[Banshee-List] Dear Jeff Bezos

["Scott Peterson" <lunchtimemama gmail com>]

This is an email I just send to jeff amazon com  I thought ya'll might
find it interesting:

Subject: An API Of No Importance, or What You Will

Dear Person Answering Jeff Bezos' Email,
I'm a developer on an open source music application called Banshee
(http://www.banshee-project.org). It's like iTunes, only mostly
better. I say mostly because it lacks certain MP3 Music Stores. I'm
thinking rather specifically of yours.

The success of the iTunes Music Store is its integration: shopping is
an in-app experience. For all of its DRM-free wonder, the Amazon MP3
Store is still a website; I have to open a browser, search for music,
buy it, download it, import it into my music player, and then,
finally, enjoy. I would like nothing more than to shop Amazon's MP3
inventory from the comfort of my favorite open source music player. In
fact, at the moment I am weighing the technical pain-in-my-ass-iness
of loading amazon.com in a headless browser, scraping the HTML and
faking store/application-integration. My gluttony for pain aside, it
is not an exercise to which I look forward.

What's missing here is some kind of uber-awesome API for a) searching
your MP3 library and b) purchasing from said library. I can assure you
that I am not the only one whom such an API would interest. You would
be guaranteed client code in nearly all open source music players and
probably plenty of proprietary programs too. You wouldn't even need to
bother with a revenue split: the functionality is a sufficient
motivator for support and open source people don't like dealing with
cash anyhow. It's all money for you and your shareholder friends. Sure
there are technical challenges; chief among which: security. But
you've got loads of smart folks over there. And did I mention the,
benefit to shareholder value?

I think you're in a really good position to tackle iTunes but you're
not going to make any headway as long as they have the superior user
experience (read: application integration). You could try making your
own iTunes-like desktop music app, but oh Mr. Bezos how I wish you
won't. That's such a terrible idea. It really is. Just take my word
for it. And besides, why bother when we will do it for you! And then
your MP3 store will be in every music application under the sun. Well,
every music app but iTunes. And who's got whom by the balls THEN,
hmmm?!

Think about it.

Most Sincerely,
Scott Peterson