Ah Doug Morris, unibrow baby to the digital music revolution. His hard-ball approach with Microsoft, fighting hard for a $1 cut of each Zune sold in exchange for allowing Microsoft to license Universal Music's stable of artists, won him a place on the enemies list of every music blogger from Anaheim to Zurich.
Morris' next hardware licensing target is Apple, who's current deal with Universal expires in May of this year. According to the AP, "Speculation in the industry is that he'll seek a slice of iPod sales. Apple declined comment." Morris stopped short of threatening to pull Universal's catalog from iTunes if the Cupertino kids won't cough up extortion payments royalties but, I wouldn't consider that option completely off the table.
Michael Hirchshorn of The Atlantic Monthly takes a look at Web 2.0 music services and while drawing lines though a connect the dots progression comes up with several gems of inference. The highlight of which is a comparison of Mp3 to DRM "protected" media that contrasts VHS and Betamax, "One next step could be a move by the labels to make more pay-per-download music available without restriction, meaning that once you've purchased a song, you can do anything you want with it, currently a no-go on Zune or iTunes. Unrestricted MP3 sites could play VHS to iTunes's Betamax. However it occurs, though, the execution of a widely used free and free-flowing music download and sharing system is surely imminent."
Coolfer was struck by the same quote, and asks not "if" but "when" this whole magical convergence of factors will result in the reiterated statement, "everything will eventually become available everywhere for a price that will approach zero" will become fact rather than lore. We're already on record as saying DRM will die, so where and when can we expect the fiery crash and burn which we all agree is inevitable? I wanna bring marshmallows and watch the flames.
Apple's iPhone announcement was followed closely by the folks at Cisco. Why would a network hardware manufacturer care about the newest phone from Apple? They already have a product on the market under the name of iPhone, and they're none to happy about Apple's usurping of the name.
According to the Associated Press, "Cisco is asking the court to forbid Apple from using the name "iPhone," which Cisco has held a trademark on since 2000 and used to brand a line of its own Internet-enabled phones that began shipping last spring and officially launched three weeks ago."
The real story may be in the, until now, private dealings over the iPhone moniker. Digital Music News reports that this isn't the first tussle over the name, and in fact says Apple's been trying to secure rights to iPhone since 2001. Even creating a shell company called Ocean Telecom Services for the express purpose of filing a trademark claim. For Apple's part, they claim several other companies are using the name and call Cisco's hold on the word, "tenuous at best."
I don't know if it will revolutionize the mobile phone, but it's certainly providing a legion of reporters with something to write about.
Meanwhile, back in the land of every other portable device company whos name doesn't start with "A", SanDisk announced a slick new line up the other day that has been completely overshadowed by Apple's new toy.
"The player, which Sandisk say will hold 33 video hours or 2,000 songs, boasts a 4-inch screen similar in size to Apple's video iPod and comes with 8 megabytes of flash memory."
I'd wish for more storage, but it's definitely a step in the right direction for SanDisk. That SanDisk has managed to stave off the Zune and hold two spots in the top 10 devices is impressive, and if they keep making sharp devices at reasonable price-points, I think you'll start seeing more Sansa devices in the wild than you might expect.
Yep, it's official. At 9:40am Pacific, Apple's Steve Jobs announced the iPhone, and the newest Apple gadget gave it's tiny little polyphonic birth cry.
Details are still sketchy but, here's what our feet on the street at TUAW have to say in their live blogging of Jobs keynote. No word yet whether the iPhone really does encompass features of the iPod, but one can only hope.
"These phones all have keyboards that are there whether you need them or not. And they have buttons and controls that can't change if you want to add an idea to the product six months down the road." i.e. Touchscreen, kiddies.
Most advanced phones are called "Smart Phones" but they're not so smart, and not so easy to use. We leapfrog with a product that is way smarter and way easier to use with a revolutionary UI with years of research and development behind it. (David adds: "Man! Ryan of Engadget really hit this right on the head.")
Multi-touch technology "works like magic". (Laurie notes: "I have a draw full of styluses.") It ignores unintended touches, multi-finger gestures and has patents. Or something like that. I think I jumbled things there a little bit. It is built on top of revolutionary interface with software that calls current mobile phones "baby software" and then mocks them. Yes, the iPhone runs OS X, children!!! W00t!
Update: There is at least initial confirmation that the iPhone does double as a music player.. plus it's got a host of really keen features.
Update 2: Music and more. Coverflow flipbooks, tight iTunes integration, stereo headphones with tiny microphone, 4GB will be $499, 8GB $599. You'll have to wait until June so, put that credit card away.
Update 3: Here's a flickr stream of the whole thing. Like Buttah!
Aw, keep trying little buckaroo! C|Net reports that the Zune hasn't cracked the top ten portable music players, although it has captured a "decent slice" of the hard drive based player market in big box retail stores.
