Streaming Music

I enjoy downloading music to my PC and portable digital music player. In fact, I can’t remember the final time I has been at a music store. I am a convert. I prefer listening to music samples on the Internet and buying only the songs that I want and not wanting to buy an entire disc where I could like only several song tracks. This is the reason why iPods from Apple PC Inc. (AAPL) have grown exponentially in popularity to the current cult status. A friend of mine received a 30GB iPod for Christmas and trust me you’ve never seen someone so excited.
A 30GB iPod could hold up to 7,500 CD  quality songs. That is impressive. Apple is a trendsetter in my estimation. From its MAC to the iPod, CEO Steve Jobs has a keen knack for trends. The portable music devices have so much memory because he could expects a massive shift to CD  burning and downloadable music. Apple’s iTunes Music Store is booming.
Just final week, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry released its research into the digital music industry and the results were not a surprise. Just like how On-line DVD movies have dominated the video rental market, dominated by Netflix Inc. (NFLX), and pushing incumbent Blockbuster Inc. (BBI) to the sidelines, the exponential growth of the On-line music business has been on an explosive upward path.
According to the research, sales of digital music globally better by over 300  percent in 2005 to $1.1 billion. The research said digital music accounts for about 6  percent of total music sales, up from truly little two years back.
The competition in the industry is fierce and expected to ramp up going forward. This could lead to consolidation in the industry down the road and result in lower prices.  we  could see the bigger and more established players taking out the smaller up and comers.
Besides Apple, there are a slew of On-line music website s. Probably the most well known is Napster Inc. (NAPS). Napster reported it has over 500,000 subscribers but has yet to turn a profit and isn’t expected for the time being. But the company has minimal debt and a whopping $128 million or $2.91 per share in cash. Given that the current share price is 3.08, this implies you’re paying a mere $0.17 for the company’s asset and potential. This is pretty nice and enticing for speculators, but then Napster must deliver profits. Napster could be the dark horse in the digital music business.
In addition to Apple and Napster, there is furthermore the increasing Rhapsody music service from RealNetworks Inc. (RNWK) and Yahoo Music from Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).