Apple at it again did not learn from the ebook fiasco

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I'm sorry, there is just something about:

1. Apple apologists
2. people who nitpick about terminology when basic assumptions serve to make everything extraordinarily understandable

that sets me off. Unfortunately, your behavior matched both patterns.



This is beside the point that the thread is talking about digital music sales as it compares to digital book sales, and the antitrust potential of one in relation to the conviction of the other...

...which means that yes, I do expect people to assume everything in this thread is applicable to the shared trend of digital sales, and going beyond that should require explicit mention.


Feel free to continue being a nudnik about the issue, but as far as I am concerned, this ended here, which means I have nothing to respond to.

For one thing, I'm not an Apple apologist. I criticize Apple when they do something I think is wrong, for example the Apple watch rollout. The world isn't divided into Apple apologist and Apple bashers. Most people use products they like and don't use products they don't like without assuming that anyone who doesn't make the same choices they make is some sort of fanboy. Most companies have good points and bad points.

You are welcome to do what you want. I'll continue to post as I wish, which includes pointing out less than factual posts in matters that I find interesting.

[DiapDealer]

We need a "Someone on the internet is wrong about Apple" xkcd cartoon.

[eschwartz]

We already have a generic one...

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

We need a "Someone on the internet is wrong about Apple" xkcd cartoon.

That, of course, works both ways. Some jump on anyone who says anything remotely positive about evil Apple, and others jump on anyone who says anything remotely negative about the sainted Apple. And of course, some accuse anyone who doesn't agree with their negative spin of being an Apple apologist.

Of course, you can also plug in Amazon or Google in place of Apple and get the same results.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Of course, you can also plug in Amazon or Google in place of Apple and get the same results.

But then we wouldn't have the pleasure of your company.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

But then we wouldn't have the pleasure of your company.

Oh, if you start bashing Amazon without reason, I'll stick up for them. Of course, there would probably already be three pages of people going after you already. I'm not a big fan of Google except for searches and maps (don't care much for Google books or Google docs), so I mostly likely wouldn't have much to offer in a conversation about them.

[afv011]

Looks like it's happening.

Spotify may soon be limiting its free, ad-supported access to just three months, instead of its open-ended, unlimited freemium access plan currently, according to multiple sources to Digital Music News.

The three-month ‘proposal,’ advanced most principally by major labels Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment, would allow current, free-access, ad-supported (or ‘freemium’) subscribers to continue their plans for 6 months, while new users would be limited to three months only.

Source

[tubemonkey]

When Pandora limited free listening to 40 hours per month, I stopped listening to them and found someone else to listen to. If Spotify limits free listening to a three-month trial period, I'll quit using them too. They're not the only free game in town.

[tubemonkey]

9To5Mac is now reporting that Spotify is NOT ending its free service.

Update: We’ve gotten word from a Spotify spokesperson that the Free model isn’t going anywhere. Director of Communications at Spotify Graham James told me “This is totally false. Our model is working.”

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

When Pandora limited free listening to 40 hours per month, I stopped listening to them and found someone else to listen to. If Spotify limits free listening to a three-month trial period, I'll quit using them too. They're not the only free game in town.

I hate ads, so I have a subscription with Pandora. It works well enough for my needs. I tried spotify, but I really don't see the advantage over Pandora.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

I hate ads, so I have a subscription with Pandora. It works well enough for my needs. I tried spotify, but I really don't see the advantage over Pandora.

I've tried most major streaming services and IMO Pandora has the best algorithm for selecting a playlist based on an artist/song example. The reason why I stopped using Pandora is that their bit rate for stand-alone boxes is limited to 96k even on a premium plan, while mobile tops out at 192k. On decent speakers, the difference between the 320k bitrate common on most other streaming services and Pandora is noticeable.

I used to love MOG, but Beats acquired it and basically ruined it, by removing "artist radio" (which kind of worked like a Pandora station) and screwing up the UI.

I've never been a great fan of Spotify, since their library seems to be clogged up with remixes, often little more than "elevator" versions of the original songs.

Right now I use Google Music, which seems to be the best overall, for my taste at least.

Back on topic, to address the title of this thread, " Apple at it again did not learn from the ebook fiasco": Apple did learn.

They learned that they can completely destroy an existing market by colluding with the content providers, then reduce the initial penalties through appeals and end up paying a nominal fine.

Apple currently has over 20% of the ebook market in the US, so they likely learned that such collusion does work to gain market share and long term profits, while whatever one-time penalties they may be subject to at some point in the future, are simply the cost of doing business.

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Sonist

...

They learned that they can completely destroy an existing market by colluding with the content providers, then reduce the initial penalties through appeals and end up paying a nominal fine.
...

Amazon doesn't sell ebooks any more? Wow, I just bought several ebooks from them yesterday, good thing I didn't wait!

Amazon still has a monopolistic position in the ebook market. Apple hasn't destroyed that.

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Amazon doesn't sell ebooks any more? Wow, I just bought several ebooks from them yesterday, good thing I didn't wait!

Amazon still has a monopolistic position in the ebook market. Apple hasn't destroyed that.

Yep, Amazon still sells, and it didn't really get hurt.

Small ebook sellers are out of business, however.

Because Apple's most favorite nation deal and uniform pricing removed all incentives for consumers to shop outside of their hardware ecosystems.

If the prices are the same, why go through the hassle of going to a small etailer? Get it?

There were ebook price comparison sites before Apple rigged the market. If my memory serves me, one was started by a member her. They all went bust....

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Sonist

If the prices are the same, why go through the hassle of going to a small etailer? Get it?

No. What hassle are you referring to?

A small etailer can only afford to underprice an Amazon for a short period of time. But just in case the short time is now, I shop around.

Originally Posted by Sonist

There were ebook price comparison sites before Apple rigged the market. If my memory serves me, one was started by a member her. They all went bust....

What about these:

http://inkmesh.com/

https://luzme.com/

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by Sonist

Yep, Amazon still sells, and it didn't really get hurt.

Small ebook sellers are out of business, however.

Because Apple's most favorite nation deal and uniform pricing removed all incentives for consumers to shop outside of their hardware ecosystems.

If the prices are the same, why go through the hassle of going to a small etailer? Get it?

There were ebook price comparison sites before Apple rigged the market. If my memory serves me, one was started by a member her. They all went bust....

Pretty hard for someone with someone with as small percentage of the market as Apple to rig the market. The small retailers have the same issue competing with Amazon as Apple does, i.e. getting past the ease of getting book on the device that Amazon gives you with the Kindle (both device and app). That, by the way, isn't a complaint or a call for anti-trust operations. Amazon did the same with the Kindle store that Apple did with iTunes, create an infrastructure to easily purchase and consume digital content that's hard to beat.

As long as Amazon remains competitive price wise, that's an advantage that's hard to beat. The iTunes store is still the biggest seller of digital music by a large margin. Where Apple might get beat is by the music streaming services. I'm not sure that the ebook subscription services provide the same sort of competition. Maybe if they offered a better selection they might.