“Forrester has to be having a fun week hearing from the Apple fans after it announced that iTunes music sales had ‘collapsed,’ dropping 65 percent. Apple makes little or no money on iTunes music, but this music forms a switching cost barrier that prevents other MP3 products from cannibalizing existing Apple customers,” Rob Enderle writes for TechNewsWorld.
Enderle writes, “In short, if you want to switch, you have to kiss off all your purchased tunes and then buy them again from someone else.”
“If fewer and fewer people buy music this way, this barrier gets weaker over time. That could be problematic for Apple, which is facing ever more-focused competitors,” Enderle writes. “Personally, I think this simply means that folks are realizing what a rip-off DRM (digital rights management)-protected downloaded music is, and they are going back to CDs so they can do what they want with the music they purchase.”
Full article here.
Rob Enderle is a moron. It’s not “Apple fans” that are chastising Forrester, it’s everyone from Main Street to Wall Street with at least half a brain. Of course, that excludes you, Rob. That cheesily-mustachioed empty vessel atop your shoulders is totally useless. Still, try to keep up, Rob: iTunes Store music sales are surging, not “collapsing.” comScore shows surging Apple iTunes sales, with revenue growing 84% during first 3 quarters of 2006. Even Forrester ate their crow and has since proclaimed, “iTunes sales are NOT plummeting!”
Burn your iTunes Store-purchased songs to a CD and take them anywhere, Rob. How many times do we have to tell you before it sinks in, stupid? Oh, right, empty vessel. Sorry. And, if you don’t like DRM, blame the music labels, not Apple.
In short: Rob Enderle thinks iTunes Store sales are collapsing when they are actually surging and then makes up a typically meaningless and unfounded explanation for why something is happening when it isn’t. Great work as usual, you moron.
Related articles:
comScore: Apple iTunes sales are surging; revenue grew 84% during first 3 quarters of 2006 – December 14, 2006
Apple Computer shares rise on target price increase, positive iTunes sales forecast – December 13, 2006
Forrester’s Bernoff: ‘iTunes sales are NOT plummeting! Press credibility, on the other hand…’ – December 13, 2006
Jim Cramer on Apple iTunes Store and ‘that stupid Forrester survey’ – December 13, 2006
Piper Jaffray: Apple iTunes Store sales show strong year-over-year growth – December 13, 2006
Morgan Stanley ups Apple Computer price target to $110 – December 13, 2006
Apple on Forrester report: ‘the conclusion that iTunes sales are slowing is simply incorrect’ – December 12, 2006
Blackfriars’ does the math: Apple iTunes sales are not ‘collapsing’ – December 12, 2006
iTunes interest climbs as one analyst claims falling sales – December 12, 2006
Akamai Net Usage Index for Digital Music measures real-time global consumption of online music – December 11, 2006
WSJ mistake: ‘digital-music sales have stalled for the first time since Apple launched iTunes Store’ – December 06, 2006
Digital downloads drive world music sales in first half of 2006 – October 13, 2006
Study reports the obvious: most music on iPods not from iTunes Store – September 17, 2006
Apple iTunes Gift Cards help boost growth of digital music in U.S. – April 21, 2006
Enderle: Microsoft’s Zune could be very successful – November 07, 2006
Enderle FUD Alert: Apple MacBook firmware steps down processor to stop random shutdowns – October 27, 2006
Enderle: ‘4th quarter will be Apple’s hardest since the first iPod Christmas’ – September 18, 2006
Enderle spouts some incredible nonsense about Apple iPod+iTunes – July 07, 2006
Enderle: If Apple can’t double market share it will abandon Macs – May 02, 2006
Big surprise: Enderle was wrong about Apple’s holiday quarter Mac sales – January 19, 2006
Tech pundit Enderle: ‘Microsoft wrote the first Mac OS’ – September 28, 2005
Tech Pundit Enderle: ‘fourth quarter should be ugly for Apple’ – August 09, 2005
Enderle: ‘Surveys indicate demand for Apple’s products is dropping like a rock’ due to Intel switch – August 01, 2005
Tech Pundit Enderle: ‘This year will be more difficult for Apple Computer’ and iMacs in earthquakes – January 24, 2005
“but this music forms a switching cost barrier that prevents other MP3 products from cannibalizing existing Apple customers,”
What, 5% of customers have enough iTS tracks to be affected by this. Then, only about 10% of them know that they cannot remove the DRM by burning it.
The idea that media bought at a store locks in consumers to buy hardware is ridiculous.
Oh, and anyone with a clue saw all the contradictory data.
Just wondering, MDN:
Do you ever mail your editorial rants to the morons/journalists you’re talking about? If not, you should. They may be too stupid to realize what morons they are, but you would still be performing a public service by telling them.
Gee…Enderle’s a dork. What else is new. If anyone here went to his site, then you are as stupid as he is. Guess what…..he will never change.
What a waste of DNA.
Next time, MDN, really let go. Let your hair down a bit.
We have GOT to start e-mailing Enderle with articles the moment ‘the definitive’ article comes out that proves yet another one of his knuckleheaded ideas is indeed false. I’m talking like the articles, upon release, that show the actual numbers, with charts and so on so the bubblehead can understand, comparing the current quarter with the year-ago quarter, things like that.
