AOL: Amazon Who? 108
theodp writes "America Online said that it is now selling DVDs and CDs directly as part of its push into digital music, ending a temporary link it had with Amazon.com until it was able to do so itself. The step to sell physical CDs and DVDs is part of AOL's efforts to get a bigger share of the digital music pie to offset shrinkage in its dial-up Internet service and the slump in ad spending. AOL plans to build on its music offerings, which now include online music subscription service MusicNet, with a digital music store that will let users burn as many songs to CDs as they want."
CD's... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:CD's... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:CD's... (Score:1, Funny)
Help me out with this one. Either its to early in the morning, the delivery of the material is lacking, or you simply suck.
I'm going with #3 for now.
Alright, everybody out of the pool... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Alright, everybody out of the pool... (Score:1)
-uso.
Re:Alright, everybody out of the pool... (Score:1)
"Batman Returns", eh? Hmmm.... (j/k)
Re:CD's... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:CD's... (Score:1)
By the way, being modded funny doesn't help your karma anymore - RTFAQ.
I wonder what happens... (Score:1)
And all this... (Score:2, Insightful)
rc55.com
AOL: America ONLINE sells stuff for use OFFLINE (Score:1)
Not Suprising Since AOL owned by Record Company (Score:2)
But this will be better! (Score:5, Funny)
Even before you make a purchase!
If you know what I mean... When you look at it this way, AOL is already the biggest CD distributor already, with the most CD's in the most homes (and trash cans.)
Re:But this will be better! (Score:1)
Trash cans? Are you kidding? I bought a batch of CD coaster-ification kits from Jinx Hackwear [jinxhackwear.com] (it's under "Misc Swag"). Now I have the coolest coasters in town! AND my desktop isn't all sticky from the coffee that pixies slop all over the place when I'm not looking. (I would never be so uncoordinated as to slop coffee. Therefore, it must be pixies.)
I was particularly thrilled at the most recent
Re:But this will be better! (Score:1)
BMG? Columbia House?
What genius figured this out? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What genius figured this out? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:What genius figured this out? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What genius figured this out? (Score:1)
AOL should have looked at an Itunes model to distribute licensed cuts online at a dollar a pop. Maybe they'll prove me wrong, but opening up distributing warehouses shipping and fulfillment, based on a dying business model, and against competition such
Re:What genius figured this out? (Score:1)
AOL Time Warner could possibly se
shrinkage? (Score:2, Funny)
So, wait, who is stealing AOL dialup? More interestingly, why would people steal AOL dialup?
Re:shrinkage? (Score:2)
I believe it's retail jargon, but I could be wrong.
heh. (Score:4, Funny)
Must be cold in the modem pool...
AOL, service provider, dead at 8 (Score:5, Funny)
Re:AOL, service provider, dead at 8 (Score:2)
They also offer a call alert feature which is great for dial-up modems. I could get a voice mail box from my phone company, but they can't tell me who is calling (complete information) while I am online!
On top of that, the caller can leave a message, and I have an option of listening to the message while remaining
Ugh... (Score:1)
AOL became self-aware. (Score:5, Funny)
3 billion people died that day.
Re:AOL became self-aware. (Score:1)
wait... I must be refering to a different movie.
Amazon (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Amazon (Score:2, Informative)
An AOL spokeswoman said the Internet division of AOL Time Warner Inc. had been using Amazon on an interim basis to sell CDs and DVDs. She added that its pacts with the online retailer are still ongoing.
Now what? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Now what? (Score:5, Insightful)
Whoa! Where do you think you're going?
Click here to buy music from AOL!
I think that AOL is a bigger competitor to Apple's iTMS than Microsoft's new stuff. While Microsoft always tends to include "cool" new features in each successive release of Windows that doesn't mean that people will use it. Also, if they push it through the OS then I'd jump on it with the Sherman Antitrust Act in a heartbeat.
AOL users are already used to getting features incrementally, but I get the feeling with its userbase that ACTIVELY uses the features they include they could have great success with this service.
