Don't Blame The iPod

I tire of hearing people complain about competition from outside sources and new media. iPods aren't the problem. Our music-first mentality is the problem.

Radio did not begin as a music delivery medium. This is an era we have allowed ourselves to get stuck in.

Is music the only way we know how to entertain?

Spot loads absolutely must come down. But even if they do, what makes 99% of music radio special?

MP3's revolutionized music. It's less something you hear than it is something you HAVE. It's beyond portable. People can easily trade it, swap it, customize it, ship it... edit it! PROGRAM IT! Have you seen some of the utilities out there?

A jock comes on the radio and says "I've got the brand-new song from Artist X & I'll play it after this!" The jock goes into spots.

Meanwhile the listener launches a file swapping program and does a search. Within 60 seconds they've found fifty copies of the song. The listener chooses among the different bit-rates for a high quality version and downloads it.

Crap. The download canceled as the user at the other end logged off. Oh wait. Looks like somebody else with the same file logged on. The download continues. "Got it."

By the time the jock is out of spots, the listener has the song and is emailing it to a friend & IM'ing it to another.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The music isn't enough. It never really was - but then again, we never had this level of competition before.

Meanwhile the listener launches a file swapping program and does a search. Within 60 seconds they've found fifty copies of the song. The listener chooses among the different bit-rates for a high quality version and downloads it.

Crap. The download canceled as the user at the other end logged off. Oh wait. Looks like somebody else with the same file logged on. The download continues. "Got it."

By the time the jock is out of spots, the listener has the song and is emailing it to a friend & IM'ing it to another.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The music isn't enough. It never really was - but then again, we never had this level of competition before.