So the hot news is that Amazon has launched a DRM-free MP3 download service to compete with iTunes. I took a look, and it will take a lot of polishing to compete with the clean experience of ITMS, but it’s a pretty cool development. Wired covered the news with an interesting angle: if Apple hadn’t become the dominant force in music downloads, labels would still be trying to compete with proprietary DRM. Now, they’re forced to offer DRM-free downloads to compete with Apple’s experience.
It’s an interesting idea, and one that makes sense. There’s an amusing money quote at the end, though, that demonstrates a degree of cluelessness:
“Never before in the history of content has the hardware been more valuable than the software,” [Warner Music Group’s] Bronfman said. “You think about the VCR or the video cassette – the video cassette always had more value than the VCR that you shoved it into. Apple has been able to turn that model on its head.”
That’s not true at all – a playback device have always been worth more than any individual piece of media that plays on it, even in the days of VCRs or cassette players or phonographs. Most consumers choose hardware based on the aggregate value of what it gives them access to, and for most people the iPod hits the sweet spot. Ripped or torrented music plays on it, and it has the largest selection of legal downloads.
Apple’s current position in the market may be unique, but it’s not shocking. They got there with the best user experience and nailed down a critical mass of deals with labels. After that, it’s all just tactics.