I say bring 'em on; just like in the Brick 'n Mortar world there should be multiple CD stores on the Internet
Re:Now what? (Score:3, Funny)
You'd think that, but you'd be underestimating the stupidity of an AOL user. Based on the users which have switched from AOL to an ISP I support, if they have the motor control to double-click a mouse 50% of the time they try, they deserve a gold star. This is what happens if you try to get them to find a web browser.
Me: You have to open a web browser
Them: Uh, what's that?
Me: The program you us
Re:Now what? (Score:2)
You'd be surprised... My grandma has been using AOL for 4 or 5 years now. A couple years ago she signed up for online banking with our small local bank. Instead of typing in the bank's URL in the AOL address bar, she types in the full bank name. That takes her to AOL's search page, and the bank is the first site listed, so she clicks that. I've tried explaining the whole "dubya-dubya-dubya
The end for the middle men? (Score:5, Interesting)
People like Amazon will have a hard time selling music if everything from AOL Time Warner and Sony (for example) is only available direct. After all in the online space AOL TW has absolutley no need of Amazon - they are a big enough brand that people will be happy enough to buy things from them, and location is not an issue.
Unfortunatly I can't see the removal of the cut that the middle man gets going to the consumer or even the artist.
It'll be a good things for us geeks on a digital boycott of DRM enabled media however - you won't have to go looking to find out which ones are AOL TW productions, you can just avoid shopping at their e-store
Re:The end for the middle men? (Score:2)
After all, AOLTW owns a huge music and film library, and they can easily support direct sales through AOL just from this library.
Re:The end for the middle men? (Score:2)
After all, AOLTW owns a huge music and film library, and they can easily support direct sales through AOL just from this library.
I'm surprised as well. One of the concerns the FTC had about the merger was anti trust possibilities if the companies combined. One of which was if AOL and TW became one company, the media library could be restricted to only AOL customers. Part of the conditions of FTC approval was that the content still
Re:The end for the middle men? (Score:1)
Re:The end for the middle men? (Score:4, Interesting)
The manufacturer's plants are built to package and distribute cases and pallets of materials via truck freight, not individual sales units via UPS. They rely on retailers to break down the product to individual selling units and present the product for sale. Online retail has evolved to bring the costs down (expansion of UPS and other carriers, centralized distribution, computerized inventory control) so a manufacturer can effectively become a retailer.
However, there are still kinks to be worked out with returns. We offer UPS shipping services at our hardware store, and unhappy consumers are constantly returning stuff to Amazon, QVC, etc., griping about what a hassle it is. It's much more convenient to return a product to a local retail store...quick exchange, no return shipping fees, and potentially the opportunity for the retailer to sell additional product while the customer is back in the store. Local retail stores still have a big advantage by offering convenient returns, so there is still hope for the middle man.
John
Cornell's True Value [cornells.com]
Biggest distributor of CD's maybe, but.. (Score:3, Insightful)
There's quite a bit of difference between automated labeling of a single pre-packaged product such as the AOL CD and an order fullfilment process. Infact the only common denominator is that just happen to be CD's, there really is n't much overlap here.
Uhh huh. I see it coming (Score:5, Interesting)
The second step will be when Amazon's name mysteriously disappears from AOLs DNS servers.
Third? The lengthy court battle...
I doubt it. (Score:2)
Re:I doubt it. (Score:1)
Re:Uhh huh. I see it coming (Score:3, Interesting)
or a more legal method might be to secretly slow down all traffic to amazon.com from AOL's Walled Garden. How would anyone find out? Amazon.com still works; it's just twice as slow.
AOL CD's oh boy, I can't wait... (Score:4, Funny)
You'll end up getting 3 CD's a week you didn't order?
You'll call to cancel, but there is a fee, and the CDs keep coming anyway?
When you try to stop playing their CD's, will your stereo / DVD player fail to play CD's from other sources?
Will DVD Owners end up forming a class action law suit to regain control of their TVs?
AOL - is that pronounced 'A - Hole's ? Right?
Re:AOL CD's oh boy, I can't wait... (Score:1)
So they're not taking control... They're just annoying as hell
Re:AOL CD's oh boy, I can't wait... (Score:1)
-uso.
