6 ms·

Did Google Just Quietly Launch A Web-Based iTunes Competitor? Yep.

79 points by derekc 16y ago

pontifier 16y ago
Good try, but still not good enough. My media startup will destroy them both.
- jrockway 16y ago
  Nice. But how will it fare against my magic pony/unicorn hybrid? It lives on rainbows and magically makes money for me. It's as real as any other thing someone on the Internet claims to have, anyway...
- sjwalter 16y ago
  Care to elaborate?
  - pontifier 16y ago
    I am in the process of getting a patent on a method for distributing digital media in a unique way. I have a private proof of concept website set up now, but it is not ready to launch publicly yet (the graphical design is very rough and the selection of media is extremely limited at this time). If you would like to check it out I can set up an account for you to see how it works.
    - kevinholesh 16y ago
      How is it a proof of concept website if no one can sign up for it yet?
      - swernli 16y ago
        Proof of concept can also mean a demonstration that the technology is effective, not just "I got a bunch of users and I think I might be able to monetize them." If he's patenting a method of distribution, I'd assume the former is more useful than the latter.
    - derekc 16y ago
      A patent?... Let's not get started here. Just do it.
    - whatusername 16y ago
      fine - I'll bite. There's an email address in my profile.. I'll check it out (and report back to HN/This thread if you like..)
      - whatusername 16y ago
        To Update: Pontifier has sent me through the link / login details.. I'll agree completely that the design needs a lot of work -- but I'll refrain from commenting on how it works / business models / etc until I've played with it a bit more.
loire280 16y ago
Do music stores even matter anymore? Selling DRM-free MP3 downloads is a commodity business if I've ever seen one. The only trick is getting labels to sign on. Besides, syncing is an essential part of buying MP3 music: you don't want your music library only stored on your easily-lost cellphone, do you? Anyone know if Google's music store lets you re-download songs? If not, I imagine there's going to be more than a few people who have to re-buy a bunch of albums because they lost their never-synced phone.
- enomar 16y ago
  Selling mp3s may not be the point. This may just be a really great feature that helps sell phones. Certainly, iTunes integration is a major selling point for iPhones.
  - RyanMcGreal 16y ago
    "Commoditize your complement" http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html
swilliams 16y ago
Will this be an adequate replacement for Lala? It sounds like it might be.
- cageface 16y ago
  I've switched over to Mog.com, which in many ways I actually prefer to Lala.
AGorilla 16y ago
Techcrunch is using the term "launch" loosely here.
- endlessvoid94 16y ago
  and "quietly"
jsz0 16y ago
Downloading a lot of music over the cellular data network is a bit scary to me. Is it really wise? That's a lot of bandwidth being devoted to a task that can be accomplished faster and more efficiently by just plugging in a USB cable. Phones are personal devices -- it's not like they're too far out of reach at any given time. It would probably be more responsible for this feature to only work over wifi at least until the US data networks catch-up with current demand. I don't want to suffer with slow speeds because someone has their SmartPhone 6 inches from their computer doing OTA downloads of 80MB albums instead of plugging in a cable. I suspect some carriers will disable this feature on their devices. The OTA/web app downloading on the other hand makes perfect sense. Fairly small apps -- stuff you'd be downloading on your phone anyway.
- swernli 16y ago
  My guess is that much of the syncing and streaming will require the devices to be on the same local subnet/wifi. Otherwise things get hairy, as you pointed out.
- zmmmmm 16y ago
  A lot of apps allow you to enable different behavior based on what kind of connection you have. I'd be very surprised if this didn't also.
- dalore 16y ago
  People were downloading audio cd's at 33.6k and slower.
  - barredo 16y ago
    There was not other option of downloading at that time.
- michaelbuckbee 16y ago
  A few things to consider: - Most music purchases are individual songs. - Lots of people are streaming music to their phones all the time anyway (Pandora, etc) - There is a class of users that _only_ uses their phone and doesn't have a computer. I guess my point isn't that I don't think US data networks can catch up. Each increase in speed will increase the utility of the network and increase the utilization until we "top out" at phones, iPads and all sorts of devices constantly being connected.

