Sony Ericsson Comes With Music…

So, after Nokia, now Sony Ericsson starts with this subscription, or better, bundling pricing model (see Financial Times).

As you know I’m a fan of these business models… they “feel like free” and if there is enough added value they will have a chance to compete with the “free” alternatives. A crucial feature will be, if there is any portability of the music. Is there any chance to get this music from my mobile phone also on my big speakers in the living room? Is there any chance to hear the music in the car? et cetera… but of course the most important point is the price question: Where is the price point to have still this “feeling” “like free”?

Rafe Blandford did a bit of pricing research and showed that Nokia’s Comes With Music adds about 70 to 85GBP (US$123 to $150 or 85 to 105 Euros) to the price of a handset for a year music. That´s less than 10 Euros per month. For someone who is not an active “darknet” downloader and maybe iTunes customer… this is a reasonable price, if there is this mentioned portability. We will see.

Well, now we are waiting on the reaction of apple. When does the ipod or iphone come with a music subscription? I hoped Steve would announce it at his September keynote… but unfortunately not. Anyway there are this rumours it will come soon and the price will be around $130 per year…
It would be a lot of fun to use this new recommendation system “Genius” on ITunes 8 with a subscription model on a iphone…

The time of “a la carte models” in the music industry is ticking…

Apple The New No. 1 In The US Charts

Brick and Mortar is done. Now the latest record label distribution manager has to admit. Online distribution even rules the “legal music business”.

A NPD memo says that Apple has a 19 per cent music sales market share in January 2008. It`s done. The sentence “we can`t do this, cause we will cannibalize our cd sales” is over.

Apple Finally Did It

I know, the news is from yesterday… but waiting for years… I am excited…

Here it is… Apple goes subscription! Steve changed his mind.  Bundling will win the “paid  content music game” (why? …).

The Itunes  store and the brand Apple have a good chance to survive against the “free competition”. For the rest … the quality level is high now.

The Wireless Age Is Coming! Welcome!

Ok, ok, just one of millions of posts out there about Steve`s keynote speech today….
Don`t want to talk in detail about this new amazing product, the Mac Book Air: Just one comment about the missing DVD  drive. I think it shows the new way. The age of wireless is here! It`s just the first step. But a few years from now, there will be a missing  hard drive (or only just a very small “buffer” hd) not just on your small mobile device, but also on your laptop or in your entertainment device at home…

These wireless developements will have a huge impact on the business models in the media industry. There is no need to store “content” anywhere at home, on your device. You only need access to the unlimited jukebox of content out there. – The “Age of Access” is the consequence.