Music fans have celebrated ever since IPOD was released. It does not just give them music on the go but plenty of flexibility. Owning an IPOD means unlimited digital music to fill your soul. You can fill it with songs from CDs you own, from online music sites that offer free downloads or exchanges, and from Apples own innovation iTunes for as little as 99cents. A music lover can pay for just one song that he likes and does not have to purchase a whole CD. And since IPOD supports MP3 a person can purchase songs from a consumer friendly store like MP3tunes.com. But the battle that rages in the music industry is about copyright protection and loss of revenue. The question is whether the music industry should move forward and allow consumers to transfer music to portable devices without restrictions. The design of the IPOD is such that it promotes legal purchase and downloading of music around the globe. In three years IPOD owners have purchased 1 billion songs from iTunes stores world over. It is not just consumers who benefit. Artists can choose to distribute their music world wide through iTunes. Any artist who has not signed a contract with a major or independent record label can present their music to the world by approaching Apple affiliates like iFanz.com or CCBABY.com. The artist stands to gain as he or she will get 91% of the income. The IPOD can be used for more than music. IPODs can contain orientation material for freshmen entering college; students can use IPODs to download academic course material, notes, as well as audio books. IPODs are for people on the move; you can store music as well as videos and take off. If you own CDs you can load them onto the IPOD or use music from iTunes or other internet sites. The music is pure, does not skip, and it is yours. IPODs have changed the rules of the music industry. Digital technology has taken music forward but has also created problems with enforcement of copyright and generation of revenues. There are problems of music swapping, free downloads, piracy, and CDs being borrowed from libraries and burned or copied for use on IPODS and computers. The future seems unrestricted and gurus predict that giants like Amazon.com will launch by end 2006 digital distribution of music and movies. With the boom of the World Wide Web, experts expect the online music industry to show unprecedented growth in the next 4-5 years. The internet is a key distribution point for music and music downloads and subscription services are expected to exceed sales of CDs. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimate that digital music will account for over 40% of US music sales in five years. So, while IPODs and the new avatar that music has taken will be sweet to music lovers and buyers it is definitely sour or a threat to many giants of the music world. Sadly big players in the music business viewed the World Wide Web as an arch enemy. And now thanks to the success of IPOD and iTunes, the industry is acknowledging that music buffs will pay for legal music online. IPODs have revolutionized music and literally the industry has changed 'tracks.' |
