businesswatch: returning to the scene of the iPod
In this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this Business Week story on why Universal Music may want to bow out of its deal with Apple’s iTunes.
Meanwhile, Nora Young looks at the Guardian’s view take on the iPhone. It says Vodafone bowed out of supporting the iPhone because Apple wanted a cut of the revenue. What will be the relationship between content and devices as more and more content is delivered to our mobile doohickies?
July 18th, 2007 at 6:05 am
Hi girls,
I was going to write to your facebook page … but then I’d have to use my real name !
What many are saying / hoping is that Apple can shake up the entire business model of the cell phone industry. What do cell phone companies sell us ? Bandwidth, plain and simple, yet they re-package this bandwidth in a way to max. out the ‘average profit per user’ (ARPU!). This has worked out great for the tel-com industry, with Bill Gates recently getting knocked off from his #1 Forbes ranking by Carlos Slim, Mexican telcom giant). Customers — particularly here in Canada — continue getting shafted.
Devices like the iPhone will really need reliable and speedy wireless/cell access in order to make the experience all that it can be.
By creating a device of intense consumer lust, Apple can (at least where there is competition, who knows about Canada, where Rogers completely controls GSM) dictate some new rules and possibly new innovative features (like a joint voice/data plan ratess, ‘Visual Voicemail’, etc.). An estimated 25% of iPhone buyers have switched over to AT&T from another network, so clearly this can benefit the cell phone companies bottom line.
My bottom line …. mobile handset makers have had to kowtow to cell phone service providers for too long; there should be some natural give and take between them.
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As for all the rumors, be wary … Vodaphone clearly wanted an EU wide iPhone deal, but Apple might decide a number of different vendors in different geographic locations is more profitable.
As for the Universal grandstanding, they’ve actually been doing this for quite a while (only having a month-to-month agreement with Apple) Universal needs Apple more than ever, and with rumors of Jay-z starting a new record company …….
Check out Fake Steve Job’s take on the state of the record industry:
http://fakesteve.blogspot.com/2007/07/rolling-stone-record-industry-is-dying.html