The days of mass marketing in the entertainment world seem to be swiftly drawing to a close. As new technologies give consumers an increasingly diverse array of options, niche marketing is the wave of the future, and marketing to the bland middle as a way of reaching everyone is no longer the most reliable route … Continue reading “Ignore the Masses, Find A Niche”
Apple’s wildly successful iTunes service, from which consumers can download music cheaply and legally, is still the industry standard, despite ever-increasing competition. But Apple has yet to make available the music of a raft of independent record labels based in Europe, despite having signed licensing agreements with them. Since much of the most popular music … Continue reading “Apple Ignores Indies”
The new download chart measuring music downloaded on the net debuts in the UK. “The countdown, broadcast on BBC Radio 1, is an attempt to take account of the thousands of tracks that are bought legally from online sites such as iTunes and Napster. But if supporters of online music were hoping it would herald … Continue reading “Official Download Chart Debuts”
“The normal share of business for classical music in the US is about 2.5% of the overall music market so, in terms of turnover, it’s relatively small. But on iTunes we represent between 6-8% of sales in any given week, so we have orders of magnitude more of the market online than offline. Yet a … Continue reading “Classical Downloads – Not Just For Pop Anymore”
“OD2, the [UK-based] music download service co-founded by Peter Gabriel, was sold to a US rival yesterday as competition intensifies in the online music market. Digital media firm Loudeye will pay $38.2m (£20.9m) in cash and stock for OD2… The deal follows a surge in activity in the European online music market, with the European … Continue reading “Wasn’t Digital Downloading Ruining The Recording Industry?”
With Apple’s iTunes service an unqualified success in the lucrative music-downloading business, the company is setting its sights on a massive expansion of the library of music available digitally. Consumers are coming to expect that iTunes will be able to come up with the music they want to hear, even if it’s obscure or out … Continue reading “Apple Looks To Expand Its Library”
With legal music downloading services like iTunes being judged as unqualified successes in the digital marketplace, you would think that the recording industry might finally be coming around to the notion that offering consumers a good deal on pop music is an effective way to build customer loyalty and increase revenue. But industry executives apparently … Continue reading “Anything For A Buck”
A new study on music downloading reports that “an estimated 6 million people have stopped downloading copyrighted music from the Internet over fears that they may sued by the recording industry, but the overall number of Americans who download music is rising with the popularity of iTunes, Napster and other legitimate online music services.”
“Unburdened by manufacturing and distribution costs, online music was supposed to usher in a new era of inexpensive, easy-to-access music for consumers. In many cases, buying music online is still cheaper than shopping for CDs at retail outlets. But just a year after iTunes debuted with its 99-cent songs and mostly $9.99 albums, that affordable … Continue reading “Wringing More Profits Out Of Downloads”
Apple’s iTunes store has been a big hit selling songs for 99 cents apiece. But WalMart is taking aim at the online download business – its new music download store charges only 88 cents. Anyone for 77 cents?
