Slashdot Mirror
Japanese Companies Set to Compete with iTunes
psiph writes "'Japan's two major online music distributors said [Thursday] they have agreed to tie up to push the distribution business... The tie-up accord was reached in the wake of the Aug. 4 launch of Apple's Latest News about Apple iTunes in Japan.'"
arrival of a 400 pound gorilla to concentrate the mind...
Sony later described the main reason they decided to compete was because the iTunes slogans had a sensible grasp of the English language and would not fly with the Japanese public. Sony PR Manager was quoted saying their slogan would be "Music Sample Download in You!"
"I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
-Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
tying up accords? Didn't know Honda had anything to do with music sales...
antipaucity
Guess I'll just have to keep buying import CDs (wink wink)
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
It's just a prelude to a new insight on the odyssey of civic duties. They tie up accords in a pilot program started a few years ago called Sadism 2000 or just S2000. They are pretty jazzed about the elements of a new hybrid psychosis. Plus, every volunteer has visibility above the ridgeline for new programs. A new test for sociopaths called Criminal Recidivism - Vanquished (CR-V) is quite popular and accurate at integrating valid data points.
Soon the Japanese will be referring to "Steve-sama"- Lord Steve
I bet they'll take marketing lessons from that guy over at Creative. He's been making big headway...
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
All Sony needs to do now is leverage their video expertise into audio. I'm thinking they'll do something along the lines of an audible FBI warning and promos playing before the start of every song...
These companies are no longer Japan's major online music distributors. They are now a pair of rather distant also-rans, like Real and Napster in the US.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
I'm no iTMS user, but it's pretty obvious that if these companies had any clue whatsoever, they'd have been selling tons of song online for years in Japan, building a solid user base and market dominance without competition. Suddenly, now that they have Apple to compete with, they're finally 'working' on it? Given the overwhelming popularity of the iPod in Japan, why not save their investor's money and focus on something that won't be a complete waste of money ?
I assume they are going after iTunes Music Store (iTMS) if they are talking about distribution of music.
Anyways this stories response is... well like one hand clapping.
If there is one thing I learned about my trip to Asia not that long ago.... They love their mainstream artists.
Their pop culture revolves around a small number of top 10 artists. All the school girls worship them. The US is the exact opposite with lousy mainstream artists that can't sing or make music period. With a majority of the talent underground. That's why iTunes work here, and might not in Japan.
You can replace "iTMS user" and "song[s] online" with "CD listener" and "music discs," or hey, even "rice eater" and "grain." This has always been a place where domestic players enjoy a stranglehold on the consumer until that day when the market cracks open and they get spanked by a foreign competitor.
The consumers like this process, for the most part. Except in the case of rice . . . Most people prefer to spend 10 times as much on something grown in Niigata rather than settle for California-grown stuff (even if it's the same strain). This was only true for individual consumers, though; companies buying rice for use in products are happy to get the savings. Open a pack of rice crackers and you'll be eating rice from Thailand or Australia, usually.
Anyway. Most players in the Japanese online music market are clueless. Yahoo.co.jp just launched its music streaming service to much fanfare, but the downloadable tracks it sells still go for 350 yen . . . and they don't work on Macs or iPods. Yeah, that'll fly.
The US is the exact opposite with lousy mainstream artists that can't sing or make music period.
Yeah, that's exactly why nobody in the US listens to those . . . wait a minute. Um, there's a reason they're called "mainstream," and that reason has to do with the fact that they have more listeners than anyone else. That's true on both sides of the pond.
Might be possible if they can beat the 50 yen per album price Apple was doing as their initial "promotion".
In undeveloped countries, the consumer controls the market. In capitalist America, the market controls you.