What (Fake) Steve Jobs Thinks of the Music Industry

Could Fake Steve Jobs become the Jon Stewart of the Econoblogosphere?

Yes, he’s funny

– but he also has the most astute

analysis of the simmering tensions

between Apple and the music industry that I’ve seen anywhere.

Essentially, the record labels have finally seen the writing on the wall: they’re

being marginalized by the low cost of music production and the low cost of music

distribution, which together make them increasingly irrelevant. At the same

time, Apple has managed to find a way of making money out of music in the digital

era, which is more than any of the record labels have done. So, in a fit of

pique, they’ve decided that they’re going to try to attack Apple – which

is idiotic, really, because Apple’s their only hope right now.

I very much doubt that the real Steve Jobs – who is perfectly

happy to sell unencrypted MP3s which can play on any music player through

iTunes – has an attitude different in any respect from Fake Steve Jobs.

But Fake Steve is a better writer.