Will AOL become the Microsoft of the internet ? (Score:5, Interesting)
It story seems to me very similar to the history of Mircosoft:a single company with a proprietary, incompatible products steadily increased their market share by aggressive advertisement until they became the dominant monopolist.
Don't be fooled by the fact that AOL is just a service provider. If they control over 70 percent of the internet access of private customers all players in the network business would have to follow their word and do their bidding. They could dominate standards bodies and in fact enforce proprietary standards locked by IP and patents on the whole internet.
This makes me wonder if it's now time for a GPL service provider. By following the principles [eff.org] of the free software movement, they could set up free WIFI access to the internet. This would have the nice side effect that the US goverment won't be able to censor the internet any longer. Furthermore we might get all free broadband access without paying huge fees to greedy companies which do nothing for the community.
Re:Will AOL become the Microsoft of the internet ? (Score:1)
I guess I just wanna have a bunny Hop-opoly.
Re:Will AOL become the Microsoft of the internet ? (Score:2, Insightful)
Even if you follow up the principles of free software movement doesn't make you a GPL ISP. What's next? GPL ice cream?
GPL is a software licence, don't try to make it into something it's not suited for.
Re:Will AOL become the Microsoft of the internet ? (Score:1)
Not likely anytime shortly.. (Score:2)
However, where they succeeded in dial-up, it is unlikely that will continue onward in broadband. Dial-up is a lot easier to run, there is relatively little infrastructure to maintain besides the back-end internet connection and the phone bank. Broadband is an entirely different ball game. Especially n
Another perspective on ISP's targetted customers (Score:2)
As far as AOL competing in this space, I will not clam that it will never happen, but an AOL that gets business customers will need to offer quite a different product than the one they sell to residential ones.
On the subject of CD/DVD sales, I see th
Re:Will AOL become the Microsoft of the internet ? (Score:1)
How else is it possible that AOL managed to become AOL:TW?
And they certainly didn't make it to the top by being 'easy to use' and reliable. They made it to the top by spamming people with CDs. In fact, their buisness model is a lot like merging Microsoft's strategy with a spammers:
"Hmmm. Our product sucks and our sales are dropping.... Release a "new version" with pretty colors, but don't actually let people connect at better speeds. Also, rename features that oth
Dilemma (Score:3, Interesting)
Obviously they're use some type of DRM (most likely developed by their A/V gurus at Nullsoft....Frankel'll love that one), but once an AOL user leaves the collective will they still get to take their music with them or will they require AOL for the rest of their adult life?
That it, until they lose another $99,000,000,000 this year and are forced out of business
Re:Dilemma (Score:1)
Why?
it'd be so smart (Score:4, Interesting)
Or maybe just set up a playlist they can stream off the order status page of whatever they ordered. Once the order is fulfilled the playlist can go away along with the order page.
Re:it'd be so smart (Score:1)
That's hardly a new idea, mp3.com already does this.
Re:it'd be so smart (Score:2)
Ok, how's this: It'd be so smart of AOL to buy mp3.com
Like I would trust AOL (Score:1, Troll)
Re:Like I would trust AOL (Score:2)
Thankfully, for my sanity when I come home, my father has finally begun to use Net
Re:Like I would trust AOL (Score:2)
It's not harassment. It's value-adding.
AOL adds perceived value to a membership by offering AOL Call Alert for $4 a month, voice mail for $6 a month, premium packages that allow multiple concurrent sign-ins (for families) for $6 a month, and all sorts of co-branded programs from which they derive revenue. This music/DVD sales idea is no different from,
Sad news when AOL has to be the innovator (Score:5, Insightful)
The more companies do this, the more competition and the better the choice for the consumer. If there is one single way to eliminate those pesky P2P people, this is it.
Oh, and AOL, while you're at it, please start planning to sell TV series and movies the same way.
Re:Sad news when AOL has to be the innovator (Score:1)
Where are you getting the 'innovator' impression from, and why do you propose they start selling movies when it sounds like they're already going to?
