Walk anywhere on the University campus and someone with an iPod is bound to be seen.
These digital music players have come to dominate the MP3 scene. Costing up to $399, the iPod has rejuvenated Apple and is one of the hottest-selling electronics out today.
But is the iPod here to stay or is it a fad, doomed to fall behind to other MP3 players and services that are farther reaching?
To download music to an iPod, users must go through iTunes, Apple’s music download service.
According to a Los Angeles Business Journal article, Apple can claim 70 percent of the legally download music industry, but downloaders must pay a dollar per song when using the service.
Other services, such as Napster, allow a user to download a number of songs for a monthly fee. iPod users wanting to get their fill of songs for a monthly price are, at this time, out of luck.
According to Avery Kotler, senior director of business affairs at Napster, Apple will not license their software for use with
other services.
“Currently, if you want to buy a song legally, Apple forces you to use iTunes,” Kotler said. He stressed that Napster-currently No. 2 in the legal music download hierarchy-will work with most MP3 players on the market.
With the iPod on top of the market, Kotler said he would be thrilled if Apple would allow the iPod to work with Napster.
“It makes life more difficult for us since Apple won’t license us its software,” he said.
The dominance of the Apple marketing machine is not lost on University students.
“Apple is overzealous in their advertisements,” said Justin Cross, sophomore. “I’ve never seen another MP3 player commercial in my life.”
Jerry Calliste Jr., president and CEO of Bassmint Music Inc., said Apple took the world by storm with its beginning marketing-blitz, but may fall behind eventually.
“[Apple] gained the music, but with more and more companies coming out with the MP3 format, you’ll see a surge in sales so people can play this other music,” he said.
According to a July 2005 PC Magazine article, this already may be happening in Japan. Sony knocked the iPod shuffle to second-place but still lags behind in the hard-drive player market.
Calliste also said Apple wasn’t concerned with profits in the beginning as much as getting the iPod name out into the world.
Monthly fee or not, the iPod is a huge hit on campus, as anyone walking around Bowling Green can see.
“It would be better if there were competition,” said Eric Heffinger, sophomore. “They are making good products and people can’t keep up.”
Heffinger bought his iPod on eBay, and while he loves the ease of use, his wish for more competition springs from the fact that more competition has historically meant lower prices.
“No one talks about Napster or Morpheus, just iTunes,” said Jamie Martin, sophomore.
However, Martin also mentioned how this popularity is not necessarily a bad thing.
“It keeps things cheap,” he said.
Tom Lawrence, senior, is an employee at the University Bookstore, where he sells iPods.
Lawrence said the size and sleekness, as well as how much information they can hold has contributed to the popularity of the iPod.
However, he also said Apple needs more competition.
“People want what’s popular, and that’s their own choice, so they have to pay the money and that’s pretty much the only popular thing out right now.”
A Morpheus rep was contacted but would not comment for
this article.
