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Thoughts on Total Music

Eh… this feels like a half-baked solution to me.

Why rely so heavily on the hardware manufacturers? Isn’t it better to just fully license on behalf of the consumer through a PRO-like entity that takes payments from the network operators? Seems to me by involving hardware companies we’re inserting unnecessary friction into the process of consuming our licenses/products.

Why not let people listen in the formats and contexts they prefer - regardless of device? Do we really still think of localized on-demand libraries as stolen goods? We need to start thinking of them as unlicensed consumption. Involving the hardware layer for blanket licenses doesn’t address this legacy issue. Will Doug’s new gadget prevent me from playing songs I’ve already downloaded by P2P?

What’s my incentive for acquiring one of these new gadgets anyway, even if paid for by a hardware manufacturer? I already have an iPod - an iPhone in fact. The guy from Apple told me they expect to sell two million by the end of 2008. He was quickly proven wrong - turns out it’s probably going to be closer to four million - perhaps even more. Introducing a new gated piece of hardware is asking for failure. The tide is clearly moving away from such an approach.

As Gerd Leonhard says in his thoughtful and provocative new book, no one is going to make money inserting friction in the music consumption process. While we’re at it, here’s a full on plug for Gerd’s book:

The End of Conrol by Gerd Leonhard.

Listen to the podcast here.