Mark Cuban: Googlenomics, Itunes and Zune

[Jeremy Charette]

http://www.blogmaverick.com/2006/12/12/googlenomics-itunes-and-zune/

"There is a lot of interesting speculation about ITunes Music Sales. Are they going up , down, flat, flattening ? There is a lot of interesting speculation about Zune sales. Will sales accelerate, slowdown, drop off a cliff ? What there hasn't been much of, is speculation of what might happen if Google entered this market. It used to be that no matter what technology business you entered, you always had to model for what would happen if Microsoft entered your business and tried to kick your ass. These days Google has taken that spot with Microsoft still a force to be reckoned with and Apple the wild card in any personal electronics or digital distribution of content. So let me offer my personal speculation of what might happen when Titans clash in the online music sales and device business and why they will clash."



I agree with Mark Cuban that Google might be a player in the music marketplace soon, but I don't see them competing with Apple. More like the race for second place. If anything, they would be kneecapping Microsoft's Zune effort, and making Apple's offerings look even better. It's not about the music, it's also about the hardware. The combination of the two is what makes Apple such a juggernaut. Until someone can compete with them on both fronts, they'll remain the industry standard.

[Jeremy Charette]

http://www.blogmaverick.com/2006/12/12/googlenomics-itunes-and-zune/

"There is a lot of interesting speculation about ITunes Music Sales. Are they going up , down, flat, flattening ? There is a lot of interesting speculation about Zune sales. Will sales accelerate, slowdown, drop off a cliff ? What there hasn't been much of, is speculation of what might happen if Google entered this market. It used to be that no matter what technology business you entered, you always had to model for what would happen if Microsoft entered your business and tried to kick your ass. These days Google has taken that spot with Microsoft still a force to be reckoned with and Apple the wild card in any personal electronics or digital distribution of content. So let me offer my personal speculation of what might happen when Titans clash in the online music sales and device business and why they will clash."



I agree with Mark Cuban that Google might be a player in the music marketplace soon, but I don't see them competing with Apple. More like the race for second place. If anything, they would be kneecapping Microsoft's Zune effort, and making Apple's offerings look even better. It's not about the music, it's also about the hardware. The combination of the two is what makes Apple such a juggernaut. Until someone can compete with them on both fronts, they'll remain the industry standard.

[Felix Torres]

"Is turning the IPod/PDA industry upside down worth $575mm a year ?"

Good question.
Depends on who you're talking to. He's wondering about Google but there are several candidates for that business, not just the Googlers...
- MS, of course; they can afford it and have made moves in that direction already by paying royalties to Universal
- Yahoo
- AOL
- Liberty Media or another of the big broadcast giants (partnered with China, Inc) Viacom already has ties in that direction through Westinghouse Digital

The second question that needs answering is, as he pointed out, how do you monetize the market share once you buy it?

A third question comes to mind: "Who's afraid of the big, bad, pod?" Y'all know the tune to that song, right? :twisted: