>>But as I've mentioned, iTunes songs lock listeners into iPods. mp3s are universal. Any old player will play any old mp3.
Once Amazon has a deep catalogue I can't imagine why people would buy music downloads from Apple.<<
Doren -
I can see why people would still buy downloads from Apple. Habit, for one thing. Also, I've just tried the Amazon store, and while it's quite easy to use, it's not as seamless as the iTunes store. I do admire the effort they've gone to in making their downloads automatically load into your iTunes library, however.
But even if people decide to buy all their downloads from Amazon, that doesn't mean they will suddenly start buying Creative Zen, iRiver, or Yepp players. And certainly they won't all start buying Zunes. Remember that the vast majority of iPod owners have bought only a few songs from the iTunes store. The rest they have either ripped from CD or downloaded illegally.
So basically, most users haven't been "locked in" to the iPod in any meaningful way. But they have chosen to continue to buy iPods. Why? Maybe because iPods are terrific music players, with the features people want at prices people find fair, and because the total experience of getting music onto them is dead easy.
- Allen |