79 points by derekc 16y ago

pontifier 16y ago

Good try, but still not good enough. My media startup will destroy them both.

jrockway 16y ago
Nice. But how will it fare against my magic pony/unicorn hybrid? It lives on rainbows and magically makes money for me. It's as real as any other thing someone on the Internet claims to have, anyway...
sjwalter 16y ago
Care to elaborate?
- pontifier 16y ago
  I am in the process of getting a patent on a method for distributing digital media in a unique way. I have a private proof of concept website set up now, but it is not ready to launch publicly yet (the graphical design is very rough and the selection of media is extremely limited at this time). If you would like to check it out I can set up an account for you to see how it works.
  - kevinholesh 16y ago
    How is it a proof of concept website if no one can sign up for it yet?
    - swernli 16y ago
      Proof of concept can also mean a demonstration that the technology is effective, not just "I got a bunch of users and I think I might be able to monetize them." If he's patenting a method of distribution, I'd assume the former is more useful than the latter.
  - derekc 16y ago
    A patent?... Let's not get started here. Just do it.
  - whatusername 16y ago
    fine - I'll bite. There's an email address in my profile.. I'll check it out (and report back to HN/This thread if you like..)
    - whatusername 16y ago
      To Update: Pontifier has sent me through the link / login details.. I'll agree completely that the design needs a lot of work -- but I'll refrain from commenting on how it works / business models / etc until I've played with it a bit more.

loire280 16y ago

Do music stores even matter anymore? Selling DRM-free MP3 downloads is a commodity business if I've ever seen one. The only trick is getting labels to sign on. Besides, syncing is an essential part of buying MP3 music: you don't want your music library only stored on your easily-lost cellphone, do you? Anyone know if Google's music store lets you re-download songs? If not, I imagine there's going to be more than a few people who have to re-buy a bunch of albums because they lost their never-synced phone.

enomar 16y ago
Selling mp3s may not be the point. This may just be a really great feature that helps sell phones. Certainly, iTunes integration is a major selling point for iPhones.
- RyanMcGreal 16y ago
  "Commoditize your complement" http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/StrategyLetterV.html

swilliams 16y ago

Will this be an adequate replacement for Lala? It sounds like it might be.

cageface 16y ago
I've switched over to Mog.com, which in many ways I actually prefer to Lala.

AGorilla 16y ago

Techcrunch is using the term "launch" loosely here.

endlessvoid94 16y ago
and "quietly"

jsz0 16y ago

Downloading a lot of music over the cellular data network is a bit scary to me. Is it really wise? That's a lot of bandwidth being devoted to a task that can be accomplished faster and more efficiently by just plugging in a USB cable. Phones are personal devices -- it's not like they're too far out of reach at any given time. It would probably be more responsible for this feature to only work over wifi at least until the US data networks catch-up with current demand. I don't want to suffer with slow speeds because someone has their SmartPhone 6 inches from their computer doing OTA downloads of 80MB albums instead of plugging in a cable. I suspect some carriers will disable this feature on their devices. The OTA/web app downloading on the other hand makes perfect sense. Fairly small apps -- stuff you'd be downloading on your phone anyway.

swernli 16y ago
My guess is that much of the syncing and streaming will require the devices to be on the same local subnet/wifi. Otherwise things get hairy, as you pointed out.
zmmmmm 16y ago
A lot of apps allow you to enable different behavior based on what kind of connection you have. I'd be very surprised if this didn't also.
dalore 16y ago
People were downloading audio cd's at 33.6k and slower.
- barredo 16y ago
  There was not other option of downloading at that time.
michaelbuckbee 16y ago
A few things to consider: - Most music purchases are individual songs. - Lots of people are streaming music to their phones all the time anyway (Pandora, etc) - There is a class of users that _only_ uses their phone and doesn't have a computer. I guess my point isn't that I don't think US data networks can catch up. Each increase in speed will increase the utility of the network and increase the utilization until we "top out" at phones, iPads and all sorts of devices constantly being connected.