"Big" versus "small" in the business world is measured in dollars and cents, not in number of labels. Subscription services have always been a small part of the music business.<br><br>Before iTunes, the online market was a tiny fraction of what it it is now. iTunes is now the largest music retailer. Most online music retail outlets until very recently only offered DRMed tracks. MP3 players from different vendors were everywhere when iTunes was launched, and were selling well.<br>
<br>In other words, it's silly to say that Apple's DRM and iPod somehow squeezed out the competition because of _monopoly power_. When both started they weren't the dominant force they are today. They are dominant _today_ because Apple made a superior product and offered a superior service. If you can't see that there's no hope for you, Leo.<br>
<br>Jeffrey.<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 3, 2008 at 12:40 AM, Leo Mauler <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:webgiant@yahoo.com">webgiant@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I could say the same about you. You sat there claiming that in order to qualify as a "real" online music business, a business had to sign on all the major record labels, and now that I've pointed out that Rhapsody signed on all the major record labels 9 months before iTunes did, you're *moving the goalposts* and pretending that they were in their new positions the whole time.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>
> The online music market was tiny until Apple<br>
> built the industry.<br>
<br>
</div>Correction: until Rhapsody created an online music industry with the music catalogs of all five of the biggest record labels. Apple merely added its own online business to the existing online music industry created by Rhapsody.<br>
<br>
As for "tiny", Apple's iTunes service launch in April 2003 had 200,000 tracks from all five major record labels, but prior to iTunes Rhapsody had 175,000 tracks and 14,000 albums from the same five major record labels. There was no "giant increase" in the online music market (an increase from 175,000 to 200,000 is only 12.5%), as Apple merely offered the *same* music catalogs that Rhapsody had already offered for nine months.<br>
<div class="Ih2E3d"><br>
> Just because some small companies<br>
<br>
</div>Correction: a big company. Signing on all five major record companies made Rhapsody a big company.<br><br></blockquote></div><br>-- <br><br>"He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself." -- Thomas Paine<br>