iTunes needs to go social to compete in a DRM-Free world

Social media is in and hot right now!

In an online world that is increasingly adding social media tools or collaborating with social networks it is important that leading sites such as Apple’s iTunes store find out how to leverage this hot phenomenon.

Until 2007 Apple could pretty much got away with just improving their iTunes software and sprinkling in the odd social feature such as reviews and ratings or a deal or two with sites such as Bebo, but really there needs to be more in 2008 if they want to remain the market leader in a rapidly crowded and aggressively priced category.

Additionally Apple needs to step up their general features such as ‘re-downloading’ and by making their music more compatible such as MP3s.

Re-downloading is a feature that is increasingly being adopted as an open and standard feature by iTunes competitors and with Apple not having a policy and not being ‘explict’ about any proceedures or policy this is going to hurt them.

iTunes Music Store Says “In the event that a customers entire music library is lost, the iTunes Music Store does re-grant the purchases history. Please keep in mind that Apple does not offer protection against the loss of purchases, so this is a one-time exception.”

Quoted from The Content

Having the hot selling iPod and being (in the beginning) pretty much the only game in town when it came to buying music in the early years, now their music format - AAC - is looking like it will finally start being a drag on the competitiveness. However that being said as long as the iPod, iPod Touch and now the iPhone still killing everyone else in the market there will still be a year or two left in this format is ap does not want to rush their decision.

I have had this article sitting in my Drafts for nearly a year and finally with the launch of DRM-Free competitor Play.com (in the UK) I felt it was time to hang my opinion out to the public and see what your thoughts are so if you agree great, do not agree okay, have your own opinion than please let me know I would love to hear it.

If you are reading this and want to know where to buy music nearly 15% cheaper than iTunes in the UK and DRM-Free, I would say check out Play.com.