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Tesla Is Talking To the Music Labels About Creating Its Own Streaming Service (recode.net)
An anonymous reader shares a Recode report: Music industry sources say the carmaker has had talks with all of the major labels about licensing a proprietary music service that would come bundled with its cars, which already come equipped with a high-tech dashboard and internet connectivity. Label sources aren't clear about the full scope of Tesla's ambitions, but believe it is interested in offering multiple tiers of service, starting with a Pandora-like web radio offering. The bigger question: Why doesn't Tesla simply integrate existing services, like Spotify or Apple Music, into all of its cars from the start -- especially since Tesla already does a deal with Spotify for Teslas sold outside the U.S.? "We believe it's important to have an exceptional in-car experience so our customers can listen to the music they want from whatever source they choose," a Tesla spokesperson said. "Our goal is to simply achieve maximum happiness for our customers."
Maybe I'm missing it, but has Tesla perfected it's auto business? Should it be branching out already?
Sent from my TARDIS
Its called my cell phone. Pass.
Next he conquers Byonce
The man is a modern day DaVinci
JayZ is in awe of he boring machine
This is just stupid. Tesla's infotaiment software _sucks_ and it's getting progressively _worse_. Every major update breaks something I use all the time.
I'd accept it if they actually were adding something new, but the major dashboard functionality hasn't changed since the very first cars. I have zero faith in Tesla's ability to write good user-facing software.
I expect that the goal is to provide a solution in-car that doesn't rely on third-party software or third-party services.
Third-party software running on the car's computers introduces the possibility for vulnerability that Tesla cannot itself patch to correct, and also introduces the possibility of the service's provider choosing to end the service and thus the car now no longer having the feature.
Think Blu-ray players and smart TVs that have Youtube clients that don't work anymore, or have i heart radio clients that don't work, or physical buttons on the remotes for Amazon or for Netflix and don't work.
If Tesla's goal is to ensure that those who drive Teslas don't have to concern themselves with this kind of minutia, then it makes sense that Tesla would seek to establish its own channels for this sort of content. By going directly to the labels themselves, with a definable, limited scope of use, they might be able to negotiate deals that are more ironclad and less open to argument that one party or the other is misusing content compared to the original terms.
Obviously this is only speculation since I do not work for Tesla or have any other special insight.
What remains to be seen is if Tesla would then seek to offer home-appliances similar to how there are home XM/Sirius satellite radio receivers and home HD-Radio receivers. It could be that Tesla will be limited to only in-car entertainment, or there could be a natural limit similar to those on the satellite radio market where there just aren't that many people that buy home-receviers.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
>> why not spotify or apple music
Profit margin. Streaming music is relatively easy - there's even OSS to spool up your own MP3s. Why should Telsa overpay for a streaming name brand when they can just keep the profits? (It's not like someone won't buy a Tesla because iTunes isn't integrated.)
Musk is more of a modern-day Howard Hughes than a Da Vinci. It isn't to say that Musk isn't technical, clearly he has to be in order to be able to make intelligent decisions on the technical matters that his businesses are focused on, but he has lots and lots of people working for him and he's probably managing people much more than he's personally creating.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
The bigger question: Why doesn't Tesla simply integrate existing services, like Spotify or Apple Music, into all of its cars from the start
Because they need to boost their projections and streaming ads didn't make it out of committee. For once.
I think you underestimate just how much I just dont care.
Maybe I'm missing it, but has Tesla perfected it's auto business? Should it be branching out already?
Continual distractions help to keep investors from focusing on present performance.
Posting to undo an accidental downvote.
Just because I can hook a shark from a boat, I do no offer to wrestle it in the water.
Even if had perfected its vehicles, this seems like a misguided effort. I would imagine that anyone who has a Tesla already has a smartphone that either contains their own music or access to a streaming service. I can't imagine a world in which this adds more value to Tesla's products than it consumes in hours spent developing the service or even negotiating it. Build a nice hub that makes it easy for people to plug in their own devices or services to and there's no need to worry about building your own service. I'd rather have a better cup holder in my vehicle than yet another music streaming service.
This is a way for Tesla owners to show other people they own a tesla and more closely associate themselves with the brand, and for Tesla is a way into other markets. Plus, I'm sure this sort of story will appeal to analysts that put buy recommendations on Tesla stock.
Stream with Tesla! Stick it to the man, bro!
A corollary to Zawinski's law of software envelopment:
Every tech company will move into new markets until they have a streaming music service.
