To every iTunes Music Store sucker, thanks a billion

ABC News: iTunes: One Billion Served Crank up the old PR and spin machine. Apple today announced their one billionth iTunes download today. The song? Speed of Sound by Cold Play.

"Over one billion songs have now been legally purchased and downloaded around the globe, representing a major force against music piracy and the future of music distribution as we move from CDs to the Internet," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs.

Personally I've never bought an iTune and I don't own an iPod. I think Apple's DRM is awful and represents a major step back for us all. I think those that are investing in iTune digital libraries are suckers. You are basically betting that Apple's proprietary DRM laced format will be the standard for the rest of your life. You are paying too much for your music and tying yourself to only Apple products going forward. More innovative ways to play your music may indeed come in the future but unless they are marketed by Apple you will not likely be able to use these devices with your iTunes files due to Apple's tight proprietary control.

Personally I want nothing to do with it. I still collect my digital music the old fashioned way, I rip it straight from CDs to crystal clear high bit rate DRM free mp3s. These files of course can be played on any device and represent better value in my opinion for today's consumer.

What happens when the killer phone is finally here? You know the one, built in terabyte of storage, lightening fast file transfer speeds, full satellite radio, a breathalyzer, your car and house key, a tiny little thing the size of credit card with a 12 mega pixel camera on it (hey it's the future right, we can dream). What happens when this phone is out and you really want it and unfortunately Apple didn't make it? That's right, you're a sucker then aren't you. I thought so. You paid all that good money for your iTunes and now you can't put them on your new phone because your new phone threatens Apple's dominance. So who owns the music anyway? You or them? They do. You bought nothing. You bought the right to play their song on their product. It might work today. But I'm not about to bet that this will be the format du jour 10 years from now.

click here for more: thomashawk.com/2006/02/itunes-one-billion-suckers-served....

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Comments

btobin says:

Personally I think digital music "collections" will soon be obsolete anyhow. We'll all have our mp3 files collecting dust on our "desktop computers". As soon as I can actually easily access customized playlists of streaming music from a web-enabled phone I'll go for it. Less techy folks will follow a few years later. I guess I may be wrong, if subscription music services fail now (Yahoo, Napster).
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Mark Demeny says:

I agree entirely with Thomas - I purchase CD's, rip them, and copy the MP3s (which can be played on everything) to my 3 computers and 2 iPods, then the CD goes back in the case as a backup forever.

With DRM, the tech and record companies have done an end run around fair use. My making circumventing of the DRM illegal with the DMCA, they have kept fair use legal, but made any attempt to actually excercise those rights illegal.

I won't buy anything DRMed. Period. If all CD's are DRMed, then I'll resort to buying vinyl and making a high-quality analog rip (I've done it before for my rare stuff).

Personally, I think we're all getting fed up with being treated like criminals, or suckers who will pay over and over again to re-purchase our music for each new format.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Mr Normal [deleted] says:

Has anyone heard of limewire?
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

jimheid says:

Feh. Lighten up! :-)

For me, the iTunes Music Store is one avenue of many for expanding my music collection. I still buy CDs, I still digitize from vinyl, and I've been known to launch Acquisition X on occasion.

I'm no fan of DRM, but iTunes' is relatively innocuous compared to the likes of, say Sony's. I consider it a reasonable tradeoff for the convenience of being able to buy individual tracks.

And if My Fantasy Phone of the Future can't play my iTunes tracks, I'll just use my iPod to play them—just like I use my turntable to play my vinyl and my cassette deck to play my tapes.

Anyhow, I will so never buy a phone that contains a breathalyzer.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

ray. says:

Amen, preach is brother.

I personally still love my CDs which i rip, and vinyl. What can I say, I'm a collector and I love to collect things I can touch. I love the act of putting the physical recording into its respective player. I also don't like the idea of streaming playlists etc. For me half the fun is going to the hole-in-the-wall store and picking out 2-3 new recordings to turn my weekend into magic.

heh....I know I'm rare and I know most must think I'm being a highly unreasonable luddite that is dragging his feet along the march into the digital age, but i just can't help myself. Does this stuff really make our lives simpler?
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

johnny z. says:

This is a bit of controversy, isn't it? I have very much enjoyed my iTunes account, because I can download individual songs that I'd never buy the whole CD or 12". I can burn them to CD or put them on my iPod along with my other CDs. I just wish I got the iTunes version free if I buy a record! That's a problem for me.

iPods are quite inexpensive for what they are and if a better way comes along, I wouldn't feel put out at all, like jimheid. And I have zero interest in a music player cum cell phone - is that really necessary?

