On Jun 16, 2015, at 11:14 PM, David Smith david.smith.14916@gmail.com [iPad] <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
Pretty old stuff, Kris. Radio stations have always done that.
On 6/16/2015 3:49 PM, Kris Murray krismurray@gmail.com [iPad] wrote:
It's music that is curated. Much like the news app will be curated by humans. That's how they are differentiating themselves from the competition.
~KLM\\ "Antisocial behavior is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists" ~Nikola Tesla //
On Jun 15, 2015, at 11:09 PM, David Smith david.smith.14916@gmail.com [iPad] <iPad@yahoogroups.com> wrote:
I don't know that you can brand music streaming. It's not an object.
On 6/15/2015 6:40 PM, Kris Murray krismurray@gmail.com [iPad] wrote:
The Trouble with Apple Music? It Needs to be More Like Beats by Dre - Forbes I think this sums it up nicely.
The Trouble with Apple Music? It Needs to be More Like Beats by Dre - Forbes
Apple revealed its music service last week, and as I wrote in a prior column, it arrived with somewhat more of a whimper than a bang because it betrays Apple's typical genius of reflecting an idealized image of the customer – what I call "The Harry Potter Theory of Marketing." In order for Apple's new Music Streaming service to truly succeed, it must exemplify the traits of its forbearer: the headphones made by Beats.
Apple acquired Beats in 2014 for $3 billion. For that, they got the headphone business, the music streaming service, and, of course, Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre. At the time, Iovine summed up the acquisition succinctly: "The idea when we started [Beats] was inspired by Apple's unmatched ability to marry culture and technology."
Marrying culture and technology is precisely what the headphone component of Beats did. Brilliantly.
NEW YORK, NY – MAY 09: Beats headphones are sold along side iPods in an Apple store on May 9, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
Beats took a product category – headphones – that had largely become an undifferentiated commodity – that is, a product that most people generally believe all do roughly the same thing (and thus make their purchasing decisions based on price alone), and, via the injection of a healthy dose of "culture," created a product that stands out. Beats created headphones that adhere deeply to the "Harry Potter School of Marketing."
In the first Harry Potter book, Harry comes upon a magical mirror that reflects back upon him what he desires most – his parents. This mirror (The Mirror of Erised – "desire" spelled backwards) is an apt metaphor for all great products/brands/companies that resist commoditization.
Apple hardware, for instance, reflects back at the user a sense that they will be more creative when they use it. Apple's success has little to do with its features, such as processing power/hard drive size, etc. – all of which can be imitated by competitors.
Similarly, Whole Food reflects back at the shopper a sense that they will be healthier/more environmentally conscious when they shop there. Whole Foods' success has little do with its features, such as organic food – which can be imitated by competitors.
The headphones that Beats makes do the same thing. The "culture" that Beats injects into their headphones – via brilliant design that make them as much a fashion statement as a listening device and by connecting them to culturally significant people (Dr. Dre, et al.) – makes Beats' headphones an aspirational product that people desire because when they wear them they feel – as Harry Potter did when he looked in the Mirror of Erised – like a more-idealized version of themselves.
They feel better about themselves when wearing the headphones not because they sound better than other headphones (arguably they don't), but because the headphones are an external manifestation of their internal values.
When brands are able to evoke this type of powerful emotion in their customers they break free of the shackles of commoditization, which puts downward pressure on pricing, and instead enjoy healthy profit margins; a $200 pair of Beats headphones is said to cost $14 to manufacture.
Of course, Beats wasn't the first to envision headphones as something more than a listening tool. Certainly, a large part of Apple's success with the iPod can be attributed to the strong aspirational tug the white earbuds held over consumers. Apple knew this, as their ad campaign that emphasized the earbuds shows.
Apple's iPod campaign emphasized the white earbuds, as they knew this is what customers coveted.
Nor was Apple the first to understand the importance of design with respect to converting a commodity into something unique. Some readers are likely old enough to remember the original social object with respect to headphones: the orange padded ones that came with the Walkman.
The headphones that came with the Sony Walkman were truly the first aspirational social objects in this field.
These visible social objects – from the Walkman's orange headphones, to Apple's white earbuds, to Beats' colorful and bold designs – all highlight the challenge that Apple Music (and any other music streaming service) faces.
For Apple Music to truly differentiate itself from competitors like Spotify, it must find its "white earbud" – its culturally impactful element, ala the headphones that Beats makes.
If it does, Apple Music will be the music service that people use, tell their friends about, and pay a premium for because, by using this service they will feel like a more-idealized version of themselves. If Apple Music does not do this, customers will make their choices based on features and pricing, and it will become a commodity, undifferentiated from other music streaming services.
~KLM\\ "Antisocial behavior is a trait of intelligence in a world full of conformists" ~Nikola Tesla //
Posted by: Kris Murray <krismurray@gmail.com>
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