My biggest problem with iTunes is not it’s lack of properly categorizing artists in their proper genre or the fact that some albums that I love dearly (Depeche Mode’s Black Celebration) are not even available for purchase. No my problem is something bigger; the fact that we as consumers are not truly offered an immersive and international experience. I, for one, enjoy music from many different countries, in many different languages and theAmerican iTunes store offers a minimal, albeit incomplete experience at best.
The sad fact that iTunes touts itself as the biggest record store of all times, but it’s so interpersonal lacking the most basic necessity of what a record store has, people. Huge record stores offer a completely unique aspect to the shopping experience, not only do you meet people that share your same taste in music, but you also get to explore new and often independent music. Right now if you go onto the iTunes store, you’re bombarded with ads to purchase music from such Top 40 artists like Lady Gaga, the Glee soundtracks and the like.
Do I have a problem with this? Yes I sure do for one I cannot stand the music of these artists and it seems as though they have a huge following so why give them the added exposure that they do not need? One group that has come out with a excellent album this year and got minimal exposure was The Decemberists, I know they had the same sort of iTunes ad but it doesn’t compare to artists like the Glee cast and the Lady Gaga. (Note: I still can’t believe The Beatles are still on the new and noteworthy section of iTunes, wasn’t there a whole day that would be unlike any other day last year?) I can go on and on about the lack of decent exposure especially for independent artists, some are relegated to obscure genres like World, or bundled into the Alternative and Rock genres. This classification seems a little dated and stale.
Apple’s Genius
Let’s not get started on the so called “Genius” aspect of iTunes, it’s not really a good sorting system and it doesn’t, majority of the time, put what I want to hear in an exact order that I want to hear it in. Speaking of placing music into genres in which they do not belong “Genius Mixes” is a complete disaster. Playing a mix of what is supposed to be Synth-Pop produces hit from artists such as Florence and the Machine and Joy Division playing concurrently with the likes of La Roux, Owl City and various New Wave artists from the 80’s, this is completely unfeasible and unheard of. Would I, going into a record store find them in the same section catering to Synth-Pop? I think not. First things first Apple, expand your limited categories of what music is and you will have a better “Genius” protocol.
Another problem I have is that I have more than 65 gigabytes worth of music on this computer alone and I hear the same songs over and over, I mean sure Genius mixes probably just takes from the most popular and frequently played categories and placed them into mixes, but I don’t need the White Stripes and the Foo Fighters spread out across multiple Mixes (in this case Alternative Pop/ Rock, Adult Alternative, and Punk) it becomes a little redundant, in fact these mixes are becoming more and more lame every time I add more music.
Dear Apple,
I’m your consumer, I am also a consumer of music, and I buy or trade lots of music in a week and sometimes I don’t listen to it right away and it becomes lost in the avalanche of all the other music I have on my computer. Please allow “Genius Mixes” or iTunes DJ for that matter to intertwine music that is both old and recently added to my playlist, so I can hear them and also rediscover what made me buy them in the first place.
Sincerely,
Someone Who’s Spent Tens of Thousands of Dollars on You
iTunes User Interface
My last major problem with iTunes is the UI (or User Interface for those of you who don’t know geekspeak), I mean look at the UI on the iPad far superior to anything that the computers have to offer, same bland monotonous design but by far better looking and almost enjoyable. I really hope that you consider offering this UI to your loyal fanbase in the future, I mean cause even music stores offer some sort of change to their tired layout every so often.
For now these are my main problems with Apple and iTunes, I’m sure I’ll have more and when I get through sorting them out then I’m sure I’ll have another post about describing them.
The Long Road 