Amazon

After exhausting myself making predictions about Amazon and its possible entry into the digital music market, I’m now prompted to return to the topic, prompted by Hypebot’s latest article on why Amazon doesn’t seem to be doing anything yet. I might quibble with some of Hypebot’s stated reasons (e.g., how likely is it really that Microsoft can make a success out of Zune?), but after thinking about it I do agree that an Amazon/eMusic deal doesn’t necessarily make sense, both because of the difficulty in bringing over the eMusic subscription model into the Amazon environment and because Amazon is probably perfectly capable of matching eMusic’s other features on its own (as I noted in my first post on the subject). ...

This is the fourth and final in a series of posts (following parts 1, 2, and 3) speculating on Amazon’s rumored entry into the digital music market. In this post I discuss two additional music-related services Amazon might offer, particularly to customers already signed up to a subscription plan. The standard disclaimer applies: This is all fevered speculation and nothing more; I do not have any inside information about a possible Amazon acquisition of eMusic, nor about other future plans of Amazon or eMusic. Here follows my final attempt to play foolish prognosticator: ...

This is the third in a series of posts (following parts 1 and 2) speculating on Amazon’s rumored entry into the digital music market. In this post I discuss how Amazon might adapt eMusic’s subscription model to its own purposes. To repeat the disclaimer I made previously: This is all fevered speculation and nothing more; I do not have any inside information about a possible Amazon acquisition of eMusic, nor about other future plans of Amazon or eMusic. But enough of disclaimers, on with the wild guesses: ...

In my previous post I speculated how Amazon’s rumored entry into the digital music market (e.g., through a possible acquisition of eMusic) might initiate some changes in the way music is sold online. In this post I make some specific predictions about how Amazon might integrate digital music offerings into its current online store. To repeat the disclaimer I made previously: This is all fevered speculation and nothing more; I do not have any inside information about a possible Amazon acquisition of eMusic, nor about other future plans of Amazon or eMusic. However speculation is always fun, so let’s start imagining the Amazon music store of the future: ...

When considering the possibility of Amazon buying eMusic, one of the things I think is most interesting is the potential impact of having a single major online music store sell both CDs and DRM-free digital tracks in an integrated way, and how that might affect the way both CDs and digital tracks are sold and perceived. (Smaller services such as Magnatune have provided such a combined offering already; however, with all due respect they’re not Amazon, one of the top five music retailers. Also, both Wal-Mart and Best Buy sell both CDs and digital tracks online, but not in an integrated manner.) I’m also excited by the possibility of bringing Amazon’s many industry-leading features (reviews, recommendations, etc.) to the digital music market. Although the rumored Amazon/eMusic deal may never come off, it’s still fun to speculate how it might lead to new sales and pricing models in the music industry. ...