[opendtv] Re: Apple and walled gardens
- From: Craig Birkmaier <craig@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: opendtv@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 20 Oct 2010 16:46:11 -0400
At 10:24 AM -0400 10/20/10, John Shutt wrote:
Gee, time was when there was this thing that was sort of like an
album, only smaller. It was made out of the same black vinyl-like
material, and could be played back on most black vinyl sound
reproducers of the day.
It was called a "45." I think the name had something to do with the
larger sized hole in the middle of the black disk. The larger
albums had a smaller hole which I believe was called a "33 1/3."
This "45" contained just two songs, and cost to less to purchase
than an entire album. Many people bought them so they could have
just the hit songs they wanted, skipping all of the less popular
songs that were included on the "33."
Yes, tongue is firmly planted in cheek.
The 45 was a big deal when I was a kid. When I got married my wife
had a collection of them. But they all but disappeared when the
industry moved to the LP Album format, then 8 tracks, then cassettes
and finally the CD.
The CD single was never pushed very hard by the music industry. You
are correct that song downloads became the preferred format in the
90s.
Record companies have abandoned the CD single because downloading
has all but eliminated demand for them.
You make it sound as if Apple invented the concept of buying a single song.
Obviously not. But most of the songs on albums and CDs were NEVER
released as singles. Apple provided a marketplace where you could buy
any track...
Feel free to look at the 1/2 million hits you will find when you type
something like "Apple's impact on the music business," into a search
engine.
To be fair, I think the iPod and iTunes were obvious - Apple just put
the pieces together better than any other company.
IMHO, Apple's impact on the telcos is far more important.
And even Apple has struggled to challenge the stranglehold of the
movie/television content oligopoly.
Regards
Craig
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