The overall top ten is overwhelmingly Apple, with 8 of the top ten slots occupied by fruit etched media devices, Sandisk's Sansa models round out the rest of the ten. For what it's worth, Santa (also known as a stand-up comic and brit-pop trivia nutjob) recently delivered a Sansa to my doorstep, and I couldn't be happier.
Analysts are saying that Microsoft is "doing well for a newcomer" and reminding us that the Zune is a "multiyear haul" but, what is it going to take to wedge Apple out of the driver's seat and substitute a Microsoft product in its place? The Zune's marketing, though really pretty, is incredibly conceptual and artsy and, frankly, the American consumer isn't exactly known for their ability to "get" high-brow concepts. Coupled with the closed eco-system of Zune's "Marketplace", and the relative complexity of the whole Zune experience, MS has a very long way to go to win this little war they've started.
This year will see ecosystem changing digital music milestones, if Robert X. Cringely's crystal ball is working properly. In his 2007 predictions Cringely writes, "No one DRM technology emerges as the winner and the RIAA begins to back off as it loses a few legal cases. Still, no Internet-only song wins a Grammy or is even recognized as existing." He also turns his six-shooter of prognostication on Apple's unibrow baby wanna-be, "Zune 2.0 appears, isn't brown, but still nobody buys it."
Cringely's predictions give us something to think about. I've already gone on record as saying DRM is deadmeat in 2007 and, I think he's certainly within reason to believe the RIAA will eventually tire of its endless stream of litigation. What I think the RIAA won't do is end one strategy without starting another, so look for signs of a new direction in "piracy management."
Let's face it, piracy isn't going to shrivel up and die, but will be managed like a chronic disease, rather than through a frantic hacking off of limbs.
As for the Zune, I don't think it matters. Zune 2.0 or not the only thing that will displace Apple as top dog in the digital music marketplace is the end of DRM for mainstream, major label music. The death of DRM would make major changes in the hardware ecosystem possible, as manufacturers compete for eardrums and eyeballs on a level playing field. Apple's DRM has the labels stuck in a very tight place, and there is every reason to believe that deep within the darkest layers of the RIAA's war room there is a sincere desire to break free from Apple's bonds.
As for an internet only song winning a Grammy, as long as the Recording Academy members are exclusively members of the "club", I think it's safe to say that the Grammy awards won't see any internet party crashers invited to the dance. That's just simple logic.
Ever wonder what goes on inside your iPod? If you're like most of us, you simply listen and browse, taking for granted all of thehard work going on deep inside your pocket-sized boredom destroyer.
These guys would like to remind you that it's not all fun and games in there. Cranking out tunes and keeping things organized is tough work.
Warning: This video contains not-so-safe-for-work language.. but is overall pretty harmless. Enjoy!
If you weigh the anecdotal evidence, Microsoft's Zune didn't have a very merry Christmas. Failing to make Amazon's top sellers list at any point during the holiday season, the Zune trailed far behind Apple's iPod, several models of which held top spots at various points.
According to TechWeb "During the holiday season, Zune was seldom seen among the top 10 consumer electronics on Amazon. Microsoft, however, says sales have met its internal forecasts, and it expects sales to pick up over time as the company increases marketing and introduces technology enhancements."
Meanwhile the iPod was holding steady at nearly 73% of DAP retail revenue and a solid 63% of unit sales during the same period. As much as Microsoft would like to pretend that the Zune is everything they'd hoped it would be, you have to imagine that somewhere in Redmond a few execs are sitting around a white-board re-evaluating the Zune strategy.
Ever wanted to know what happens when a first gen iPod meets an industrial blender? Neither have we but, that didn't stop these guys from giving it a shot.
It's a bit of an extreme way to make the point that you really want a new iPod for Christmas isn't it?
Get it while it's hot. iTunes is offering a free download of John Hodgman's audiobook, "The Areas of My Expertise" until Christmas. You may recognize Hodgman as the "PC Guy" from Apple's recent round of commercials, or from his appearances on The Daily Show.
The book is described as, "a brilliant and hilarious compendium of handy reference tables, fascinating trivia, and sage wisdom on all topics large and small... a different kind of handy desk reference, one in which all of the historical oddities and amazing true facts are sifted through the singular, illuminating imagination of John Hodgman, which is the nice way of saying: He made it all up."
Hodgman is one of those writer/performers who just dripps funny from every single pore on his body. If you can make it through five minutes of Hodgman's book without laughing, you should really make an appointment and have yourself checked out.
