Rivals give iTunes run for money

I f there were a reason to keep using Apple Inc. 's iTunes store exclusively to buy music online, it escapes me.

[lucasmonger]

I stumbed onto the Rhapsody mp3 store yesterday prior to reading any news articles and I've go to say the search experience leaves a lot to be desired. I searched for an artist but couldn't find any way to search or sort within my findings. So I was forced to scroll through 121 results that seemed to be in random order. They've got a long way to go to even come close to the iTunes shopping experience. Buying music on a web page is just slow and clunky.

[FatherOfTeen]

Our son has a non-iPod MP3 player, so we have used a workaround for getting the licensed iTunes tracks to play on his device. We first burn a CD from the licensed iTunes tracks, then import the tracks back into iTunes in MP3 format. The tracks can then be played on his device. One disadvantage is that we need ump-teen tracks for each CD, lest we waste blank CDs.

[Alice]

Anyway, Apple aficionados have no problem with pricing or restrictions placed on them by their beloved vendor. Ergo, the dominance of iTunes.

These people are technology fashionistas, except they dance to Steve Jobs' tune (so to speak).

On an unrelated note...Mariah Carey? Really? Ugh.

[phred]

@Alice
It's not that "Apple aficionados" are "technology fashionistas". Record labels demanded that DRM be applied to the songs in iTunes or they wouldn't allow Apple to sell them. Then when Apple became huge and no one could match the hardware[iPod] and service[iTunes] they figured out the thing that many people already knew. DRM doesn't make good business sense. Tons of people were locked in the iTunes camp because labels were too worried about the boogeyman of piracy to see that they were painting themselves into a corner.

I have a iPod and occasionally buy from iTunes but I also buy from emusic and amazon. Those only came about after record label once again got the butts handed to them by not being able to see the forest from the trees.

iTunes got huge because they offered a quality service with the only problem being the DRM which wasn't Apple's choice in the first place. Blame the record labels on that one, not Apple.

On another unrelated note...I agree, Mariah Carey? For real????

[Sean]

I've been anti-iPod/anti-iTunes and primarily, anti-DRM, from the get-go. Recently, I received a free iPod. I contemplated just selling it. Then I remembered I had just prior to that, received a smaller Amazon gift card that I was unsure on what to use it. So I did some quick research and same thing, found that Amazon's MP3 Download site is superior in almost every way from Apples. You can do anything you like w/ the songs, they're almost always cheaper, individually and by the album. I've even convinced my iTunes fiendish girlfriend that Amazon is the way to go.