It's All In the Cards (Photo-Caption-Citation #3)

It's all in the cards.  This is one of the reasons iTunes is so popular.  It is because of the success of these gift cards, that they make so much money.  They have several values starting at $10 going all the way up to $100.  These gift cards allow you to redeem them on your iTunes store account for credit to purchase music, videos etc.

"iTunes15." thethriftycouple.com. Web. 14 Nov 2010. <http://thethriftycouple.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/itunes15.jpg>.

What is Masterbeat? (Quote-Paraphrase-Citation #2)

As its naughty name suggests, Masterbeat (www.masterbeat.com) isn’t your grandma’s music store. Not unless she’s down with the dance, hip-hop, and electronica that abounds in its million-plus catalog, alongside instrumental and a cappella samples for your (or your grandma’s) party-starting needs. Tracks are DRM-free MP3 files encoded at 320kbps (some at 256kbps), and many are also available as uncompressed WAV files. Prices range from $0.99 to $1.99 per song, and WAV files cost a dollar extra. Full albums start at $9.99, but Masterbeat’s many EPs cost $5.96.

My take on it:
Judging by its title, Masterbeat is no where near being the average online music retailer.  The main genres that flood its extensive inventory are hip-hop, dance, and electronica.  The songs are all encrypted and protected from file errors.  The cost for songs cost from $.99 to $1.99.  Album prices start at $9.99 depending on the album.  EP’s are $5.96.

Berenstain, Adam. "10 Best Alternatives to the iTunes Store." maclife.com. Future US, 1 Jan 2010. Web. 10 Nov 2010. <http://www.maclife.com/article/feature/shop_different?page=0%2C2>.

"Masterbeat." music-download-review.toptenreviews.com. Web. 11 Nov 2010. <http://music-download-review.toptenreviews.com/masterbeat-review.html>.

Head of its Class! (Photo-Caption-Citation #2)

Look at which type of MP3 player is at the front of the line of other various MP3 players.  That first type is of course an iPod Classic.  I chose the title of this picture "Head of its Class" because, I'm sure when you think of MP3's, you think of an iPod first.  Whether you have one or not, I'm sure you know what they are.

"Amazon MP3s." downloadsqad.com. Web. 10 Nov 2010. <http://www.blogcdn.com/www.downloadsquad.com/media/2008/06/amazon-mp3-200.jpg>.

Spotify? (Quote-Paraphrase-Citation #1)

Although iTunes is still the Internet’s biggest music retailer, more music is still traded illegally than ever gets sold on iTunes. Now, the big labels are looking at another way to entice fans into buying music. A lot of buzz is circulating about one service in particular: Spotify. According to Ted Cohen, EMI’s senior VP of Digital Development and Distribution, it’s been a hit with more than 7 million fans overseas.

My take on it:
We know that iTunes is of course the web's largest seller in music, but there is nonetheless a great amount of music that is pushed through the underground market for music.  Big league labels are searching for an alternative to interest fans in purchasing music.  There is great talk about a popular service that can do just that.  The name of it is Spotify.  Affirmed by Ted Cohen, it has been used by a myriad of people, that includes over 7 million fans abroad.

Peace, Ebony. " iTunes Competition on the Way: Spotify." brooklynbodega.com. Cirefly Studios, 8 Mar 2010. Web. 8 Nov 2010. <http://www.brooklynbodega.com/2010/03/08/itunes-competition-on-the-way-spotify/>.

10,000,000,000? Really? (Photo-Caption-Citation #1)

Until I see any other company sell this much music in a span of almost 10 years, I say that the competition is far far away from iTunes.  Considering iTunes was created in January 2001, and in two months it will be January 2011, a rough average says that iTunes is selling around 1,000,000,000 songs a year.

"10 Billion Songs." wirelessandmobilenews.com Web. 3 Nov 2010. <http://www.wirelessandmobilenews.com/102art/showcase_lead_10billion20100218.png>.

Check Out My Wordle

Check out the Wordle I created for my iTunes theme.

(4) Useful Preliminary Links

http://www.apple.com/itunes/
This first link above the text is the link to the iTunes page under the Apple website.  I chose this particular website because, for anyone who doesn't know what iTunes is, can get a little information on it.  So as for the people who created this website, I'm pretty sure it was Apple Inc. that created it.  This website can be useful because it tells what iTunes is, what is on iTunes, and has the download link for the latest upgrade on iTunes software.

http://www.fiercemobilecontent.com/story/itunes-sales-top-1-billion-apple-beats-expectations/2010-07-21
The second link above the text is a link with an article about iTunes' sales.  Just to open someone's eyes as to how big iTunes really is, they should read this article.  This website is a subdivision of the 34 FierceMarkets publications and is under FierceMobileContent.  The article suggests content that is highly valuable because, it gives a bit of some background as to how popular iTunes is to the audience who isn't familiar with iTunes.

http://www.rhapsody.com/-discover
I'm taking a bit of a different approach with this website I posted above.  This is a link to a page under rhapsody.com that tells what rhapsody is all about.  The reason I posted this one is because, now there is the ability to compare Apple's website and this Rhapsody website.  So, this article becomes one of my "useful preliminary links" because of it's catch propaganda techniques to get you to buy into it.

http://www.cduniverse.com/
This is a very different approach compared to the previous three posts.  The link above the text is the link to CDUniverse.  Basically it is an online Amazon.com built solely for music only.  I chose this simply to show my readers that there is more out there than just iTunes & Rhapsody.  This is a helpful website because, I bet most of my readers (Ms. McKoy & whoever else follows/comments me) didn't know that CDUniverse is the leading online seller in music around the world.