Saturday, July 12, 2003

There has been no shortage of bright ideas, but so far nobody has figured out how to put it all together and find a business model that excites consumers. Experts at Wharton examine why. [CNET News.com] With all due respect to my colleagues on the West side of campus, the "jukebox in the sky" seems impractical. It requires huge network investments for high-quality streaming, especially for mobility through wireless. An iPod carries more music than I can remember I have, and trivial to keep up-to-date with one's current favorites. Downloading high quality cuts from the iTunes store, or any similar store, does not require high-quality realtime bandwidth. I buy CDs just to rip them into my iPod (many of the independent musicians I listen to are not on iTunes store yet). It is also unlikely that I will have wireless connectivity for a streaming receiver in my gym, on the Amtrak train, on US Air, and on all the many other places that where I use my iPod. The combination of iTunes and the iPod allows me to arrange my music at leisure and store my preferences (as play lists, for example). The "jukebox in the sky" would need similar facilities, which would be harder to implement given the distributed nature of the service. Finally, even my cell phone does not work well on all the places I need it (even in my office because of all the reinforced concrete and steel in our new building). Why should I expect good, consistent quality for a wireless streaming receiver? Lower-quality streaming makes sense as an extension of independent radio. But the RIAA has made sure to kill that. When will they learn that their obsession with control and uniformity is exactly what music lovers abhor? 6:13:55 PM