AI
Tuesday, June 03, 2008 10:19:35 PM
OK - Time for some analysis:
1. First I'd like to say for those who kept the faith (again, despite the stock's unpredictable and confusing behaviour!) great job! There are many more good things to come. What the stock will do tomorrow, who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. Heck, the way it's been acting, I wouldn't be surprised if it went down. But that's OK with me 'cause I'm in this for the long haul and I'd like to add some more cheap shares! I think that once the downloads are activated (very soon!!!) the public will be convinced and the stock should rise well. On the other hand, a second label deal, along with some encouraging press (no more "they'll never make it" talk), may give some folks who are on the sidelines watching, "the faith." We'll see tomorrow.
2. The iPod dilema. Hmmm. I heard a report on CNBC the other day about how bad the economy is - with gas prices and all. What was interesting is that just about every consumer spending category has seen shrinkage - EXCEPT personal electronics (computers, iPods, cameras, cell phones, etc.). My experience is that if you give someone a good enough excuse, they'll go out and acquire new technology. How many times have you bought a new cell phone for one specific feature (hey it's got a camera, hey it plays MP3s, hey it has a higher-res screen, hey you can customize the ring tones, etc....). How about this: "Hey Apple sucks for not letting me play whatever I want on the piece of equipment the I PAID FOR!" Now I am NOT saying that Qtrax will not have iPod compatibility. What I AM saying is that if people can get their music for free, they'll quickly do the math and will justify the purchase of a new MP3 player (Yes, maybe the new Google phone, or a Microsoft Zune). They'll figure, "If I download 200 songs at $0.99 each, I will have paid for my new player - forget Apple and their closed iPod, let's go shopping to check out the new MP3 player!" Hey, I am one of those people - give me any excuse to buy a new gizmo and I'm there! Did people refrain from buying flat screen tv's and computer monitors, when their old huge monitor was still working? Most people simply threw the old monitors away so they could get their flat screen! You can't even GIVE those old monitors and tv's away now-a-days.
3. The "official" vs. "grey" content. Let's get real here. Do any of you really want to hear some bootlegged recording of some concert made by the guy who smuggled a cheap mic and consumer-quality recorder into the concert?! Have you every HEARD a recording like that? You hear more of the chick a few rows up screaming and shouting, and the band sounds like they are down inside a deep metal hole in the ground. Plus, do you really think the labels would "sanction" such a recording (illegal first of all, and crappy quality)? This "server-based" approach allows them to be 100% sure of the quality and viability of the content they are serving. This also explains why it's taken a while with the downloads because they've had to upload all the songs to their servers instead of the originally-planned P2P approach. However, their original approach is still viable and they will be working with the labels on the full P2P thing. For now, I am totally fine with this server-based approach.
4. The Listening Post's article stated "Qtrax says it has nearly finished ingesting Universal's digital catalog, and that it plans to start on EMI's tunes soon." This is more confirmation to what I've heard and that is the downloads will be available sometime in the middle of June.
OK, I can go on with more, but I don't want to bore everyone - I've written enough as it is. I guess I'm making up for the lost time when I couldn't post much. Also, I've added a few extra words to make up for the time Shot was in jail
As always - KTF everyone! (why do I feel like a salesperson? I'm not! Hey, maybe I should change careers.)
1. First I'd like to say for those who kept the faith (again, despite the stock's unpredictable and confusing behaviour!) great job! There are many more good things to come. What the stock will do tomorrow, who knows. Your guess is as good as mine. Heck, the way it's been acting, I wouldn't be surprised if it went down. But that's OK with me 'cause I'm in this for the long haul and I'd like to add some more cheap shares! I think that once the downloads are activated (very soon!!!) the public will be convinced and the stock should rise well. On the other hand, a second label deal, along with some encouraging press (no more "they'll never make it" talk), may give some folks who are on the sidelines watching, "the faith." We'll see tomorrow.
2. The iPod dilema. Hmmm. I heard a report on CNBC the other day about how bad the economy is - with gas prices and all. What was interesting is that just about every consumer spending category has seen shrinkage - EXCEPT personal electronics (computers, iPods, cameras, cell phones, etc.). My experience is that if you give someone a good enough excuse, they'll go out and acquire new technology. How many times have you bought a new cell phone for one specific feature (hey it's got a camera, hey it plays MP3s, hey it has a higher-res screen, hey you can customize the ring tones, etc....). How about this: "Hey Apple sucks for not letting me play whatever I want on the piece of equipment the I PAID FOR!" Now I am NOT saying that Qtrax will not have iPod compatibility. What I AM saying is that if people can get their music for free, they'll quickly do the math and will justify the purchase of a new MP3 player (Yes, maybe the new Google phone, or a Microsoft Zune). They'll figure, "If I download 200 songs at $0.99 each, I will have paid for my new player - forget Apple and their closed iPod, let's go shopping to check out the new MP3 player!" Hey, I am one of those people - give me any excuse to buy a new gizmo and I'm there! Did people refrain from buying flat screen tv's and computer monitors, when their old huge monitor was still working? Most people simply threw the old monitors away so they could get their flat screen! You can't even GIVE those old monitors and tv's away now-a-days.
3. The "official" vs. "grey" content. Let's get real here. Do any of you really want to hear some bootlegged recording of some concert made by the guy who smuggled a cheap mic and consumer-quality recorder into the concert?! Have you every HEARD a recording like that? You hear more of the chick a few rows up screaming and shouting, and the band sounds like they are down inside a deep metal hole in the ground. Plus, do you really think the labels would "sanction" such a recording (illegal first of all, and crappy quality)? This "server-based" approach allows them to be 100% sure of the quality and viability of the content they are serving. This also explains why it's taken a while with the downloads because they've had to upload all the songs to their servers instead of the originally-planned P2P approach. However, their original approach is still viable and they will be working with the labels on the full P2P thing. For now, I am totally fine with this server-based approach.
4. The Listening Post's article stated "Qtrax says it has nearly finished ingesting Universal's digital catalog, and that it plans to start on EMI's tunes soon." This is more confirmation to what I've heard and that is the downloads will be available sometime in the middle of June.
OK, I can go on with more, but I don't want to bore everyone - I've written enough as it is. I guess I'm making up for the lost time when I couldn't post much. Also, I've added a few extra words to make up for the time Shot was in jail
As always - KTF everyone! (why do I feel like a salesperson? I'm not! Hey, maybe I should change careers.)
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