I'm pessimistic about the demand for 3G or 4G technology in the US. Unlike the Japanese, few Americans outside NYC spend lengthy amounts of time on trains and so few have the need for portable entertainment.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

johnny z. says:

Oh, also, of course the billionth song was Coldplay. iTunes users are certainly not hipper than the overall population.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

brianwallace has moved (see profile) [deleted] says:

amen, thomas!
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

old valve mic says:

vinyl....got pretty covers
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

jeroen020 says:

Good points, Thomas.
I either listen to music in active mode (e.g. putting on a record, having the physical interaction with the music) or as something in the background (for which I've ripped and downloaded a nice collection). I use J River Media Center, which plays and organises pretty much any audio you throw at it, though I try to standardise on 320 kbps mp3, as it plays back everywhere. I stopped using an Ipod for music on the go a while back, now using my phone when I'm riding my bike to work and back. There are phones coming out now with 4 GB built-in memory, and a Sony Ericsson one will have a touchscreen to browse through your content and cover art, in a way which is at least as nice as the Ipod wheel. Apple will not lead the portable audio market forever, and as soon as you switch you'll indeed regret their lock in...
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Sugar Booger says:

i still have a walkman. yes, people stare...but i figure it's like an arm weight when i'm running. ha ha.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

SF buckaroo says:

I finally bought an Ipod but I don't use it for music. I use it for podcasts. I know, I could have done the same thing with another device. But I really like Ipod's interface for collecting and downloading the podcasts.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

brickhousenc says:

most of you are missing the point...Itunes is easy to use Ipod is easy to use and the workaround for DRM with itunes is so easy ...itune downloads will play anywhere...I use it along with several methods of obtaining music...one of which is newsgroups which most of you cant remember...
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

BURИBLUE says:

I buy from itunes because it's 10 bucks an album, which is quite reasonable, and a lot less than i was paying before MP3's. To get around DRM, you just burn 1 CD, then rip that CD with another program. Viola, clean MP3's, playable anywhere. And you still have the CD to rip later at your convenience...
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

xaccrocheur says:

... And don't ya'll forget to KEEP your black vynils ! Gosh, I just re-discovered mine, that my mother kept in some hidden closet, like 200 of them, From Abba to Zappa ! They're fine !! Analogic rules. OK, I'm out :)
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

*Jake says:

I agree with burnblue, you can just burn a CD-R and re-import as unprotected AAC or MP3 files.

Apple's DRM is undeniably the least restrictive of music stores with major labels. Microsoft's Plays-for-Sure doesn't even support Macs! It has the best selection (2+ million tracks) and the quality of a iTunes song is better (through my personal experience) than that of Napster's catalog.

It's faster and cheaper than going to any local music store. And I can buy one song at a time if I choose. Granted, it's not perfect, but it's the best of the available options.

I admit, I do own an iPod and a Mac. But I bought a Mac, simply because I thought Apple had created such a simple and effective product (the iPod), that Macs just had to be sweet and I am happy I did.
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Elinesca says:

Awww. It's so cool to hate that shiny little Apple. I agree with much of what you say. But I don't think it's as extreme and as horrible as you paint it. Time will tell. Until then:-)
Posted 47 months ago. ( permalink )

Wolfie! says:

When CD came out, this guy lamented the lovely big album cover. later, although I liked the
clarity of cd, I thought back on what he said an had to agree...
cds were puny things, and reeked
of junk mail as they came free
stuck to magazines.

But PAY for an mp3, pay for *nothing* bollocks to that.

Wolfie!
Posted 45 months ago. ( permalink )

Jeffery Simpson says:

Wow, joining an old conversation here but...

I half agree. I've decided to stop buying music from iTunes when I can buy them elsewhere, as long as the price is about the same. I'd rather get a disc from Amazon than Apple just because of the DRM.

However I've bought hundreds and hundreds of dollars from iTunes and I'm not upset that I did. Apple's DRM is fairly reasonable compared to other schemes. I do prefer eMusic but their selection is limited. It's also still the best way to get music on the spur of the moment, or to get that one individual track that you don't really feel like buying a whole album to get.
Posted 36 months ago. ( permalink )

*oliver says:

I think that Apple should abolish its DRM and has been trying to do so for a while so its not totally their fault. I own an iPod and would never buy anything else but even when iTunes becomes DRM free, I still won't buy tracks from there simply because I don't have no credit card.
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Elinesca says:

He he.... who is a "sucker" now, Thomas....?

:-)
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

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To every iTunes Music Store sucker, thanks a billion

Comments

btobin says:

Mark Demeny says:

Mr Normal [deleted] says:

jimheid says:

ray. says:

johnny z. says:

johnny z. says:

brianwallace has moved (see profile) [deleted] says:

old valve mic says:

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