Review the Apple's iTunes: Changing the face of on-line music retailing. On the basis of the information provided, respond to the following questions:
Question 1. Examine the structure and functioning of the music industry and give an assessment of the attractiveness of the industry.
Question 2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the three different online music business models (P2P, Subscription based and Pay per Song based)?
a. How will these differences affect the development of the online music industry?
b. Is Steve Jobs right about buying music and "good karma"? Are customers really hungry for a legal way to buy music?
Question 3. What are the key resources that are at the root of iTunes and Apple's position in the online music business?
a. How valuable are these resources? How rare are these resources?
b. How sustainable is Apple's position in online music? What are iTunes critical resources? What are the biggest threats to iTunes?
c. Can potential entrants like Microsoft, RealNetworks, and Dell imitate what iTunes does well? Applying the VRIO framework, will iTunes be able to sustain its advantages?
Question 4. Given the level of competition in the businesses of digital distribution of music, which direction is the iTunes Music Store headed in? If you were sitting at the Apple headquarters, what strategy framework would you design to ensure that iTunes sustains the growth momentum it picked up in mid-2003?