E-Commerce Blog

Apple’s role as the book publishing industry’s white knight may be over even before it has begun. Cupertino may not be willing to allow publishers as much leeway in setting their own e-book prices as previously thought, according to a New York Times report. After unveiling the iPad Jan. 27, Apple shook the e-book world with its statement on e-book pricing. Several major publishers have agreed to provide content at the iPad’s iBookstore. That sparked a battle with Amazon.com, which capped e-book prices on its Kindle e-readers at $9.99.

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Apple’s E-Book Pricing Flip: Chaotic or Cunning?

I am stoked about Apple’s acquisition of Lala. Why? First, iTunes users might actually get to listen to an entire song during a preview rather than just the old-school 30-second clip. That potential new option for iTunes is reason enough to be thrilled. But there’s so much more to Lala. Lala, on its own, is a browser-based streaming music service that lets you listen to full-length songs once, and if you buy them for just 10 US cents, you can listen to them forever — while streaming them online. If you want to download the song for your iPod or MP3 player, it’s another 79 cents.

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New Possibilities Forming as Lala’s Puffy White Cloud Rolls In

If you Google the Delfonics’ 1968 slow-dance soul classic, “La-La Means I Love You,” the first item at the top of the results page is an audio file of the song courtesy of — who else? — Lala.com. Becoming a part of Google’s then-new music search service in October was arguably the biggest thing to happen to Lala — until this weekend, when Apple purchased the streaming music company for an undisclosed sum. “Apple buys smaller technology companies from time to time, and we generally do not comment on our purpose or plans,” Apple spokesperson Steve Dowling told MacNewsWorld.

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Apple’s Lala Buy Adds New Verse to Digital Music Opus

When you’re as dominant in the online music market as iTunes is, it’s hard to see the chinks in its armor, but a number of alternatives have cropped up to take advantage of what some see as gaps in Apple’s service model. One door that iTunes has left open for its competitors is streaming delivery of music. “Where iTunes has really fallen short is on subscription and streaming — the idea that you pay one cost and get everything or you get a lot of music for free streamed to a device,” Rob Enderle, president and principal analyst with the Enderle Group, told MacNewsWorld.

Originally posted here:
Music Sites That Fill In iTunes’ Gaps

Apple reportedly is eyeing a new service to be launched as part of its iTunes ecosystem: a TV subscription service with a fee of $30 per month. While the site already has numerous TV series episodes and seasons for rent or purchase, this service would represent a different go-to-market strategy for Apple. The service would be similar to cable TV offers, but in this case, it would be delivered through Apple’s iTunes site. The company reportedly has been pitching the concept to TV networks in recent weeks.

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Rumored Deals Could Give New Meaning to ‘Apple TV’