Re: [Banshee-List] Dear Jeff Bezos

[Jon Cosby <jon jcosby com>]

Scott Peterson wrote:
> 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?!
>
>   

Pretty good. You might want to contact Peter Baltaxe. He's the director
of digital music at Amazon.


Jon Cosby