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The allure of a suspense is irresistible. 50 pages into a good book the outcome may already be foretold but if well done, you anxiously read the next two hundred to find out for sure. Macworld as a trade show has built for itself the same kind of dramatic tension. Over the years, as ringmaster, Steve jobs has crafted himself into an impressive storyteller. Legions hang in wait for his word. At Macworld, the lines were long and formed hours early for those anxious to see the live spectacle.

At 9:15 PST, following a new Mac vs. PC ad, Steve took the stage. He gave the obligatory recap of 2007, and then launched the crowd into the future.

Major news outlets were vastly in attendance. They’ll be covering the announcement all day.

Here’s the quick list: iTunes rentals (Check), New Macbook (Check), improved Apple TV (Check), software update for the iPhone (check).

And in more detail:

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Last year, private equity firm Terra Firma acquired struggling number four music label EMI for about $6.4b (including debt).  A few days ago, an internal email from Terra Firma’s CEO Guy Hands leaked.  It hinted at major house cleaning. 

Ahead of Tuesday’s EMI staff meetings, early reports on the wire services and from the Wall Street Journal are citing insiders that those changes may include job cuts for  as much as one third of EMI’s six thousand person global staff. 

Even as sources suggest the cuts may be smaller, the number of jobs lost is expected to be substantial.

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2007 was a banner year.  There was the iPhone, a new (and very successful) iPod family, a new and improved  iMac, the Leopard update to the OS X operating system and a stock price that’s accelerated like a Ferrari on a track.  Now it’s 2008 and Macworld, the trade show that is “Apple’s State of the Union” is just a blink away.  Last year’s show revealed the iPhone.  “What can we expect this year?” is the question on the minds of many.  We all want to know: what promise and surprise does the 2008 product pipeline have in store for us? 

Nobody’s talking, which is usual, and as usual, that has everyone talking.  Steve Jobs and his team guard their secrets as tightly as a Vegas magic act, and like the elite illusionists, they enjoy misdirection just as much.     That’s fueled a constant stream of predictions and forecasts.  Analysts with inside sources, press and fans alike all have a perspective.  Handicapping Apple product announcements is rarely a wise endeavor, nevertheless, below are some rumors, and odds of their likelihood:

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Something was missing. When Sony BMG revealed Platinum Music Pass, their first step into DRM-Free waters, it didn’t make sense.  It wasn’t the Amazon partnership expected.  It was a weird retail experiment.  Logic seemed lost.  There had to be more.  Fortunately, there is. 

Amazon announced Thursday that the Sony BMG catalog will, in fact, soon be available at the Amazon MP3 store without digital copyright protection.  There hasn’t been confirmation whether the entire catalog will be included or if it will be a more limited “experiment.”  However they proceed, the news is a significant win for Amazon, and for music fans.

Amazon owes significant thanks to EMI.  Though the smallest of the Big 4, Click to Read More

Patience is a virtue, especially in private equity.  Since November 2006, Bain Capital and Thomas Lee Partners have been trying to buy and privatize outdoor advertiser and radio station operator Clear Channel.   The $19.5b leveraged buyout offered was approved by shareholders ($39.20/a share) but it’s been stuck in regulatory limbo. 

Recently, there’s been an increase in speculation the deal was close to falling apart. The skepticism has hurt the stock price. The stock is trading near $35, a significant discount to the $39.20 buyout price. Now there may be a positive shift.

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Ask a politician and they’ll tell you, consistency in policy and staying on point is essential. Stick to the Message.  If you flip flop from pro to con, then con to pro, credibility will disappear.  Without credibility, there’s little trust.  Without trust there’s won’t be a favorable vote.    In retail, similar maxims apply.  There’s the famous “the customer is always right.” There’s also the old “K.I.S.S.” principle: “keep it simple.”  You can confuse your customer with too many changes, or too many choices.  That’s bad marketing.  Better practice is to offer them value, offer them what they ask for; what they want or need.  Do that and they’ll probably purchase your product.  Don’t and the sale is going to be difficult to close.   

Lately, it seems more and more like Sony (especially the gaming division) has gotten off point, or keeps forgetting the message.  Since launching the PS3 gaming platform in November 2006, they’ve made multiple marketing mistakes and repeatedly juggled their lineup and pricing models to adjust.  I can recall at least three changes in the console’s first year on the market.  Now they’re at it again.

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Last week, news that Sony BMG would soon drop DRM encryption from their music library leaked but details were scarce.   The company confirmed Monday the reports were accurate – more or less. It’s the “less” part that will cause some confusion.

Sony BMG will in fact begin selling unrestricted music January 15th.  The method, however, won’t be as expected (at least initially). It might not make a lot of sense either. Instead of partnering with online music stores and offering their catalog in the portable unencrypted format, Sony BMG has opted to start their DRM-Free experiment by throwing their support behind traditional brick and mortar retailers: the bellwether’s of the labels’ past successes (Only  about 10% of music sold in 2007 was online digital music). 

Sony’s BMG has also opted to support only full album sales and not the more common online practice of ala carte singles with this first foray.

The new service is called the Platinum Music Pass.  It is built around a gift card Click to Read More