Apple have pulled off something quite extraordinary with their new new Music Store.
It is a revolution from the middle. A nice solution of a supposedly impossible problem. A deal struck with the people you don’t do deals with. A bridge somewhere between peer-to-peer file-sharing and buying CDs in a shop. And executed with style.
They’ve put an implementation of digital rights management (DRM) for music out into the world that actually seems reasonable and usable in the opinion of many. Combine this with some technological innovation (new AAC high-quality codec, new iPod) and the usual nice Apple design, and you have an online music service that people will actually buy from. (It looks good, the price is right, it is easy to use, and the new IPod is cool.
How did Apple do this? The managed to make a deal with the 5 major labels. That in itself is an amazing achievement, and may have been something that only Apple, among the computer or content companies, could have done.
Key reason why the labels have gone with Apple might be:
- they know what they are doing technologically
- they can make things that look good
- the store only works on Apple, restricted to users of 5% of the PC market. This would allow the DRM to be tested in a smaller environment before it is unleashed on the whole world. Imagine if a problem was found in the security of the DRM system and all songs worldwide were suddenly able to be DRM free? The labels might be slightly scared of such a potential failure.
- they control enough of the target gear to make DRM work (computers, software, iPods)…
This last point is key. If there are any hassles or dissatisfaction from the major labels, I can imagine that the Windows port of iTunes 4 might take ‘longer than expected.
The price per song seems a little high. I’d love to see it around the US$0.50 mark, which would seem like a bargain. It might get to that later.
Having said all this, I haven’t bought anything yet. I don’t have a US credit card.
Have a look at the webcast of the launch. This is classic Jobs. He sures know how to put on a show.