The reason the Record Labels have faired so much worse than Apple over the last few years is that they don't understand their own customers nearly as well as Apple does. It's hard to see how "Total Music" will change that. The gestalt of iPod is to lower the resistance between you and what you want to listen to. iPod + iTunes + iTMS makes it easy to find the music you want and listen to it anywhere anytime. It's about freedom, including freedom from complex convoluted schemes that hide the real costs.
To seriously compete, they would need a family of music players that fill different niches and are all extremely easy to use. They would need iTunes like software that allows users to organize and manage their media collection. They would need an iTMS like store that makes it easy find and buy what you want (without overpaying for stuff you don't want).
Many have tried to compete in one area or another, but no one besides Apple has put all the pieces together. There's no harm in offering alternative ways for people to get their music, but attempting to undermine the success of iPod + iTunes + iTMS would be a mistake. If it were up to me, I'd look for ways to add value to what people already love.
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The reason the Record Labels have faired so much worse than Apple over the last few years is that they don't understand their own customers nearly as well as Apple does. It's hard to see how "Total Music" will change that. The gestalt of iPod is to lower the resistance between you and what you want to listen to. iPod + iTunes + iTMS makes it easy to find the music you want and listen to it anywhere anytime. It's about freedom, including freedom from complex convoluted schemes that hide the real costs.
To seriously compete, they would need a family of music players that fill different niches and are all extremely easy to use. They would need iTunes like software that allows users to organize and manage their media collection. They would need an iTMS like store that makes it easy find and buy what you want (without overpaying for stuff you don't want).
Many have tried to compete in one area or another, but no one besides Apple has put all the pieces together. There's no harm in offering alternative ways for people to get their music, but attempting to undermine the success of iPod + iTunes + iTMS would be a mistake. If it were up to me, I'd look for ways to add value to what people already love.