Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Closed Music Systems Not Good for the Digital Music Revolution
Posted by Damion Chaplin in "CONTENT" @ 03:00 PM
"The top consumer complaint at online music service Napster: Songs purchased at Napster won't play on Apple's iPod. It's not Napster's fault. Apple's hugely successful iPod business is built on a closed system. You shop at iTunes Music Store for digital songs and use iTunes software to transfer them effortlessly to the iPod. The system works great for iPod owners. For others, there's a chaos of competing formats. Songs sold at Napster, Rhapsody, Yahoo Music and other online stores are geared to Microsoft-endorsed digital devices, not the iPod. These digital music players from SanDisk, Creative Labs and others can't easily play songs from iTunes... But first, digital will have to overcome its compatibility growing pains. "You don't have to buy a camera made by YouTube to show a clip online," says Bill Pence, chief technical officer for online service Napster. "The industry is dysfunctional.""
Bill Pence has a very good point. On the one hand, closed music systems are good for consumers because when someone buys an iPod, they know immediately how to get music on it: Buy it on iTunes. On the other hand, closed systems are bad for consumers because they rule out the other 90% of the players on the market. I don't blame Microsoft for trying out the closed system since it has obviously worked so well for Apple, but I think MS had a chance to stand out from Apple and, more to the point, take a stand against closed music systems. Even the people who started using URGE when MS et al started pimping it are out of luck when it comes to thinking about a Zune purchase. So, what do you think? Do you prefer closed music systems (that may be easier) or the more open approach (that may be more complicated and/or confusing)?
Bill Pence has a very good point. On the one hand, closed music systems are good for consumers because when someone buys an iPod, they know immediately how to get music on it: Buy it on iTunes. On the other hand, closed systems are bad for consumers because they rule out the other 90% of the players on the market. I don't blame Microsoft for trying out the closed system since it has obviously worked so well for Apple, but I think MS had a chance to stand out from Apple and, more to the point, take a stand against closed music systems. Even the people who started using URGE when MS et al started pimping it are out of luck when it comes to thinking about a Zune purchase. So, what do you think? Do you prefer closed music systems (that may be easier) or the more open approach (that may be more complicated and/or confusing)?
