Something Macworld this way comes
The Macworld keynote begins tomorrow, and while this isn’t a music-based event (we got that one back in September), it’s likely that Steve will perhaps mention something itunes or ipod related. They always do. And usually next to the fact that there are more ipods in the world than mediocre rock bands is a new feature added to the itunes store. It’s never anything huge. Usually just an update or the mention of a new feature they’ve been working on. Inexplicably, their afterthought itunes update changes the way we listen to music.
One thing I’m expecting is a drop of the DRM on everything. Besides showing that Amazon has nothing on them, Apple has fewer and fewer reasons to keep the experiment going. Jobs himself was one of the first of the distributors to decry the practice, and since then just about every label has stopped insisting on it’s presence. It’s a real possibility, given everything that’s gone on in the last year in regards to mp3s.
Quite likely, any mention of something like this won’t strike down as large news. But if they were to announce this tomorrow, it would eventually mean more than any floating, wireless laptop they might be cooking out. The funny thing is, it wouldn’t necessarily mean anything particularly great for Apple. The DRM card has actually played well in Apple’s favour thus far. The itunes store is and has always been the easiest, most pain-free way to legally purchase music online, and up until recently only specific labels were DRM-free, which meant that only music from those labels could be played on anything but an ipod. Dropping the DRM means that Zunes, Zens, iRivers, and what have you will soon be sporting itunes-purchased music, which will actually cut into Apple’s hardware share.
Something like this would be fantastic. It’s what I’ll be looking forward to more than anything else. As an ipod owner, I actually want fewer people with ipods. The site of white earbuds actually bothers me. I don’t know what it is. Maybe the blind corporate control over the general population. But every time I see someone with a Zune or a Creative Zen or what have you, I’m always a little impressed. Superior, but impressed.
Post-Macworld Update
Not even close. Ah, well. I’ve never been the guy people go to for predictions anyway.
