By Ian Hollidae, 2025/04/23

Has it really been 20 years for YouTube? I remember first visiting the site in early 2006 just to see what it was. I don't remember which video I watched. In fact, it was several years before I watched anything regularly on YouTube at all.

Looking back, given YouTube's wide spread acceptance, it's amazing they haven't faced any serious competition during their existence. I guess as long as streaming video at scale remains expensive, YouTube will have quite a few more happy birthdays.

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/03/27

I realized Napster was still around. I had no idea that what still existed had any monetary value. I'm sure the Napster brand might fetch something. But is it worth $200 million? Obviously someone thinks so. Infinite Reality has agreed to buy Napster for $207 million:

"By acquiring Napster, we're paving a path to a brighter future for artists, fans, and the music industry at large. This strategic move aligns with Infinite Reality's vision to lead an internet industry shift from a flat 2D clickable web to a 3D conversational one - giving all creators modern tools to better engage, monetize, and measure their audiences. I firmly believe that the artist-fan relationship is evolving, with fans craving hyper-personalized, intimate access to their favorite artists, while artists are searching for innovative ways to deepen connections with fans, and access new streams of revenue. We're creating the ultimate music platform where artists can thrive in the next wave of digital disruption."

-- John Acunto, CEO Infinite Reality.

Despite all the usual press release fluff, I have my doubts about the great new vision that's just over the horizon. But never say never, right?

However, it is nice to see another musical blast from the past make some noise.

By Ian Hollidae, 2024/09/25

Winamp, a name I haven't heard in ages, has recently released it's source code for community development in an attempt to restore the player to relevance. From an announcement made back in May:

"This is a decision that will delight millions of users around the world. Our focus will be on new mobile players and other platforms. We will be releasing a new mobile player at the beginning of July. Still, we don't want to forget the tens of millions of users who use the software on Windows and will benefit from thousands of developers' experience and creativity."

For some odd reason, the released code isn't under an open source license with Winamp remaining the sole owner over distributions.

Before streaming, before itunes, before napster, there was Winamp which quite possibly the best MP3 manager around (I'm sure there are those who will argue otherwise). And while I was never into the visualizations such as Milkdrop, which is also still around, I couldn't count the number of skins I collected. However, nostalgia aside, the obvious question here is will this move make any difference for the company or for music listening in general?

My answer is it doesn't matter. I say they should give it try and see what happens. If they succeed, then another viable music option in the marketplace is never a bad thing. If they don't succeed, i think Winamp can still be a popular niche product with a loyal following.

By Ian Hollidae, 2024/09/11

Another week, another article about pay TV losing subscribers. The analysis reads like the usual doomday affair but there was one small bit I found interesting:

"[The] 1.6 million subscribers lost in the second quarter account for 6.9% of the industry's base, and there's no reason to think the slide is going to slow down at all, MoffettNathanson's Craig Moffett and Michael Nathanson write: It is becoming increasingly clear that there is no longer any floor. As we've discussed here before, a few years ago there was a thought that digital pay-TV distributors like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV would replace losses at conventional distributors, but that's no longer true."

So I take it streaming is now not the answer?

The article goes on to talk about things such as seasonality and other factors. But I think there's one thing that doesn't get alot of attention. Back at the beginning of the streaming boom, there was a fair amount of talk about finally achieving something close to an a la carte market. However, here we are in 2024 and I can't really say a la carte exists on a large scale. Certainly there are a number of apps that focus on a specific item (as a sports fan, I can name a few) but all we seem to have now is the recreation of cable TV online. Sign up for Disney+ or Paramount+ or Discovery+ and you pay for all the content whether you actually want it or not.

Sounds a lot like cable doesn't it? And if that's the case, I don't see how streaming could ever be a solution. Maybe the thought that thought that digital pay-TV distributors like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV offering a la carte that conventional distributors wouldn't provide is no longer true as well.

By Ian Hollidae, 2024/08/08

Recently, the NY Times published an article, "How the Music Industry Learned to Love Piracy". The article is a response to the a Paramount documentary "How Music Got Free" praising the early days of music file-sharing and the subsequent effects on the industry:

"...the documentary treats the rise of online file-sharing services as first an astonishment, then a nuisance, then an existential threat and then, amazingly, a panacea. The original pirates are judged to be “pioneers” who lit the only clear path forward for the music industry. That path turns out to be streaming, a neat compromise between letting consumers listen to whatever they want online and collecting just enough money for it that big record labels are satisfied with their cut."

Over the years, there have been countless articles about the history of file sharing that all play out the same way. This one isn't much different.

However, what does stand out about this article is its timing and its assumption that streaming in its present form is permanent.

I don't think that's the case.

In the last year, both Spotify and Apple Music have increased prices for their service. I doubt they'll be the only ones. There is nothing written in stone that says more and more price increase won't lead to the return of piracy.

Will the industry love it then?

I would say what the music industry loves and what realities exist are two different things. The music industry loves to make money. At some point, when file-sharing was clearly more than some fad and there was no other clear fix, the industry accepted reality.

Now I have to admit, I haven't seen the documentary. But I think it's safe to say the last chapters of this whole file sharing/piracy saga have yet to be written.