This is to my recollection my first link to Fake Steve Jobs. I enjoy him every once in a while, like a Far Side cartoon. Tonight, I read his post, "A Boring Rant" about iTunes vs. NBC and he almost sounded lucid. I think he's off the mark on Apple creating original video. They'll start where the risks are lower - music.
My prediction: Apple will start a music label as the first step. They will have at least three major artists -
- An established, older but wildly successful artist that's experienced a slight downturn, to focus on the aging adult contemporaries with the budget to buy Mac products
- A hot country artist because we're reportedly a NASCAR nation*
- One more youthful artist, probably focused on the urban demographic.
Or they may go all-in with a big defection en-masse. Apple will make a statement to the industry by making these tracks available at a slightly cheaper price than other tracks on the site. The might start by offering non-DRM'd tracks for $.99 vs. the requisite $1.29 found now. They'll generate modest profits and promote like hell to get on the radio airwaves. They'll use television ad time traditionally used to drum up iPod awareness (like we needed any) to promote the songs and the new iPods on their way.
Or perhaps I'm off the mark and the numbers don't add up. Either way, ubiquitous broadband is the real disruptive force happening here, and on that we agree.
*My son is an addict and preschool slave at the altar of Pixar's Cars. John Lasseter and the Pixar team are phenomenal in my book, but if I have to hear, "It's all gas and goes for McQueen today!" one more time...