iTunes Case Study

iTunes has become the most popular site from which to download music in the U.S. in the past few years. iPods are so widespread that they have practically become a staple in American life.

How does iTunes work?

The Apple company sells everything from songs to music videos to TV shows on iTunes. Perhaps at the beginning it was only the well-known artists of the world who were represented on iTunes, whereas now people just like you and me with a voice and a harmonica can get our music on iTunes for others to purchase... if they want to. Of course, you have to go through a sort of application process for your music to be accepted, but it is one way for up-and-coming musicians to get themselves heard.

One of the most innovative aspects of iTunes is the network it creates among music lovers. As the analytical paper and podcast suggest, iTunes differs from the first music sharing venues such as Napster and WinAmp. iTunes allows you to view other shared playlists and libraries within range to further expose you to music you might like. Amy voida writes: "iTunes does not favor shared musical interests over divergent ones; this potential to support music sharing among individuals with divergent musical interests sets iTunes apart. Second, since discovery is restricted to a subnet, it occasions music sharing among people who may be quite intimate all the way to people who may never have met." iTunes provides a means of making what is the new version of mix tapes in the 1980s and 1990s.

iTunes and other music and video sharing venues are forcing traditional production companies to rethink their strategies. People no longer have to purchase entire albums and no longer want to. It's about the music itself, rather than the packaging and marketing.

How is iTunes different from traditional models in the music industry?

- No subscription necessary
- Standard 99 cent price for songs
- No need to purchase full albums
- Looking to provide what customers want

Below is a helpful video on iTunes basics.

World's biggest employer says going green brings more greenbacks

As I was talking to my dad yesterday, I began thinking back to an article he had given me to read last fall about Wal-Mart, the world's biggest employer, making an effort to go green. I decided to look it up again because I still think about it often and remember being impressed by the often-demonized company's commitment to an effort to reduce greenhouse gases and use renewable energy. The company has committed to making a difference, and a great deal of its employees are enthusiastically on board as well.

What is the real beauty of this strategy to encourange sustainability? The company has over 60,000 suppliers. If Wal-Mart can convince its suppliers to reduce waste, use more recycled products, and/or reduce impact to the environment, the total impact would be enormous. The company being so large and powerful all over the world, it can also threaten those companies that do not comply with increasingly stringent standards, requiring that they change their wasteful practices or lose the giant's business.

A few examples of what the company is planning to do:


• Slash gasoline use by its trucking fleet, one of the largest in the USA, and use more hybrid trucks to increase efficiency by 25% over the next three years and double it within 10 years. That will save $310 million a year by 2015, the company says.

• Buy 100% of its wild-caught salmon and frozen fish for the North American market only from fisheries that are certified as "sustainable" by the non-profit Marine Stewardship Council within three to five years. That designation means areas of the ocean aren't fished in ways that destroy fish populations.

• Cut energy use at its more than 7,000 stores worldwide by 30% and cut greenhouse-gas emissions at existing stores by 20% in seven years. Wal-Mart is the largest private electricity user in the USA.

• Reduce solid waste from U.S. stores by 25% within three years.

The company also plans to make seemingly minor alterations in its store by putting lights on censors, so areas of the store where no one is shopping will be unlit. But the company's motivations aren't entirely angelic. Strategists realize that not only can the company save a lot of money but doing adopting such practices, it can also attract environmentally conscious customers while making them more environmentally aware. Wal-Mart is even "actively supporting the idea of a system for companies to "trade" carbon dioxide credits. Wal-Mart believes it can earn lots of credits by saving energy, and it can sell them for millions of dollars to companies that can't." Company executives claim this will show in product prices.

The moral of the story: Going green can be good for the environment and the bank, both. Companies are now engaged in what's become almost a competition to come up with the most innovative and cost-effective ways to make a difference and stay financially strong. The excitement continues...

Clinton paints the towns green

Former president Bill Clinton has announced that his foundation will partner with 15 major cities around the world to create a global Energy Efficiency Building Retrofit Program. The foundation is focusing on large cities because it says buildings are the cause for "over 50% of greenhouse gases gas emissions in most cities and over 70 percent in mature cities, such as New York and London." The cities have all agreed to make their municipal buildings available for for the project, and many hope it will continue and lead to other private building-owners to sign on. The foundation says the "program will provide both cities and their private building owners with access to the necessary funds to make retrofits—energy saving improvements and installation of energy-efficient products— to their buildings, typically leading to energy savings between 20 to 50 percent."

The concept is really very innovative because it "creates a financing and labor pool to replace energy-hogging light fixtures, as well as install better building insulation and more efficient HVAC systems." Many companies, such as ABN Amro, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, and UBS will offer loans to participating building owners, which will be paid back with the savings gained from increased efficiency.

This concept has the potential to spread well beyond not only these 15 cities, but into suburbs of these cities as well as homes. A person working in the affected buildings might see how easy it is to make a few simple changes, and in turn might make some changes him or herself. The effect could be exponential.

Social Networking online

Social networking has taken on a new meaning thanks to the internet. People are now not only connecting with old friends and long-lost family, they're also meeting people through what's being called “social shopping”. As the New York Times article states, ““social shopping” tries to combine two favorite online activities: shopping and social networking. These sites are hoping to ride the MySpace wave by gathering people in one place to swap shopping ideas. Social shopping is just the latest solution to a chronic problem for online retailers and shoppers: many shoppers aren’t sure what to buy, but they know they won’t find it on the sites of mainstream retailers.”

Among those trying to take advantage of this ever-expanding concept is bridalfever.com, which aims to connect brides, grooms, and every entity involved with throwing a wedding. The company offers a free wedding web site, on which the bride and groom can share details of how they met, add music, share honeymoon plans, and even accept RSVPs online. The site's main purpose, however, is to connect brides and grooms to photographers, florists, bands, travel agencies, and of course other brides and grooms who might be able to shed some light on a vendor they're considering or give advice on a topic. It also provides a forum for discussion as well as an event list for certain areas.

There is certainly a niche for this type of site, given that a wedding day is one of the most cherished and expensive (and vulnerable) days of some people's lives. Anything can go wrong, and unless everything is well-planned, something might, but bridalfever tries to help quell this possibility. This web site can also be used for anniversaries, bar/bat mitzvahs, baptisms, etc.

The revenue for bridalfever comes primarily from direct-paid advertisements it has on each page as well as those rated vendors who have the opportunity to share their work (i.e. floral photos or professional photography). Unfortunately, as I found, the web site still has many bugs in it, but the idea is there and solid.