Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

I am not sure if everyone keeps their fingers on the pulse of iTunes as much as I do, but there is something very exciting, albeit extremely dorky now available.

If you travel to the "iTunes Store" in iTunes and look at the bottom of the left hand nav, you will see a link titled "iTunes U."

Is this an opportunity to listen to the latest in underground indie music for free? Sadly no.

However, iTunes U may be just as exciting (and if you go to iTunes radio you can find plenty of free music).

iTunes U offers users for free what students across the country are paying top dollar for--an Ivy League education. The evolution of the podcast and online class has taken a giant leap with this new offering.

Lectures by top academics and thinkers at universities like Stanford, M.I.T. and Yale are all available for free.

Want to learn about blackholes? Well, the scientist who wrote the book on the subject will walk you through the intricacies of these space anomalies with a series of lectures.

The topics available are endless.

Commencement addresses by top thinkers and entire courses are all available for you to download.

AND, if you invite friends and plan your playlists right you can mix in some party music and relive the entire college experience...

Here is an innovative experiment to stem piracy and recharge enthusiasm for purchasing music by Radiohead. Will it work? Who knows?

NBC Universal’s decision to not renew its contract with Apple to sell digital downloads on iTunes is a short-term blow to consumer choice but may prove to create more competition and better pricing for digital downloads in the long-term.
 
Apple, through its popular iPod and iTunes franchises, has become the WalMart of online digital content for the masses. Sure, there are other devices and other ways to download video and music, but for those who aren’t tech wizards, Apple’s 1-2 punch of ease-of-use and popular mainstream content makes it the default choice.
 
If media companies want to exercise any say in how their products are marketed and sold online, now is the time to act while consumer purchase behaviors and expectations are being shaped. And, content producers should take a look at the role between traditional distribution channels and consumer packaged goods and how those roles have evolved over time. Dominant distribution channels don’t necessarily bode well for the product manufacturer or for expanding consumer choice.