Choice? What choice?
One of the things that I'm sick and tired of
hearing about is the concept of choice as seen by companies like Real Networks
and Microsoft. Both of these companies have used the term choice when referring
to their product offerings in the realm of digital music. More importantly both
companies have used these terms to try and create the impression that Apple,
with its iPod, iTunes and iTunes Music Store products, gives you no choice,
whereas they do. Let's correct some of the myths
here.
There is a choice in the digital music market, but it's a very narrow one. You have the choice of buying a digital music player from a number of manufacturers, but behind that choice you are limited to the encoding and DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies that the manufacturer has chosen to adopt. This immediately constrains your initial choice. You can buy a music player from Rio or Creative or Dell, but the encoding and DRM for all these products is the same. What this means then is that the choice of music player must be made with an understanding of the underlying technologies that allow you to save ripped or downloaded music. So with this in mind let's look at the market and the real choice that exists.
Microsoft Windows Media - most players will happily work with Windows Media Audio (WMA) encoded audio files, including those ripped from CDs or downloaded from online stores. There are notable exceptions, but the majority of manufacturers who are making only hardware are using the Microsoft Windows Media system.
Real Networks Rhapsody - a smaller number of players work with the Rhapsody technology offered by Real Networks. In a lot of cases such players also support Microsoft Windows Media, but the number of products in either category (Rhapsody only or Rhapsody/WMA) is much smaller than pure WMA devices.
Sony Connect/ATRAC - this is a totally proprietary system that, until recently, didn't even support MP3 files. Sony manufacture the only Connect/ATRAC devices and are the only company (thus far) to offer downloads in this format from their online music store.
Apple iPod/iTunes - this, like Sony's offering, is another totally proprietary system. Apple is the only iPod manufacturer and is the only company (again, thus far) to offer downloads in its proprietary iTunes Music Store format.
Others - there are several other players in this field, each offering its own proprietary encoding and DRM format and, usually, a specific device (or in rare cases, a handful of devices) that work with that technology.
Okay, so with that out of the way what choice do we really have, it's simple: Microsoft Windows Media, Real Networks Rhapsody, Sony Connect/ATRAC, Apple iPod/iTunes and the odd other device and proprietary format. So our choice is actually a lot more limited than both Microsoft and Real Networks have implied. So what do they mean by choice?
Both Microsoft and Real Networks (and Sony and most of the so-called independent hardware manufacturers) have claimed that they offer choice whereas Apple do not. This is wrong. It is misleading. Worse yet, it is deliberately misleading to the point where consumers (the buying public like you and me) are confused by what everyone means when they say choice. It is misleading because the choice isn't one of multiple devices (which does exist) but one of a smaller offering of devices for a specific encoding and DRM technology.
In the case of Real Networks the number of compatible devices is small, but still larger than the number of devices offered by either Apple or Sony (this may not truly be the case as Sony offers a large number of devices, but they make all of them - you get no choice of device manufacturer). In the case of Microsoft Windows Media the number of compatible devices, as is to be expected, is much higher. Apple only offer iPods and Sony only offer their ATRAC devices. So in this light, both Microsoft and Real Networks offer greater choice of hardware. However, the hardware is still constrained to their encoding and DRM technology and, importantly, only works with Microsoft Windows. Sony also only supports Microsoft Windows. Apple supports both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
So you have a choice of music player, big deal. Well, yes, it is a big deal. You see the choice here is that you, the consumer, can choose to buy pretty much any device you want, but when you make that choice you are also choosing (sometimes unknowingly) to adopt a specific encoding and DRM technology and all the baggage that goes with this. If you buy a device from Creative or Dell or Virgin you are choosing (again perhaps unknowingly) to adopt the Microsoft Windows Media technologies. If you buy a Sony ATRAC device you are adopting their encoding and DRM. If you buy an Apple iPod you are choosing iTunes, the iTunes Music Store and AAC/FairPlay (AAC is the encoding format, which is actually a bona fide standard, being part of the MPEG-4 standard, as opposed to an industry standard like Windows Media. FairPlay is the name of Apple's totally proprietary DRM technology).
So now we can see that our choice is actually not as wide as is made out. When we go out and buy a player we are potentially choosing something that we may not want, the encoding and DRM baggage. This is why Microsoft and Real Networks are being misleading by saying that they offer more choice (or any choice) whereas Apple does not. They offer one part of a choice - the encoding and DRM technology. Their hardware partners offer slightly greater choice - the various music players they manufacture. The fact remains though that once you've chosen a player you've chosen the encoding and DRM that goes with it, and the choice in that market is very small indeed.
Footnote: pretty much all the music players in the market today allow you to play MP3 files, the most common format for music ripped from CDs (and downloaded from peer-to-peer services, but let's not open that can of worms today). The most notable exception to this was Sony with its ATRAC devices, but they've now rectified this mistake. That pretty much every player on the market can play MP3 files is important because it undermines to a great extent the untruths that both Microsoft and Real Networks have bandied around concerning the iPod. The iPod can play MP3 files (as well as vanilla AAC and Apple's AAC/FairPlay files), which is a level of choice that Microsoft and Real Networks happily gloss over.
--
Disclosure: I own an iPod, which I've owned for about 2 years. I bought it because at the time it was the only decent player on the market. It's coming due for replacement (the battery is down to about two-to-three hours and the headphone socket is loose, causing intermittent connection). I will be buying another iPod to replace it. Why? Simply because the iPod remains, in my eyes, the best made device out there. Not only that but, despite all their bluster about choice, neither Microsoft or Real Networks (or Sony or any of the others) support the Macintosh and I use a Macintosh as my personal computer (I also use Windows, but mainly for my work). So for all their brave words neither Microsoft or Real Networks offer me, or any other non-Windows user, any choice whatsoever...
