Seemed like everybody got an iPod LAST Christmas, didn't it?
Well I guess that wasn't true. Because Apple just reported a fifty percent increase in iPod sales last quarter, for a grand total of more than 21 million. Or, as the AP said, one for nearly every Texan.
But this isn't the first year they've been selling iPods. They've been on sale in excess of five years. The player population is now VAST!
But aren't iPods expensive you say?
Do you consider $79 expensive? And that's not for a bargain basement item, that's for the ultra cool Shuffle, a lustworthy product unto itself.
In other words, everybody can afford an iPod.
But you've got to have a computer. And really, a broadband connection. There are a lot of people in the U.S. without broadband connections, right? At least, well, thirty or forty percent? But I ask you, how many of these same people are buying CDs?
We are reaching the tipping point. The numbers tell us so. CD sales have been off in double digits the past two weeks. You see most people no longer want the CD. You can gussy them up with extras, more pages in their tiny booklets, even DVDs, but they're not what people want, people want files.
Yes, the first thing you do when you get your iPod is fill it. By ripping, by buying, and then by stealing.
Yes, you cash in your gift cards. After all, they were free to you. But you lay out no more bread. Because you consider it a rip-off. Doesn't matter whether it IS a rip-off, that's the PERCEPTION, and there are ALTERNATIVES!
This is the death of Smith Corona once again. Just like the PC killed the typewriter, files are killing the CD. The only question is whether those who own those files want to partake in this newfound bonanza, or sit by the wayside and slowly go out of business.
IBM let Microsoft keep the operating system. Who wanted a PC?
I've heard forever, from all the bigwigs in this business, that CDs are the best, they're enough, they sound better, they're user-friendly... It was as if these people were buggy manufacturers. Leaving the rest of us, living in the present, scratching our heads, ignoring them.
A new strategy is necessary. The old one is not working. Not only the CD model, but the copy-protected for a buck model.
People who own iPods want a TON of music. They want to fill them up! Who's gonna spend thousands of dollars to fill an iPod?
A new economic policy is necessary. Oh, it will come, it's just a matter of when.
It's time for Doug Morris to get his head out of his ass. It's time for him to stop playing traffic cop, fining those who infringe his copyrights, and leapfrog into the future, cutting the customer off at the pass, delivering all the music for a low price.
But no, you've got John Kennedy saying they're going to sue ISPs.
Let me ask you. Suddenly, everybody with an iPod is going to leave it unfilled? Come on. That's like restricting people to three networks when cable is available. Better yet, forcing those with HD sets to watch at the regular analog broadcast rate!
It's a funny movie to watch. As the major copyright holders try to stop the avalanche. By suing, by testifying in the press, by calling their Congressmen. None of those efforts will provide the desired result.
If caught in an avalanche, you're supposed to try and SWIM your way to the top. The powers-that-be have boat anchors around their necks. They're refusing to swim. They believe they're daring the public to drown them.
It's kind of like that old carnival game, where you throw the ball to dunk the executive. We've been doing that for seven years. Now we're not even paying attention. EVERYBODY hates the record companies, we just steal/trade the music, not even worrying about the musicians, whom everybody seems to believe aren't getting paid ANYWAY!
Oh, tell me the truth. Tell me your costs. Tell me the service you provide.
You're rational, but you've got your head up your ass.
Oh, don't be insulted, I'm just waking you up. To REALITY!
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