Saturday, April 24, 2004
Apple Says No To Supporting Other Music Services
Posted by Kent Pribbernow in "NEWS" @ 05:00 AM
"Speaking at Apple's annual shareholder meeting here, Jobs said there would be both an initial and ongoing cost to allowing the iPod to work with other music services.
"To be honest, it's just not worth it," Jobs said, noting that RealNetworks has made a number of overtures to Apple and adding that Real's music service has been "less than successful."
Oh come on now, Steve. We know you just want all the apples in the orchard (pun intended) to yourself. :lol: Seriously, this is a catch-22 proposition. If Apple opens the iPod to other services, it could cause users to migrate over to the competition, which would bleed sales from iTunes. On the flip side (another shameless pun), if Apple DOES NOT follow this path, other devices and services could become increasingly popular over time, ultimately marginalizing Apple. Not an easy decision to say the least.
"To be honest, it's just not worth it," Jobs said, noting that RealNetworks has made a number of overtures to Apple and adding that Real's music service has been "less than successful."
Oh come on now, Steve. We know you just want all the apples in the orchard (pun intended) to yourself. :lol: Seriously, this is a catch-22 proposition. If Apple opens the iPod to other services, it could cause users to migrate over to the competition, which would bleed sales from iTunes. On the flip side (another shameless pun), if Apple DOES NOT follow this path, other devices and services could become increasingly popular over time, ultimately marginalizing Apple. Not an easy decision to say the least.
