Sonos, Spotify and the Tenth Anniversary of the iTunes Store: Part 1

April 28, 2013 marked the tenth anniversary of Apple’s opening of the iTunes Store. iTunes is now the most popular music vendor in the world, having sold 25 billion songs. The Store’s anniversary caused me to take another look at the role of convenience in the development of formats for recorded music, a topic I have written about in my Saporta Report blogs.  I contend that iTunes succeeded because the iTunes system provided a convenient way of organizing and storing digital music, the iTunes Store provided a convenient way to buy digital music and the iPod (and later the iPhone) provided a convenient way to play digital music.

For me the discussion begins in the 1960s, when vinyl ruled in two formats, LPs and 45s.  Hobbyists desiring to reproduce recordings used reel-to-reel tapes.  In response to a desire for a more portable (albeit lower fidelity) format, 8 Tracks and cassette tapes were developed.  Their portability and stability made it possible to include tape players in car stereo systems.   At the time (and for decades to come), sound quality generally eclipsed video quality.  Almost everyone had good stereos.  Older audiophile quality stereos still sound good, but try looking at a CRT television from the 60s or 70s.  Until MP3 players dominated the scene, listening to music was often a communal experience. Music filled the room, a product of elaborate stereo systems in huge racks accommodating a turntable, preamp, amp, tuner, tape player and even equalizer.  And the speakers were often huge as well.  It was easier to listen to the stereo than watch TV, given that screen quality and size were lacking.

The Unofficial Launch of Equity Crowdfunding in Georgia
 On Wednesday I attended the Georgia Crowdfunding event emceed by local technology impresario Knox Massey and held by the TAG Corporate Development Society.  A record crowd of 165 celebrated the opportunities surrounding equity crowdfunding in the State.  The event’s panel included Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Secretary of State General Counsel Vincent Russo, who instigated the Invest Georgia Exemption (IGE) that makes equity crowdfunding possible in the State. (Georgia is one of only two states that permit intrastate equity crowdfunding.)  Called “progressive” for his role in Georgia crowdfunding, Secretary Kemp joked that this was a label that Republicans like himself generally tried to avoid.

TAG ATDC Entrepreneur Society Completes Its 2010 "Rockstar" Lineup

TAG and ATDC have worked together to bring the entrepreneur community an all star line up of speakers in 2010. This year's theme is "Rockstars" - successful entrepreneurs who have made it happen right here in Atlanta.

The Porter Research team always has its ears to the ground when it comes to staying on top of healthcare industry innovations and trends. Recently, a client shared this mobile health insight: “The explosion of mobile devices will make it imperative to find meaningful ways to connect, analyze and integrate.” I couldn’t have said it better myself, and in fact, it’s a theme we’ve noticed in many recent tradeshow reviews and experts’ predictions for 2013.

Many new and unusual (HAPIfork, anyone?) mobile healthcare gadgets made an appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show and its companion Digital Health Summit. As one NPR reporter related, two main trends have emerged at CES, and lo and behold, they relate to healthcare: computers and sensors are being built into everything; and there is currently a proliferation of gadgets for self-monitoring. Whether it’s the steps you take, the number of bites you eat, how fast you run or how well you sleep, there’s definitely “an app for that.”