July 29th, 2004
Let’s dance…no fight, to the music
Apple’s tussle over its music service with Real is just another battle in a larger war for control of digital music. Competition from traditional companies in the business of music players such as Creative and Sony will increasingly offer alternatives that may be better suited for the mass market. But the biggest threat says Dario Betti, a senior analyst at Ovum, actually comes from mobile phones. “Right now, they are just a cheap gadget for music lovers, but performance improvements will make them a compelling entry-level to medium-tier portable music player within two years.” This threat is real, as Apple’s recent move to allow users to play music downloaded from the iTunes service on Motorola mobile phones suggests.
Getting back to compatibility, MP3.com’s Eliot Van Buskirk, makes a good argument in support of Real’s actions:
…the basic concept behind Real’s newfound iPod compatibility is that MP3 players should be able to play legally purchased digital music, no matter who sold it. Even if Apple decides to sue Real for monkeying with its copyright protection code, what kind of judge would say that only Apple music can play on an iPod? We don’t have to buy a Sony CD player in order to listen to Sony artists, and any reasonable person would have to apply the same standard to downloadable music. Kudos to Real for blowing the world of digital music wide open; anyone who prefers freedom to restrictions would have to say that it’s about time.
