Today’s Times has an interesting article on Apple’s forthcoming device, and the effect it may have on the publishing industry. But the piece contains some ugly undertones:
Apple sold lots of music, but the music labels claimed that iTunes had destroyed the concept of the album and damaged their already deteriorating bottom lines.
Really? I think it’s more easily argued that the 8-track, casette tape, and CD formats are what destroyed the concept of the album, unless by “concept of the album” the Times’ writers are referring to the system whereby the purchasers of the album had to spend $10-$15 to get the two or three songs that they really wanted. I can count on two hands, and maybe some feet, the number of albums or CDs or cassettes I purchased where the full purchase price was matched by the quality of all the songs on any one album. At least in the pre-digital age.
In the end iTunes gives the consumer the upper hand by allowing them to purchase the songs that they like/want, without having to purchase extraneous B.S. I’d also argue that this results in more sales for the label, but no sales of songs that are crap or that the consumer doesn’t want.
I’d love to see Apple do for the publishing industry what they’ve done for the music industry. The publishing industry, much like the music industry of old, has proven to be full of a bunch of ninnyheaded fools when it comes to understanding how to move their medium into the digital age. If anything, Apple gives me hope that the written word isn’t about to die a horrible death.