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Is Apple in for a repeat of the computer revolution? The iTunes
Music Store has lit a fire under the seats of a few big
names. According to a Macworld
UK article, Microsoft, AOL, and Yahoo are looking to get in
on the music download act. Amazon, Viacom, and MTV are also mentioned
as potential rivals in a CNN/Money
article.
Apple beat this crowd to the punch, but it remains to be seen
whether it can take on all comers. All the companies mentioned have
excellent brands and clout. The iTunes Music Store showed them how
it's done. Now all the competition has to do is discretely copy as
much as possible without upsetting Apple lawyers. Sound familiar? As
usual, Apple is ahead of the curve but it may be hard going to stay
there.
Of all the potential competitors mentioned, Amazon (in my humble
opinion) is the most likely one to make a serious dent in Apple's
lead if it comes out with a similar service. Amazon has a built-in
customer base that is used to buying things online. Amazon is a
well-known brand. Most importantly, Amazon has a killer website that
delivers exactly what users want in an efficient manner. Amazon is
often cited as having the most usable, user-friendly, intuitive
online sales system available. So good, in fact, that Apple
licensed its 1-click technology some years ago.
This is why Apple should be nervous if Amazon is eyeballing the
online music business. There are a couple of things that some
competitors will be pretty much guaranteed to mess up. Microsoft
would likely create bloatware that unnecessarily restricts users. AOL
would likely tie the service to an AOL subscription - and with
AOL
subscribers dropping like flies, that won't be such a good
idea.
Apple's main advantage in this arena is its ease of use. The Music
Store makes it easy to buy music online. End of story. Amazon is the
only company that can match or possibly surpass them on this
front.
Of course, the tea-leave readers aren't really sure what's going
to happen. The New York Post reported
that Apple and Amazon are in "advanced talks" to make the Music Store
available on Amazon.
This would probably be the best course of action for both
companies. While Apple tried to go it alone in the desktop market,
Steve Jobs seems to have a learned something of a lesson.
Partnerships and losing some control might be a good thing in the
long run. The
Register has more on the possible Apple/Amazon
partnership.
In any event, Apple is still doing what it does best - showing
the competition how it's done.
Stephen Van
Esch is the founder and president of
the
E-learning Foundry, an online training
resource for Mac users. Steve loves the Mac and is doubly bilingual,
since he's also fluent in Windows and French.
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