The Register writes that, according to numbers from Forrester, Apple’s iTunes Music Store is seeing abysmal sales, with revenues down 65% since January.
Now, while Microsoft fans may love the idea of Apple losing money, that isn’t what this is about: It is about the failure of the digital music store. While iPods continue to sell in huge numbers, songs aren’t selling, for the simple reason that, after consumers have sampled the DRM experience, they go right back to stealing music or buying CDs.
The value of a song from the iTunes Music Store, or any PlaysForSure store, is just barely higher than zero. The songs aren’t guaranteed to work in the future, can’t be easilly (or legally) transferred to alternative or future mediums, and there are always reports of bugs and problems and angry purchasers. It just isn’t worth the money paid for it, and that means consumers just aren’t interested. The subscription model is a good one not on value, but convenience, and the purchase model is not worth it.
This isn’t bad news for Apple, it is bad news for all music stores. This isn’t good news for Microsoft, this is good news for everyone who hates DRM.
(via Slashdot)
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Nathan Weinberg writes the popular InsideGoogle blog, offering the latest news and insights about Google and search engines.
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