Just in time for Holiday travel, EA has released two new titles for 5th gen iPods to keep your fingers and brain occupied while the miles fly by beneath you.
iLounge's Jeremy Horwitz writes, "Based on the internationally successful Japanese grid number matching game, Sudoku is a 25.1MB download. Royal Solitaire features "10 of the most popular and well-known versions of Solitaire," including Canfield, Klondike, Peaks, Pyramid, Beleaguered Castle, Aces Up, Yukon, FreeCell, Golf, and Scorpion. A 45.6MB download, it promises to allow you to track your own statistics, and those from "other players around the world."" Ok, so it's not Halo II but for entertainment that doesn't require you to carry yet another device around in your pocket, it'll do. Available now in the US and UK iTunes store but, for whatever strange reason not in Canada; where's the Sudoku love for the great white north?
One of the biggest gripes about iTunes is the grey definition of "buying" a song. Sure, you paid your 99 cents and now you're be-bopping down the street to the latest from Chingy but, did you really "buy" that tune? In the strictest definition, no. You don't have the ability to resell the song if you tire of listening to it after a few weeks, you'll never be able to recoup even a portion of your 99 cent "investment".
PeerFlix wants to change that, according to PC Magazine. In an interview with PC Magazine, Peerflix's Billy McNair says, "Whether down the road Peerflix ends up trading MP3s, digital ringtones, digital movies or other files, I don't know," McNair said. "These are gray areas today, from a legality point of view. But there are very few successful products that have been prohibited from selling in a secondary market. The next phase is a digital world: how do we create that secondary market? What do I do when I've bought an album on iTunes, and I'm done with it? How do I resell that song?""
In my humble opinion, something needs to be done about the transferability of digital tracks. The record companies and music distributors have absolutely zero incentive to create a second tier market but, there is no legal basis for the current situation where no secondary market exists. Fixing that will take either a depp pocketed company interested in capitalizing on a secondary market, or unlikely government intervention to force its creation.
Hypebot reports that Amazon will enter the universally compatible, DRM free mp3 market in 2007. Aiming for a late first quarter launch (otherwise known to those who can do basic math and read a calendar as "the month of March"), the new Amazon offering will reportedly offer variable pricing.
It's an encouraging sign that larger players are dipping their toes in the DRM free waters. EMI has been open to experimental use of mp3s lately, and the smaller labels are selling thousands of DRM free tracks every day on eMusic and Aime Street.
It's too early to call 2007 the "year of DRM" however, it's pretty clear that it will be a year of increased pressure against the dominance of Apple's iPod.
Remember that Forrester research report this week which said iTunes was tanking its sales numbers compared to previous figures. What a difference a day makes. This quote sums up why following news about iTunes and research analysts can easily give a person whiplash...
"[W]hile Forrester claimed that iTunes sales were leveling off at roughly 20 songs per iPod, [...] ComScore's research showed that in the first three quarters of the year, revenue on iTunes soared by 84%. In addition, the number of transactions jumped 67%, and the amount spent per transaction was up 10%."
Soared? 84%? That hardly seems like the doom and gloom we heard so much about. It all goes to show that, when it comes to Apple, it's never really true till you see it in black and white, right there in the annual report.
Ah Doug Morris, unibrow baby to the digital music revolution. His hard-ball approach with Microsoft, fighting hard for a $1 cut of each Zune sold in exchange for allowing Microsoft to license Universal Music's stable of artists, won him a place on the enemies list of every music blogger from Anaheim to Zurich. 
Michael Hirchshorn of 
Apple's iPhone announcement was followed closely by the folks at Cisco. Why would a network hardware manufacturer care about the newest phone from Apple? They already have a product on the market under the name of iPhone, and they're none to happy about Apple's usurping of the name. 
The iPhone is getting more press coverage than, well, a thing that gets a lot of press coverage. Here's a sampling from around the mainstream...
Yep, it's official. At 9:40am Pacific, Apple's Steve Jobs announced the iPhone, and the newest Apple gadget gave it's tiny little polyphonic birth cry.
Aw, keep trying little buckaroo! 
This year will see ecosystem changing digital music milestones, if Robert X. Cringely's crystal ball is working properly. In his 2007 predictions Cringely writes, "No one DRM technology emerges as the winner and the RIAA begins to back off as it loses a few legal cases. Still, no Internet-only song wins a Grammy or is even recognized as existing." He also turns his six-shooter of prognostication on Apple's unibrow baby wanna-be, "Zune 2.0 appears, isn't brown, but still nobody buys it."
If you weigh the anecdotal evidence, Microsoft's Zune didn't have a very merry Christmas. Failing to make Amazon's top sellers list at any point during the holiday season, the Zune trailed far behind Apple's iPod, several models of which held top spots at various points. 
Just in time for Holiday travel, EA has released two new titles for 5th gen iPods to keep your fingers and brain occupied while the miles fly by beneath you. 
One of the biggest gripes about iTunes is the grey definition of "buying" a song. Sure, you paid your 99 cents and now you're be-bopping down the street to the latest from Chingy but, did you really "buy" that tune? In the strictest definition, no. You don't have the ability to resell the song if you tire of listening to it after a few weeks, you'll never be able to recoup even a portion of your 99 cent "investment". 
Hypebot 
