UK
Tel: 44(0)20 7243 3438
US
Tel: 1 650 473 6514
Pressrelease
Contact: Shelley
Taylor, French cell: + 33 66 477 1861; email shelley@infofarm.com
New Study Accuses Music Download Services of Spreading
Latest Consumer Disease: Digital Deficit Disorder
London, 18 January 2005…
Preview findings of research on the current practices in online music services
will be published today by Shelley Taylor & Associates. Click-Here
Commerce: Digital Downloading, an international study of
the success factors in digital downloading services, has identified a
disturbing new consumer disease: Digital Deficit Disorder. Symptoms of the
disease, often contracted by users who try to download music and video online,
are caused by poorly designed digital download sites. These symptoms include:
loss of concentration, feelings of being trapped, and format anxiety. New
research says the symptoms of this user interface disease are linked to other
consumer diseases discovered by Shelley Taylor & Associates including Mad
Couch Disease (interactive TV) and Abandoned Shopping Cart Syndrome and
Post-Transaction Anxiety Disorder, diseases
which are often blamed for the early deaths of many websites.
The first version of Click-Here
Commerce: Digital Downloading evaluates 38 digital download services from Europe
and the US – representing a cross-industry sample including: 15 download
stores, 7 media player/jukeboxes, 10 online radio stations and 6 P2P sites.
Sites were analyzed between October and December according to more than 1000
proprietary evaluation criteria and included Download Stores:, iTunes, Sony’s Connect (Europe and US),
MusicMatch, Virgin Mega.fr (France), Napster, Real’s Music Store Rhapsody
On-Demand service, Fnac (France), Walmart; Media
Players, Windows Media Player, RealPlayer and Winamp; Radio, live365, BBC radio, Yahoo Launchcast; P2P : Kazaa, eMule and Limewire. These preview
findings focus on music Download Stores,
Media Players and Online Radio services. The second version to be
published in February will include another 15-20 sites: Record Label, Recording
Artist,TV and Film sites (none of which offer the functionality of stores,
players and radio services).
“We see some of the most
popular download services actively engaging in a form of guerilla slavery;
using proprietary formats, closed system media players and proprietary portable devices,” says
Shelley Taylor, the publisher of Click-Here Commerce: Digital Downloading. “As a result,
user’s initial enthusiasm is being deflated as they realize they have been
conned – there are more limitations imposed on legitimate digital downloads, media
players and portable devices than advertised.
If music services focused on creating and delivering features, functions
and content that enabled users to more fully participate in the pleasure of
music, then these services would sell themselves.”
SOME
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
The
Best (… and the Worst of the Best)
The sample of services represents an
industry which is in its earliest stage of development so “best” can always be
much, much better. But this is not a beauty contest. Our sample selection
process was designed to evaluate sites worth learning from, not sites showing
us specifically what to avoid, so it is difficult for us to present “worst
offenders.” In other words, our sample was drawn from better than average
sites. Clear winners do emerge (those with best practices in the industry) when
we evaluate each site against its peers. Our ranking was done according to
quantitative (over 1000 metrics) and qualitative measures and included system
requirements, site navigation, the Home page, pre-sale assistance, the shopping
path on commerce sites, as well as all of the medium-specific interface.
·
French electronics retailer, FNAC, upstages iTunes, the darling of digital downloads, (and all
of the other download stores in the sample), coming in as the best download
store.
·
HMV who should know better, because they are one of the UK’s most
popular music retailers, is the worst (of the best or those in our sample).
·
The best, most flexible and full featured, media player/jukebox is
iTunes; the worst is Sony’s Sonic Stage (and not only because it uses
proprietary formats and requires users to purchase Sony devices).
Slave
Uprising
Many of the music
services (stores, players and devices) are, with varying degrees of success,
trying to enslave digital downloaders. Why should a download store, like Sony’s
Connect in the extreme case, expect customers to trust their product and
service (digital music) if their goal is simply to sell portable devices? Or
further, should users be required to have a hotmail account (yes, really!) in
order to purchase music from the Music MSN store; be an AOL member to use
MusicNet and a Yahoo account to use LauchCast? And should media players be
bundled with stores that restrict formats and portability, or should all media
players be detachable (and perhaps offered in a paid version) so the player (as
with RealPlayer), a software product, is divisible from the music (another
product) allowing users to buy music anywhere and play it anywhere. As we have
all learned from the enormous success of P2P services, users are attracted to
features and functions. The earliest media players (Winamp and RealPlayer)
attracted users this way (although we know at first they didn’t all do a very
good job of monetizing their services). This is not only a question of
free-dom, but also a question personal control. Sony has consistently tried to
push their proprietary formats on consumers and this has never worked. Why
should others follow in their misguided tracks? Music services need to learn
that volunteers engage, slaves revolt.
Turn
on, tune in and drop out?
… or upload? The newest trend in
digital downloading is digital uploading!
This new trend is about customer driven initiatives… individuals are
using the medium for communicating with others, not simply accepting the
passive role of consumer. “Turn on, tune in and drop out! “The 60s mantra is
literally being re-created and re-constituted but “drop out” in this instance
refers to dissatisfied customers who are doing it their own way. They may soon
drop out of mainstream services (iTunes, Real, Napster) in search of their
music Babylon. Music is all about a personal expression and consumers want to
express themselves. So services that push products, formats and devices – a one
way stream, so to speak – will be replaced by services that allow users a
two-way communication: uploading their playlists, broadcasting their mixes,
sharing their libraries and talking
about what’s up and what’s cool in the form of their blogs and reviews. All
aspects of their personal music identity should be given free reign. And it is
this personal expression that will create new ways of monetizing music.
·
only live365.com (an
online radio) enables aspiring and professional DJs to now broadcast live
and pre-recorded music, with commentary and everything, to all of their friends
around the world, and strangers, and earn advertising revenue.
·
only iTunes (iMixes) and Napster allow users to publish their libraries
(music purchased from the site) for others to experience
Shelley Taylor
& Associates is a management consulting and business publishing firm with
offices in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The research was
conducted between October and December 2004.
The full study, which includes a service-by-service analysis and
specific examples of best and worst practices, is available for purchase by
phone from the London office (+44 (0)20 7243 3428), or US office (001 650 473
6514) or by email: digitaldownloading@infofarm.com. The Executive
Summary will be available to staff reporters upon request. Interviews with
Shelley Taylor can be scheduled by calling her French mobile (+ 33 66 477
1861).
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