iPod, RIAA, and Blockbuster

Ok, everyone needs to take a really deep breath. All over the news sites I read are headlines like, "Will the iPod kill Blockbuster?", and other inane drivel. These stories first site that the iPod has already "killed" music stores, and with Apple's alleged deal with Fox and other studios to launch a web-based movie rental service, the industry fears Apple will hunt them down. Let's deal with each delusion in turn.

Apple did not destroy the record industry, and by extension music stores. The record industry destroyed the record industry, and by extension music stores. For YEARS the mp3 was a file format that provided computers with an eminently transportable version of user's CD collections. Apple was NOT the first mp3 player on the market. Much like Sony's Walkman didn't kill the tape deck, to insist that a media player would destroy a media industry is ludicrous. No, what killed the recording industry is the fact that studio executives A) didn't understand what the technology was— this is what happens when incompetence and ignorance are given multi-million dollar salaries B) didn't hire anyone who knew what the new technology was C) didn't think that people might tire of the CD as a format, and be looking for something more compu-friendly. It's not that people don't listen to music. And as iTunes has proven, it's not that people are unwilling to pay for it. What people were unwilling to pay for was a format that had become arcane. In our current state of technological innovation, for a media format to have survived as long as it did, is a testament to the quality of the CD as a medium. However, fidelity being pushed as high as it would go, and content being as terrible as ever, people turned to the intertron for their music needs. Once again, I must stress, the fact that people share songs on P2P networks, or rip their friends' CDs did not destroy the record industry. This was merely the effect of their self-defeating approach to the marketplace. The market changed, they didn't, they got burned, and now they're trying to sue someone so that they can still be rich. When the clipper ship industry collapsed, did they sue the steamboat operators?

That brings me to Lackluster. I mean Blockbuster. The Gurftastic blog already gave a full account of how stupid it is for anyone to EVER go to Blockbuster again, and personally pledged not to, until they stopped trying to get away with screwing me over. Well, to sum up, Blockbuster always is a few YEARS behind a good trend. With Netflix already showing a truly thriving business model of internet based rentals (their online video watching thing isn't quite a money maker yet, I think mostly because they don't have many good choices online, and the quality of the feed is pretty poor) Blockbuster belatedly started its own service. And by focusing so intently on just "destroying Netflix" they lost sight of what their customers really wanted (sound familiar????). The game had changed. People didn't want to go to their local store and be hassled by the employees who never knew where anything was. People didn't want to go check out a film they really wanted to see, only to find it wasn't there (but 15 copies of some senseless drivel like Hannah Montana takes Morocco is!!!!). People didn't want a limited selection of movies. People wanted ALL movies. And with the advent of movies-on-demand from cable and satellite providers, there were fewer and fewer reasons to leave the house, drive to Blockbuster, wait in line, and pay too much money for a movie. Netflix already killed Blockbuster a long time ago. Blockbuster died the day Netflix came out, when Blockbuster waited 5 years to start their competing (read: not as good) service. Remember when Blockbuster killed the local home video store? It's the natural progression of things. Get over it, Blockbuster. You're next.

As for Apple putting a nail in the coffin? Yeah... I could see that. I think however, that the proposed venture would be more of a way to try to sell more AppleTVs than to get people never to rent a dvd again. I mean, the logical step is, I rent a movie from iTunes, I can play it on up to 5 devices. I like watching it on my iPod/iPhone/Macbook (Pro if you're Matt) but I'd really like to see it on a bigger screen. I read some tech blog where the writer actually said, "I don't think that this rental venture will be a game changer. When it comes right down to it, people want to watch movies on their big screen TVs." Now, how can I see that AppleTV is the logical bridge, but this professional tech dude can't? Because I'm the fucking man. I guess the whole buying TV shows on iTunes hasn't worked that well, has it? Oh wait, it's been a cash fucking COW. Wake UP! Apple is always seen as this tech innovator, years ahead of the competition. Why? Because they actually are in tune and in touch with what their consumers want. Use-ability. Portability. PERIOD. Ease-of-use and on-demand take precedence over everything these days. Why is the iPhone so sweet? Everything is at your fingertips. All the time. What makes the iPod great? Your entire music collection is right in front of you. Yeah, AppleTV hasn't sold well... YET. Watch for it. Not that I'm gonna go get one. I'm perfectly happy to watch a movie on my computer. Or on my iPod. Or on my iPhone. Between Netflix and iTunes, I may never have to leave the house again...