How does this fruitcake make any money? Who would employ him for his counsel? About the only other fantasyland thinking going on that is as bad as Enderle’s is what’s going on in The White House now, which is worse because more and more people are losing limbs and lives because of Whitle House numbnuttedness. (Is numbnuttedness a new word? Consider it open-source if it is)
What a maroon.
Gee…Buster’s a dork. What else is new. If anyone here read his comment, then you are as stupid as he is. Guess what…..he will never change.
What a waste of DNA.
Enderle meets Dr. Seuss:
http://www.yourmaclife.com/article.php/20061215065548315
DRM music does suck. MDN drank the kool aid on this one. BUY on CD, DRM Free, then USE however you like. You have a tangible product you can sell used if you choose to.
Or better yet, snap up those old vinyl albums that nobody else wants any more and listen to them for the cost of just one rented song from the iTunes rip-off store.
Sure, Enderle’s a jerk for not getting the numbers, but all the people still renting DRMed music, even the fair(play)est of ’em, all are jerks too.
How about buy what you want with eyes wide open? Then be quiet?
“If fewer and fewer people buy music this way, this barrier gets weaker over time. That could be problematic for Apple, which is facing ever more-focused competitors,” Enderle writes.
Must be a Faux “news” InfoTainment (TM) correspondent.
I call him Rob Underwear because I think that’s where his brain is everytime he opens up his mouth about Apple. Basically he talks through his ass.
Enderle and everyone else should keep in mind that the existence of ITMS is necessary only to provide people a ready and legal source of media to put on their iPods. Without it I suspect that Apple would sell just as many iPods and people would simply fill them with music from purchased CDs and pirated music. Of course that means the record industry would whither and die. Would nybody miss the record labels? Apple doesn’t need to make any profit on ITMS. If they do it’s just gravy.
Enderle and Forrester really should make themselves aware of the chracteristics of logrithmic charts before they decide that ITMS sales are dropping. These aren’t professionals, they’re morons.
BTW, my local Costco store has stopped selling Zunes altogether. At 1 Zune for every hundred iPods sold they couldn’t justify wasting the floor space. None of the clerks I talked to could ever remember selling a Zune. The Zune display has been replaced by an ITMS gift card kiosk. Zune is DOA.
“I hope Enderle dies with a brain tumor.”
He’s already dead, Microsoft reanimated him, using Steve Ballmer’s sweat, a rodent and a rubber band.
Enderle doesn’t know the facts:
1. iTunes is the best.
2. iPods are the best.
3. Macs are the best.
4. Windows sucks.
5. Zune sucks.
Welcome to Apple.
M O R O N
Remember this bs next time you read something in the press that you don’t know all about people.
(And for those of you still not paying attention, the iTS is — surprise — seasonal, and Forrester’s numbers were NOT year over year.)
It’s a lesson about systems in general, too. If you don’t look at the whole system, you can come up with really stupid and exactly wrong conclusions. In this case, an economic system, a consumer product. If Target’s sales in February are lower than the previous December, we don’t say that its business has collapsed.
This mistake has been made earlier this year about iPod sales as well. But the notable fact is that at one point in time iPod sales were growing so fast that it covered up the seasonality. But that level of growth had to slow down as sales started getting measured in the tens of millions.
The idea that consumers en masse would turn on a dime and suddenly reject DRM is also folly. Lots of people hate DRM. But most of them also hated it a year ago.
This is just the inevitable maturation of a hugely successful set of products, and we can now see the expected seasonality.
One would think that a technical writer would be a little more saavy. And, clearly, one would be wrong to think that. I guess the way THAT system works is that people become read and successful by getting attention, not being wise or accurate. In other words “news” is just another form of entertainment.
Does someone actually employ this person?
If so, why?
Yeah he clearly needs to do a bit (read; alot) more research, but if he’s such a moron why do you continue to give him so many column inches??? He’s not a journalist, he’s a spin doctor. But as long as you lot respond like this he’ll continue to write this stuff.
Just ignore him, and maybe he’d go away, or at least get bored.
Its too easy to wind up the Mac fan boys, too too easy.
(And i know by responding also, i’m almost contradicting myself but i’ve seen a million stories and responses and just had to post on this one)
Well, I hope that Sadistic MF is not an example of Mac users for the outside community. You can agree with Mr Enderle or not, but wishing someone to die just because different thoughts is, dare I say, excessive. That shows a lot of you, Mr Sadistic. How would you think about someone who wishes you death? You are certainly disgusting.
As a Mac user myself, I’ll not follow this kind of attitudes. Be critic with other’s thoughts, but discuss with a valid argument. Come on, it is not that difficult….well, guessing you have got at, least,half a brain.
I for one, am done with posting here. I’ll keep just reading the news, but just that. No reading comments and commenting anymore,
Enderle has revealed his true colours at last.
iTunes is more popular than ever, but Enderle got whisper of the ANALysists mis-diagnosis of the market (who will be unemployable next year because of it too).
Enderle – you sir are a total crack head and idiot.
But tho be honest, everyone in the IT business has known that for years anyway – so no change there then.
I love Macs so much I just threw out all my old windows hardware.
Also, my Zune is now in the toilet where I knew it belonged.
/kiss @ Apple xxxx
I wonder what the dollar value is of iTunes gift cards bought this holiday season. I bought 7@$15 each
That RE guy needs a broomstick from bottom to mouth !
@mike
iTunes 25 dollar music card is currently the best selling item in electronics at Amazon
Because other people’s DRm would be SO much better than Apple’s DRM.