Steve Jobs explains why it’s better to own your tunes
Oct. 27 issue — Apple’s charismatic CEO sat down with NEWSWEEK’s Steven Levy—after introducing the Windows version of iTunes and the upgraded iTunes Music Store last week—to discuss the world of digital music.
LEVY: You say that that the online music retail competition will boil down to Apple and Microsoft.
JOBS: Eventually. [But] we’re trying to be nice to the Windows world. We turned out one of the best products on Windows that’s ever been made. So maybe Microsoft will decide not to [sell music online]. They don’t compete with eBay, they don’t compete with Amazon, they don’t compete with a lot of people. Maybe if we’re lucky Apple can be the Amazon or eBay of downloaded music.
You’ve now got competition in online music stores, and more is coming.
We made this look really easy. But it ain’t really easy. Under the hood this is really tough stuff. Some other people have tried, and the results are a little less than you’d like.
With Windows and Pepsi, you’re aiming toward a mass market in downloading. But the iPod is premium-priced.
It’s the No. 1 player in the world.
Still, $300 to $500 is an obstacle to a lot of people.
No, of course I don’t think it’s too costly. Fifty million homes have DVD players that cost that kind of money. For music lovers, I don’t think it’s a hurdle at all. There are sneakers that cost more than an iPod.
Some think you wouldn’t want to sell a $100 iPod because the profit margin would be so low.
What are you talking about? We’d love to have a $100 iPod! We just don’t know how to do it right now. We’re constantly trying to make cheaper iPods. We’re working on the next step.
What’s happening in the lawsuit filed by the Beatles’ record label Apple against your company, charging that your music activities violate a truce between the two firms?
It’s basically a trademark issue. There was an agreement written; they read it one way, we read it another way, and a judge will tell us who’s right. It’s not a big deal. It’s unfortunate because we love the Beatles. I’d do anything for those guys.
Your business model is based on people owning their music. But in 10 or 20 years, isn’t there the possibility for high-speed wireless transmission—the “celestial jukebox” where no one owns music but has access to everything?
God, I wish there was. But the bandwidth revolution is happening so slowly. I don’t see it happening that fast. I hope it does, and we’ll be there.
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