ANNOUNCING THE THINKINDIE VS iTUNES DEBATE CHALLENGE:
We of the up and coming independent music download site ThinkIndie.com, (online arm of the burgeoning ThinkIndieCollective Empire), would like to take this opportunity to formally challenge iTunes, (online arm of the already humongous Apple Empire), to a debate over the future of indie music online.
The proposed “War of the Words” will be between the Head of ThinkIndie and the Head of iTunes, Steve Jobs. If Mr. Jobs is unable to represent due to personal reasons, we will fully understand. (We are BlackSheep, but we’re not BlackHearted.) And be willing to accept someone else of a suitable (C-Level) stature in his stead.
In the interests of détente cordial, this live debate will take place at a time, date and location of iTunes choosing. The exact format and terms of the debate, along with a mutually acceptable moderator to preside over the matchup, will be decided by the two combatants in question prior the the main event.
The event will be videotaped live and then broadcast later via the usual social networks for the infotainment of indie music lovers around the world, who can then decide for themselves who won the debate.
We have chosen to announce this challenge via public channels as - so far at least - iTunes has not returned our calls. Our hope is that a little friendly outside encouragement will change their minds. Or perhaps, someone who reads this will share it with someone, who knows someone, who knows someone else…and on down the line…until the invitation eventually wends it’s merry way to Mr. Jobs himself…
In the interests of promoting peace, prosperity and the continued availability of a choice of outlets offering indie music online, we of the ThinkIndieCollective Empire feel that this debate would be - the obvious allure of it’s David and Goliath nature aside - a worthy undertaking for all involved: ThinkIndie, iTunes, the indie music industry and the indie music buying public.
The gauntlet has been officially thrown. Steve Jobs, are you up to the challenge? Contact us….
(And if you’re reading this and you’re not Steve Jobs, please, spread the word. With your support, we can make this event happen. And ensure that there will be alternative sources for downloading indie music online for many years to come.)
8 Comments
what exactly do you want to bring up in this ffight?
what do you want to make happen?
You just want to beat up Goliath and replace the Caliph,
tell us where your hunger will stop, because if you just want to be the new itunes, then… what’s the point.
no just seriously,
develop what you want to fuss around with, it might be a better way to get a chance to actually make the fight happen.
I’ll give you guys one thing, you got some balls.
We don’t want to become iTunes, we just want to let people know they have indie alternatives they need to support or, eventually, iTunes will be the only choice they have - hence this being a debate over the “future of indie music online”.
I agree with this sites goal. Not only must people realize that there are alternatives, but artists themselves must realize that to make any money, they need alternatives also. Publishing is where the money is at and most artist have no idea what their sales numbers really are. But in the end, if consumers are limited to few choices, that hurts everyone. Support indie!
Let me preface this by saying I love independent music and support it regularly. I purchase from indie focused retailers (Amie Street!) and physical shops when i can.
On to the topic:
Unfortunately, iTunes choosing to engage in this undertaking would be a TERRIBLE decision as their strength is not in Indie music. Yes, they have the indie spotlight and its associated podcast (which by the way are great resources for new music!). Yes, they support independent music with featured banners and the like. But the majority of content is dominated by major label music; which (unsurprisingly) sells better. Spend money to make money and majors spend ALOT. That’s just a simple truth. A minute % of independent music goes on the homepage and or gets a homepage brick because it simply doesn’t equal as much (per feature) in the way of sales.
This “debate” is like a small independent punk retail store challenging Best Buy to see who cares more about (and carries more) punk music. Of course the punk store wins. THe point is that iTunes doesn’t CLAIM to be the end all for independent music, much the same as BestBuy do not claim to be experts in Punk.
It’s a valid business decision, and obvious PR stunt to increase your marketshare. iTunes, Apple, and all the higher ups (Steve Jobs created Apple, but doesn’t solely oversee the direction of iTunes) know that this is fruitless for them and would not commit to such a self-destructive decision that actively points out their deficiencies - what company would?
My opinion, if you want to focus on indies, don’t go after the major mechanism.
Steve will chicken out ‘cos he’s a wanker. On the other hand, he might send one of his ninjas to kill ya. Just posted about it on AdScam
Cheers/George
Love it guys! Don’t try to be the ‘next’. Instead, try to be the other, the changer, the new. - Seth Godin
I agree that its ballsy, and I appreciate the idea. It definitely got a chuckle, and its clever (as always), however I tend to agree with “IndieMusic makes me Warm inside”. Apple gains nothing from this, and the company itself (Apple I mean), seems to be pretty chill. They appear to genuinely want to allow people access to lots of music. Instead of attacking iTunes, i might try to link up to Pandora, etc, so that you can advertise there and people can opt to buy from y’all as opposed to iTunes. That way, you can get the word out more, to people who can do something with it- the customers. iTunes will survive on only “bestseller” sales, etc, they dont make much profit on the indie stuff. indie customers realize that and can put there money where their collective mouth is- your pockets. a valiant but (i think) misdirected effort. I really appreciate the indie music industry though and definitely support BlackSheep, Paste, et al.
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