There is a choice in the digital music market, but it's a very narrow one. You have the choice of buying a digital music player from a number of manufacturers, but behind that choice you are limited to the encoding and DRM (Digital Rights Management) technologies that the manufacturer has chosen to adopt. This immediately constrains your initial choice. You can buy a music player from Rio or Creative or Dell, but the encoding and DRM for all these products is the same. What this means then is that the choice of music player must be made with an understanding of the underlying technologies that allow you to save ripped or downloaded music. So with this in mind let's look at the market and the real choice that exists.
Microsoft Windows Media - most players will happily work with Windows Media Audio (WMA) encoded audio files, including those ripped from CDs or downloaded from online stores. There are notable exceptions, but the majority of manufacturers who are making only hardware are using the Microsoft Windows Media system.
Real Networks Rhapsody - a smaller number of players work with the Rhapsody technology offered by Real Networks. In a lot of cases such players also support Microsoft Windows Media, but the number of products in either category (Rhapsody only or Rhapsody/WMA) is much smaller than pure WMA devices.
Sony Connect/ATRAC - this is a totally proprietary system that, until recently, didn't even support MP3 files. Sony manufacture the only Connect/ATRAC devices and are the only company (thus far) to offer downloads in this format from their online music store.
Apple iPod/iTunes - this, like Sony's offering, is another totally proprietary system. Apple is the only iPod manufacturer and is the only company (again, thus far) to offer downloads in its proprietary iTunes Music Store format.
Others - there are several other players in this field, each offering its own proprietary encoding and DRM format and, usually, a specific device (or in rare cases, a handful of devices) that work with that technology.
Okay, so with that out of the way what choice do we really have, it's simple: Microsoft Windows Media, Real Networks Rhapsody, Sony Connect/ATRAC, Apple iPod/iTunes and the odd other device and proprietary format. So our choice is actually a lot more limited than both Microsoft and Real Networks have implied. So what do they mean by choice?
Both Microsoft and Real Networks (and Sony and most of the so-called independent hardware manufacturers) have claimed that they offer choice whereas Apple do not. This is wrong. It is misleading. Worse yet, it is deliberately misleading to the point where consumers (the buying public like you and me) are confused by what everyone means when they say choice. It is misleading because the choice isn't one of multiple devices (which does exist) but one of a smaller offering of devices for a specific encoding and DRM technology.
In the case of Real Networks the number of compatible devices is small, but still larger than the number of devices offered by either Apple or Sony (this may not truly be the case as Sony offers a large number of devices, but they make all of them - you get no choice of device manufacturer). In the case of Microsoft Windows Media the number of compatible devices, as is to be expected, is much higher. Apple only offer iPods and Sony only offer their ATRAC devices. So in this light, both Microsoft and Real Networks offer greater choice of hardware. However, the hardware is still constrained to their encoding and DRM technology and, importantly, only works with Microsoft Windows. Sony also only supports Microsoft Windows. Apple supports both the Windows and Macintosh platforms.
So you have a choice of music player, big deal. Well, yes, it is a big deal. You see the choice here is that you, the consumer, can choose to buy pretty much any device you want, but when you make that choice you are also choosing (sometimes unknowingly) to adopt a specific encoding and DRM technology and all the baggage that goes with this. If you buy a device from Creative or Dell or Virgin you are choosing (again perhaps unknowingly) to adopt the Microsoft Windows Media technologies. If you buy a Sony ATRAC device you are adopting their encoding and DRM. If you buy an Apple iPod you are choosing iTunes, the iTunes Music Store and AAC/FairPlay (AAC is the encoding format, which is actually a bona fide standard, being part of the MPEG-4 standard, as opposed to an industry standard like Windows Media. FairPlay is the name of Apple's totally proprietary DRM technology).
So now we can see that our choice is actually not as wide as is made out. When we go out and buy a player we are potentially choosing something that we may not want, the encoding and DRM baggage. This is why Microsoft and Real Networks are being misleading by saying that they offer more choice (or any choice) whereas Apple does not. They offer one part of a choice - the encoding and DRM technology. Their hardware partners offer slightly greater choice - the various music players they manufacture. The fact remains though that once you've chosen a player you've chosen the encoding and DRM that goes with it, and the choice in that market is very small indeed.
Footnote: pretty much all the music players in the market today allow you to play MP3 files, the most common format for music ripped from CDs (and downloaded from peer-to-peer services, but let's not open that can of worms today). The most notable exception to this was Sony with its ATRAC devices, but they've now rectified this mistake. That pretty much every player on the market can play MP3 files is important because it undermines to a great extent the untruths that both Microsoft and Real Networks have bandied around concerning the iPod. The iPod can play MP3 files (as well as vanilla AAC and Apple's AAC/FairPlay files), which is a level of choice that Microsoft and Real Networks happily gloss over.
--
Disclosure: I own an iPod, which I've owned for about 2 years. I bought it because at the time it was the only decent player on the market. It's coming due for replacement (the battery is down to about two-to-three hours and the headphone socket is loose, causing intermittent connection). I will be buying another iPod to replace it. Why? Simply because the iPod remains, in my eyes, the best made device out there. Not only that but, despite all their bluster about choice, neither Microsoft or Real Networks (or Sony or any of the others) support the Macintosh and I use a Macintosh as my personal computer (I also use Windows, but mainly for my work). So for all their brave words neither Microsoft or Real Networks offer me, or any other non-Windows user, any choice whatsoever...
Posted: Tue - October 19, 2004 at 01:57 PM
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Published On: Oct 19, 2004 02:07 PM
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Published On: Oct 19, 2004 02:07 PM