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Will Music Sales Be Profitable for Record Companies in Ten Years?

As a creater of music, you are on point. The changing environment for the selling of music, combined with its ubiquity does, in fact, reduce its value in the mind of the consumer. 'If I can get music everywhere for free, then why pay?' is a clear sentiment.

As well, there is the other side of the equation: If everyone can (and does) create their own CD's, then does music really live up to its full potential? If every 14 year old can roll their own, isn't there a "dumbing down" of quality?

So on the marketing side and on the creative side there is a mass reduction of value that is essentially technology driven.

The question is, do we like to eat mediocre food? Even if it's cheap?

The problem as I see it is not that the record companies didn't accept new technology. It was that they demonstrated a total lack of imagination - artistically and technologically. This didn't just happen over night. Over the past 25 years, the accountants took over the shop at the big ones, so there was no vision for the future of music, no artist development, product development, investment in novel integrations - you name it. They were in it for the money.

Today it's even worse. There's very little new music product anymore. If there's a TV show, then a music product can be generated as an additional sale within the larger context of an "entertainment product." Due to the scale of large media enterprises, it's the only option. Sales must exceed 500,000 for music products, or it's not worth doing.

But music is not only a "product." It is an art form. And genuine artists are finding new ways of reaching people, while featuring their dedication to the quality of their work.

In the end, the differentiator will always be the quality of communication - live performance, song writing and record production. Artists are natural users of technology - finding new ways of integrating forms, ideas and creating products from those efforts.

So I'm hopeful that - over time - we will learn how to differentiate our products from the dreck. The key will be access to the artistic process/performances, and the pricing of that access.

Jobs' Health Is a Matter of Public Interest, Whether Apple Likes It or Not

Actually, I don't agree that it's public business.

Just because the stock would take a hit - even a 25% hit - were Jobs to leave, doesn't necessarily mean that such a hit is based in reality. I don't think that the value of Jobs is 25% of Apples value. Yes, he's a fantastic CEO with gobs of vision, but the realignment of Apple has already taken place. The big part of that job is done. Does anyone actually believe that Apple will not be a major player - a bigger major player - in computing devices and mobile? Jobs big contribution was creating a culture that understands that consumers want simplicity and elegance in technology, and he's created a team of people who understand this implicitly. That's not going away.

So, Jobs is entitled to his privacy. And when he goes, he goes. Just because the market reacts doesn't mean that this is based in reality...

Apple's iPhone 3G: Who Needs Carrier Subsidies?

Quite agree. I think that the new 3G is the precursor to the Ultra Maxigallion Mobil device that goes everywhere and does everything we need. The key will be voice control, and we're basically there... And yes, Apple will be the one doing it. They're the best at this kind of integration. Anyone say, "computing appliance?"