Antitrust?
Is this not a bit Microsoft/Netscape-ish? :/
Apple will attempt to install a Beats Music app in all recent iThings in early 2015, it's claimed. The music streaming service will be added via an over-the-air iOS update in early 2015, the Financial Times reports. With the software installed, fanbois can stream music over the internet on a monthly basis without having to …
Uh, Apple has like 15% of the market...maybe you need to read up on the antitrust laws.
Even if they dropped Spotify and other streaming apps from the App Store (which I highly doubt, because it would piss off too many people) it wouldn't qualify. There would remain plenty of opportunity for competing streaming services on Android which has over 80% of the market.
Perhaps in the desktop OS market, however I believe you'll find they have 100% of the iPhone, iPod and iPad market.
However, while my first thought was also that it was similar to the browser wars of the 90's, in that case MS were giving away a browser for free, pushing out competitors that had previously charged for their browser software.
In this instance I assume that although Apple will be shoving their software out to every device whether you want it or not, you will presumably still need to pay a subscription to stream music, so in this case they're competing with apps like Spotify rather than providing a free alternative.
Having 100% of the iPhone market is irrelevant. You can't ding a company for antitrust based on owning 100% of their market for their OWN COMPANY'S PRODUCTS. It depends on how much of the defined "relevant market" they have, which in this case would be "smartphones", of which they do have around 15% of the market. Despite J.R. Hartley being a bigger dickhead by incorrectly calling me a dickhead because he has no clue how antitrust works.
May as well try to hit up Ferrari for antitrust, because it violates their warranty if you try to swap out the engine for one from a Lamborghini.
@Mark 85
'Beats' is a music 'ecosystem' (bingo!) aimed at hip-hop/rap/r-n-b/etc... music. the most noticeable part is the headphones, which are noticeable as being bright red in much the same way that the white of early Apple i-products used the white as a signature. They are overpriced but the look appeals to a certain age bracket and as they are conspicuous and expensive, that adds to the appeal.
The more important part - at least so far as most people see - is their online music offering and this is what Apple have integrated, so far as I can tell.
I.e., they bought out a competitor that had a certain cachet with a segment of people (i.e. those who like the above genres of music) who were already demonstrably willing to pay above the odds for something that looks 'cool'.
So let's recap... headphones designed to exaggerate the bass coupled with a streaming platform designed to stream hip-hop/rap/R-n-B pushed out to your iDevice and set up by default to stream U2.
If that's not proof that Tim is an infiltrator sent in to destroy Apple from the inside I don't know what is.
"I.e., they bought out a competitor that had a certain cachet with a segment of people (i.e. those who like the above genres of music) who were already demonstrably willing to pay above the odds for something that looks 'cool'."
I thought the iThing market already included all of those people?
Yes I do get the point as you intended it but couldn't resist. -->
He's a very successful and highly rated music producer, a successful but not highly rated rapper; and a successful entrepreneur. I suppose you can be forgiven for not being aware of him - he's only been massively successful and well known for around the last 25 years or so.
Why not try some? The joy of Spotify and, presumably, Beats music is that you can listen to music at no cost other than some of your time. I've listened to hundreds of albums on Spotify that I would never have shelled out a tenner for in all sorts of genres.
Suggestion: find a list of the top ten hip hop albums of all time (like this one http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/top-ten-hip-hop-albums) and have a listen. Paul's Boutique is a good place to start...
Enjoy
@big_D That's quite understandable, but since this deal with Apple started to gain notice, it's been all over the mainstream media. Fair enough to say 'I don't listen to hip hop', but I guess these people claiming ignorance (not aimed at you) don't read any business news, don't follow the BBC \ CNN \ ABC \ replace with your local media broadcaster; don't read LinkedIn, etc. etc. It's all so unlikely that it seems like an affectation, to claim ignorance of a major pop culture figure as though there's some kind of neckbeard cachet in having a complete ignorance of the outside world. If it's a 'Britain's Got X Pop Idols' runner up from a few years ago then fair enough, but when people claim ignorance of these major figures, like Academy Award winning Actors, multiple Grammy Award winning musicians, etc. who have usually gained crossover appeal beyond their initial core audience, it's just so fucking tedious.
Protip - it's possible to be an IT gun and also know what's going on in the world. You might actually find your career benefits from it.
Can someone please explain this?
I have a 64Gb iPod 75% full of Music ranging from Classical to Classic Rock, Jazz, Blues and Folk (note none of this Hip-hop/Rap/R&B crap produced in the last 20 years) and Podcasts.
It would take more than two weeks just to hear every track once.
This applies to ALL streaming music services not just Beats.
Because there are hundreds of thousands of albums and thousands of bands out there that you probably haven't heard that are really good, or at least worth listening to once.
Every genre has gems and it strikes me as rather narrow minded to dismiss the whole lot - certainly if you haven't at least had a decent listen. Did you like beer the first time your tried it?
Wait - Apple didn't merge Beats into iTunes? How very old fashioned.
Does R&B still mean rhythm & blues?
Back in the good old days - you know, when sex was dirty and THE AIR was clean (or maybe a bit later than that, actually) - R&B was stuff like Rolling Stones and what have you. These days it seems like it's something very different, but it certainly isn't blues, and most of the time I struggle to find any noticable rhythm.
Oh well ... I must be getting old, I suppose.
Oh wow. I can't wait for my ears to be assaulted by bad, commercially motivated muzak. Okay, perhaps I'm being unfair - I've never used Beats - but the name hardly inspires confidence does it? It sounds as if all the music on the there will be bassy rhythms with no melody or treble. Does Beats offer Jazz? Blues? Rock'n'Roll? Baroque? Classical? Punk? Romantic? Does it offer variety?
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In 1902 a company called Fanbois & Sons started to sell gold plated mop-buckets. These differed from the usual oval design in that they where rectangular with rounded corners. Another innovation was that instead of the standard universally interchangeable mop-head they used a propriety threaded mop-head. It was an immediate success, those who bought Fanbois had to keep buying their mop-heads from them.
Everybody else just kept using their standard mops and the others became jokingly referred to as Fanbois.
Just thought I'd give you the background.
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