They're not selling 'tracks' nor are they moving into the P2P market.
Is Amazon still Spamazon? (Score:1)
I was just wondering if they are still doing this or if it is now possible to buy from them and not get spammed to death.
Re:Is Amazon still Spamazon? (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Is Amazon still Spamazon? (Score:2, Informative)
Geeks sure can hold grudges.
Long Run...? (Score:1)
My question is, will the strategy of selling to a declining population (as people leave AOL for other Internet providers) be worth it in the long run? Sure, AOL/TW can make money off their subscribers this way, but, as someone previously posted, when AOL users' anxiety over the Internet drops to the point where they look elsewhere for service, AOL/TW loses that potential sales channel completely.
I don't think AOL is going away anytime soon, but unless AOL is also going to pursue an *outside* channel of sa
Here's a thought... (Score:4, Funny)
If AOL really wanted to save money, they'd stop supplying every friggen' store and consumer in America with two thousand CDs whenever a new version came out. :P
Free Music? (Score:3, Interesting)
AOL does own the following artists' works: Frank Sinatra, Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, James Taylor, The Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, B-52s, Doobie Brothers, Little Feat, Van Morrison, The Ramones, Depeche Mode, The Kinks, Paul Simon, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Miles Davis, Randy Newman, Dire Straits, Prince, Emmylou Harris, Madonna, Linkin Park, Enya, Faith Hill, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty, R.E.M., Disturbed, Goo Goo Dolls, Blake Shelton, Trick Pony, Seal, Green Day, Sixpence None The Richer, Steely Dan, Josh Groban, The Flaming Lips, Jaheim, SK, D'Mello, Souljahz, Brad Mehldau, Joshua Redman, Pat Metheny, Robert Randolph, The Used, Glassjaw, and Barenaked Ladies; as well as thousands of others.
Re:Free Music? (Score:1)
Ok, before I just thought AOL was over restrictive, slow and advert ridden, but they own the copyright for Dire Straits songs?! it just got personal!
And on a more topicesk note, Amazon has always been great for me, I have ordered numerous items from there (Including a Dire Straits DVD ;) ) their prices are good, items have allways arrived promptly and in perfect condition so I don't intend to stop using them, not that I would go anywhere near AOL's servers (Apart from AIM unfortunatly) even if Amazon ev
what's with the phony generousity? (Score:2)
I burn as many songs to CD as want already. Nobody has to let me. As long as it's non-commercial, etc., it's everyone's right to do so.
Chapter 11 (Score:2)
I look forward to seeing all the questionable accounting and insider trading that the executives of that cancerous beheamoth is beyond a doubt guilty of.
Amazon.screwed (Score:3, Interesting)
It will be interesting to see if they are around in five years.
Re:Amazon.screwed (Score:1)
Quick, we're sinking! Bolt on more lifeboats! (Score:2, Interesting)
AOL, one of the largest (and arguably hoariest) national internet service providers around, is losing business because of some questionable business practices and needs to generate more revenue.
In order to do this, they've severed ties with a prominent internet business (Amazon) and are going to attempt to run their own physical media music store...
I don't see them selling Sony/Universal (Score:1)
"Dude you can't get that at the Sony store. That's AOL".
I'll take something like Amazon any day--very easy.
I bought a CD direct from Warner Records (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I bought a CD direct from Warner Records (Score:1)
Copy protection that I have encountered has always been aimed at the usual Win98/2000/XP users, but not me, on MacOS X-FreeBSD.
Re:I bought a CD direct from Warner Records (Score:2)
Oh, puhleeze! (Score:2)
The more people that sell music etc online, the more likely it is that we will be able to get music the way we want to.
AOL (Score:1)
(Plus, as was already noted many times above, they are already good at making a lot of CDs.)
You Wouldn't Enjoy (Score:1)
AOL can deliver CDs now? (Score:1)
I wonder how much land one could cover with all the unused CS CDs that were included with PC mags over the years.
Reminder: AOL and Amazon are in bed together! (Score:1)
Go to http://shop.aol.com
AOL's blue light special. (Score:1)