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Apple Launches Online Music Service
"There is no legal alternative that's worth beans."

-- Steve Jobs, CEO, Apple Inc., on Apple's new online music service


by Steve Bryant | 04.28.2003 ReadMe | Print it.

Apple launched its online music service today, providing almost unlimited usage rights, CD quality audio and reliable downloads for just 99 cents a song.

This is a pretty big story, so DriftNet won't recapitulate the whole thing for you. But here are links to a few of the better news items:

  • Recently-in-the-black online mag Slate has some good analysis: The news isn't the technology, it's the paradigm. Right on.

  • The UK's Register apparently thinks CDs in the US only cost $10.99. (Shopping for Oingo Boingo in the bargain bin at Kmart, are we?) But, they still call Apple's new service a good deal.

  • For those readers who are desperate to hear female folk-pop's forty-something sex kitten weigh in on this momentous occasion, Fortune has Sheryl Crow's wonderfully vacuous response to the news. Good job, guys, didn't know you were aiming for Maxim's market. They've got a more in-depth article that does a fabo job of hyping Jobs like he's a dot-com uber-mensch (complete with accolades from Dr. Dre) here.

  • CNN points out that Apple only controls 3% of the computer market; a Windows iTunes client is expected later this year. Enough to make you buy a Mac? Probably not.
DriftNet thinks this will be a somehwat successful venture. It may decrease piracy somewhat, especially among digital devotees who have a least a smidgin of a conscience. And we certainly feel that vindicated/relieved that the music industry is adopting the buck-a-song approach. I'll gladly pay $1 for a tune; WhiteSnake only has one good song anyway.

But the service doesn't and can't do anything about the pirated digital files that already exist on P2P networks around the globe. Until music pirates face individual fines, and those fines are enforced, piracy will continue. It'd be interesting if someone took the time to compare Apple's 200,000 song online library of music to files available on Kazaa - my bet is you can get most of them at the pirate's playstation for free.
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