’t be able to do a whole lot with the WiFi connection.

There is a device coming out, however, that will have a keypad and an internet connection. The Apple iPhone. Assuming Apple allows users of the new phone to access the iTunes Music Store and make downloads on the go, this will make a big impact going forward. It is also rumored that the next-gen iPod will have WiFi connectivity. Giving consumers the choice to buy and listen to whatever they want, whenever and wherever, can only help the music industry.

John C. Dvorak of MarketWatch, wrote last week, that Apple should dump the iPhone. He is wrong.

Dvorak argues that Apple should get out of the cell phone business while they still can, because the margins are too small and the competition is too big. On its face, this is true, but where Dvorak goes wrong, is his assumption that Apple is getting into the cell phone business.

More and more, phones are becoming portable mini-computers, and this is why Apple is stepping in. They do the personal computer better than anyone. As Paul Boutin of Slate.com explains, the iPhone is not just a cell phone, iPod, or Internet device, it is a computer.

Sure, the ticket price will scare a lot of people off, and the exclusivity deal with Cingular will scare some people off. And the competition will only get better (it can’t get any worse right?). But eventually, Apple will win out simply because cell-phones are no longer just phones, they are computers, and Apple makes damn good computers (When was the last time you bought a computer from Motorola?)