My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
Just do enter a super competive industry where differentiation of your product as between itself and the other half dozen odd major competitors is impossible. Sounds like a genius move.
Between Apple Music, Amazon Music, Tidal, Spotify, and of course Google Play or whatever the hell they call their streaming service why would I pick Tesla's streaming music service even if I owned a Tesla? The other already have huge first mover advantage with Spotify alone having 50 million of the 300 million people living in the US on its service. Good luck Tesla.
Maybe I'm missing it, but has Tesla perfected it's auto business?
Mostly yes. Nothing is "perfect" but by many measures, Tesla is doing better than any other automaker. They have the highest customer satisfaction, the best safety qualifications, etc.
Should it be branching out already?
Why not? How hard is it to slap together a streaming service? By running it on their own servers, they can control bandwidth and collect monetizable data.
I mean, i know they are... i saw them years ago as an opening act... So here we have Tesla the car company getting into the music business. Isn't this why Apple Corps records sued Apple? Trademark?
Not sure who the market is for yet another music feed.
If someone spends time curating their spotify/pandora/ feed are they really going to want to spend the time to curate a separate Tesla music feed?
Apple: Cars? We're innovating real soon now!
Tesla: Yer adorable! Us too!
The entertainment system should be entirely separate from the stuff that drives the bloody thing, so that should be a very minor consideration.
To me the decision makes no sense at all. You don't make something like that unless you're in the business of making things like that - and Tesla isn't.
Colossal waste of time and money, but it's unlikely to kill anybody.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Things I need from a car radio: FM/AM tuner. Maybe a satellite radio tuner. Interface to my phone. Bluetooth is generally OK, Android Auto or Apple CarPlay are nice to haves. Providing a nice place to mount a phone dock with convenient power/USB would be fantastic.
Things I don't need that my phone does better: GPS using the app of my choice, locked in "apps" for music/podcast services I don't use.
Please try to stop reinventing the wheel and ending up with some half-assed result. Even the old people have smartphones now. The people who don't are listening to AM talk radio and using paper maps and don't care about your fiddly buttons. People use their phones rather than in-vehicle crap that's out of date when the car is delivered. Get over it. Make that work nicely. That's a hard enough problem.
If someone spends time curating their spotify/pandora/ feed are they really going to want to spend the time to curate a separate Tesla music feed?
Tesla can just buy that info. It's bought and sold all over the place.
I don't respond to AC's.
Umm, except quality is so bad CU took them off the recommended list. Further I've seen articles with Tesla customers saying things like "I would never tolerate these sorts of problems with my Lexus, but I am Ok with it on my Tesla". Once the wave of 1st adopters is over, and real people buy these cars and compare it to other manufacturers at the same price point, Tesla may crater. Especially given their well documented problems n timely repairs/service.
"Our goal is to simply achieve maximum happiness for our customers." Sounds like a line from a benevolent droid on Dr Who right before it and its 10 000 chums begin slaughtering every warm-blooded creature within a 10-mile radius.
When they came for the communists, I said "He's next door. Take him away. Goddam commies."
I think I can see the reasoning here.
Tesla is paying fees to Slacker (in the US) and other services (elsewhere) for streaming. They've been growing so quickly that the fees for the cars already on the road have been irrelevant, but they're reaching a point where it's going to be an issue, especially if the margin on the Model 3 is lower.
One option is to just require owners to pay for a subscription to Slacker (or whatever service they support) after a few years if they want to continue to use it. That's simple, but they think they can do better. By creating their own tiered service, they can offer a base level for free, while getting many of the owners to pay a subscription fee for more features. Instead of simply handing off the business to someone else, they can capture that revenue for themselves. Also, by creating their own service, they can make it work exactly the way they want it to, without having to rejigger it when the contracted vendor makes changes or goes out of business.
Now the problem is that the streaming services are generally struggling financially. This suggests that it's not easy to get deals with the record labels that let you break even. Perhaps Tesla is in a different situation where they'll get a much higher subscription rate, but I expect they'll find that even their customers avoid monthly subscription fees.
Apple:Apple::Tesla:Tesla
Oh my, what a frisson of inceptionally lawsuit goodness!
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
If only there was some way to use a mobile audio/telecommunication device that could stream audio over a national - even global - wireless network. And then a way that we could take that stream of audio and send it to the entertainment system inside the car. That would solve the whole thing!
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Maybe I'm missing it, but has Tesla perfected it's auto business?
Mostly yes. Nothing is "perfect" but by many measures, Tesla is doing better than any other automaker.*
* Profitability not included in any judgment or statement about doing better...
Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
Maybe I'm missing it, but has Tesla perfected it's auto business? Should it be branching out already?
No their cars are still piece of shit lemons.
Wouldn't it be ironic if in the end, after a lot of fizzling, Musk in the final cut of long term history ends up remembered as the founder of PayPal?
Perhaps, but lots of people don't currently use Spotify, Pandora, or a similar service, and frankly we don't know what kind of pricing structure Tesla will make such a service available on. For all we know, if you buy a sufficiently up-optioned car this will just be enabled, or it may be a very low-cost option paid-for as part of the regular maintenance that Tesla offers as a package to the customer.
If Tesla automobiles have a longer service-life than a conventional petroleum-powered vehicle then a customer opting for a Tesla maintenance plan may be "subscribing" with them for more than a decade. This kind of content service might be right up their alley.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
Perhaps, but lots of people don't currently use Spotify, Pandora, or a similar service, and frankly we don't know what kind of pricing structure Tesla will make such a service available on. For all we know, if you buy a sufficiently up-optioned car this will just be enabled, or it may be a very low-cost option paid-for as part of the regular maintenance that Tesla offers as a package to the customer.
Don't know about the others, but Spotify Premium is already dirt cheap. There is literally no price point that Tesla could hit that would be objectively more attractive. Especially among Tesla owners -- even the new "cheap" version.
Unless Tesla's streaming service is available as a mobile app so that customers don't have to juggle multiple services when they leave their car, this makes no sense. And if it is a phone app, it still makes no sense.
Teslas already allow streaming from your own device over Bluetooth. They also have "TuneIn" (on line radio directory) and "Slacker" (like Pandora, Spotify, etc.) streaming built into the head unit. These are included free with the purchase of the car.
I imagine that Tesla will want to keep offering music services and not be dependent on outside companies which may change their policies, terms, etc. at any time.
I doubt there is much development time. They just need to negotiate for rights to music and playlists. It's really quite easy. (Easier than a cup holder... it's all software.)
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
Musk says he spends 80% of his time on technical product development.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?
I am literally on my knees praying this is fake. For fuck's sake, why? Silicon Valley needs to be burned to the ground. We can build something better on their ashes, they are a flat out menace to real humans in every conceivable way. I hope that people rebel against this shit as we have in the past, big time. And though I know you think it's delicious, get your head out of your ass, Musk.
Tesla seems to be the company of OH LOOK A SQUIRREL!
Laws are rules for the court, but merely a bottom bar to hit for life. Think beyond laws in your actions always.
Third-party software running on the car's computers introduces the possibility for vulnerability
Not only that, but third parties are often losing money giving their services away for free on mobile, and desperate to make it back for their investors from elsewhere. So normally they will try to demand high ongoing fees for putting their market dominant service into a new platform. The problem with that business model is the end user isn't willing to pay because they get it for free on their mobile already, and since a car is a one off sale, the manufacturers of the car and infotainment system are not willing to subsidize the subscription.
Could be as simple as wanting to provide a surround-sound, THX-type system with speakers in every possible nook and/or cranny. If the car is autonomous, then what audiophile would ever want to leave their Tesla? Shiny.
This actually explains the satellite radio model well- it starts-out "free" for a single year or whatever then gets shut down when the end subscriber doesn't care enough to bother paying for it.
Wife receives letters in the mail offering cheap renewal, she just throws them away. Doesn't feel a need to pay, not enough value over local OTA radio stations.
If we go on road-trips then that may be another matter, but until then we're fine.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
I knew Elon was insane, but this is a bit much. Soon we will hear that he and Zuckerberg has united to bring the world unity and maximum happiness!
Given the successful space launches and cars I don't think there's any risk of him being remembered best for his PayPal involvement.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
But what does that mean exactly?
That could mean that he spends his time reviewing and signing-off on the work that his subordinates bring to him. He has personnel departments at his companies, they probably handle the structural part of employee decisions, so it's not like he has to be hiring/firing personally.
He would have to be technical in order to review drawings properly to make decisions based on what he receives. That is an aspect of technical product development. He could then make changes or advise that he wants changes made based on his own interpretation.
Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
To me the reason for this seems obvious: They want to have a smooth interface whereby the user can sync music to the car while at home so they can listen to music while driving in places without connectivity. Some streaming services have this, but they need a unique UX design for the car.
I think there's a pretty clear line between managing people and technical product development. Musk is very technically literate and actively directs technical product development.
I don't read your sig. Why are you reading mine?