Back To The Future. Let's climb in the DeLorean, hit 88 mph and watch the flux capacitor generate the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity needed to come back to 2022! If you have no clue what I just referenced, you need to
see the film!
I referenced the genius of this positioning and there are two elements to this Einstein moment:
1. The context
2. The frame of reference
In recent times, of course, the context has changed dramatically. We take portable digital music for granted, libraries of music are near-unlimited due to the ubiquitous nature of streaming services.
1,000 Songs In Your Pocket Vs 60 Million Songs On Your Wrist.
We reclaimed the real estate inside our homes years ago. Digital natives are now the default over analogue laggards and music can literally be accessed and played anywhere, on any device, at any time. The concept of physical media, dedicated music playing hardware (including the iPod) and the burdens of a poor user experience just seem so distant.
So, given that 68% of 16-24-year olds chose a smartphone when asked "If you only had one device to listen on...'' and 89% listen to music through on-demand streaming, it's therefore not surprising that dedicated music hardware has declined in the past 20 years. In fact, the diversity of how we engage with music has become a more complex but interesting ecosystem, brilliantly summarised on page 6 by
this official IFPI report.
523 million paying subscribers of music streaming services clearly are a clear signpost that the writing was on the wall for our beloved iPod quite a while ago.
Music has gone from being 'somewhere' (on your shelves) to 'everywhere'. So, when the latest incarnation of this positioning was revealed, you had to applaud. Well, I did.