August 29, 2006 | posted by Michael Baxter in Uncategorized |

Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown exclaimed Henry IV, or at least Shakespeare reckons he did, but then maybe the same principle could be applied to Apple Computers.

It rules the music download industry with no serious contenders to challenge its dominance. But there are plenty of would be kings lurking. Nokia for one, which recently bought Loudeye Corp, the world’s largest music distributor, or Microsoft with its Zune product, planned for launch soon, which will provide FM radio.

The battle over the next couple of years will be fought over several fronts. The Mobile phone companies are crowding in. Then there’s talk of MP3 products, including the iPod, boasting Wi Fi and the opportunity to offer Internet radio, and the ability to buy tunes heard from the radio.

Then of course, there the big video opportunity, as many players in mobile phone industry all look towards 2007 as the year of video for mobile.

But now, a threat has emerged from another quarter. And, strangely it’s from Universal Music, the world’s leading music company, which is looking at offering free music over the Net - or at least that’s what the FT says.

Of course, Universal, along with its main rivals in the music business have blamed internet piracy every time they make a disappointing profits announcement. So is it a case of game-keeper turned poacher? In a way, perhaps it is. For, according to the FT report, Universal is planning to fund the free model through advertising.

It’s a bold move, and one that could really make the likes of Apple sit up.

But we would like to make this observation. While the music industry blames piracy for its woes, in some ways it was the architect of its own crisis. It was too conservative in the choice of acts it signed up, often leading to accusations that the industry was stifling innovation. The Internet has in part changed that, with many top acts coming from the Net, with word of mouth their main marketing weapon.

It won’t be easy for Universal to embrace the medium of anarchy and innovation.

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