This document presents a case study on whether iTunes provides everything needed for entertainment anywhere and anytime. Researchers conducted an online survey to understand user experiences and opinions on iTunes and alternatives. The majority of respondents found iTunes easy to use with an extensive catalog accessible on popular Apple devices. While some felt alternatives exist, most thought iTunes remains the best option due to its consistent experience and integration with Apple products. The researchers concluded that iTunes meets entertainment expectations for most users.
2. Leeds Metropolitan University iTunes Does iTunes provide everything you need to be entertained. Anywhere. Anytime – A Case Study This presentation provides an analysis of iTunes which is a free application for your Mac or PC. The ethnographic study presented is research in progress. Comments and questions are encouraged.
3. Research Team This presentation is a case study and aims to identify key debates in contemporary and new media scholarship. We were instructed to design an audience research project with reference to empirical research methods and show how scholarship undergirds practical research design. Researchers & Authors Fern Ninnekah Ross- Crawley, Joe Dawson, Stefan Demosthenous, Daniel Dobby Module Tutors Dr. Lisa Taylor, Dr. Melanie Chan Draft: March 16, 2011 (revised version)
11. Research Question ‘...everything you need to be entertained. Anywhere. Anytime.’ This case study will explore this statement, with the objective to understand whether iTunes offers the best experience.
12. Key Consideration The target audience Use case and expectation Explore alternative digital media players Does iTunes offer the best entertainment Understand why iTunes is the market leader Tangible evidence Conclusion
13. Methods Understand, create and publish an online survey Distribute through social networks/media channels Create an email campaign Conduct one-to-one interviews Produce reports and analyse the information Contact Apple for promotional codes Observe individuals Create presentation Provide conclusion
14. Action Plan Compare online survey tools Create an open survey Launch online* Contact iTunes for promo codes Monitor for 2 weeks Identify any trends* Promote online to raise exposure Analyse data and produce results from survey Relate to scholarship encountered on the module Answer Research Question
15. Respondent Summary The number of respondents - Completed: 58 Partial: 22 Abandoned: 440 Campaigns – Email Campaign – 12 completes Default Link – 46 completes Age – 18-24 (64%) 25 – 34 (31%) 35 – 44 (3%) 55 – 64 (2%) Gender – Male - 36 (62%) Female - 22 (38%) Country – United Kingdom – 52 (89%) United States – 4 (7%) Canada – 1 (2%) Sri Lanka – 1 (2%) Employment – Full Time – 28 (48%) Part Time – 4 (7%) Unemployed – 2 (3%) Student – 23 (40%) Retired – 1 (2%)
26. …'music ideologically contributes to the integration which modern society never tires of achieving in reality‘ (Horkheimer & Adorno, 1973)
27.
28. Bibliography Apple (2011) What is iTunes [Internet] <http://www.apple.com/itunes/what-is/ > [Accessed 31 March 2011] Fisher, III, William W. (2004) How Copyright, Contract and Technology Shape the Business of Digital Media – A Case Study [Internet] < http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/media/uploads/81/iTunesWhitePaper0604.pdf > [Accessed 31 March 2011] Mora, Michaela (2010) Three Popular Online Survey Tools – What They Give For Free [Internet] < http://relevantinsights.com/free-online-survey-tools > [Accessed 31 March 2011] Papolis, William (2011) Overview [Internet] < http://www.wikinvest.com/stock/Apple_(AAPL)#Competition > [Accessed 31 March 2011] Wikipedia. (2011) Ipod [Internet] < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ipod> [Accessed 31 March 2011] Wikipedia. (2011) Itunes [Internet] < http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itunes> [Accessed 31 March 2011]
This paper is a case study and aims to identify key debates in contemporary and new media scholarship. We were instructed to design an audience research project with reference to empirical research methods and show how scholarship undergirds practical research design.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. Established on April 1, 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne. Wayne later sold his share of the company back to Jobs and Wozniak for $800 when Apple was incorporated the following year.The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad.Apple software includes the Mac OS X operating system; iOS, a mobile operating system; the Safari internet browser; various creativity software and productivity packages; andthe iTunes media browser, which we’re going to focus on in this presentation
It’s the world’s number one music store and self-titled greatest entertainment center.You can discover new music by going social with iTunes Ping. You have access to the world’s largest collection of mobile apps.Through Genius we can build comprehensive playlists from a single song.iTunes is available on your computer, iPod touch, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV.And it lets you enjoy all your music, movies, video, and TV shows on your Mac or PC.
iTunes claims to have ‘...everything you need to be entertained. Anywhere. Anytime.’ This case study will explore that statement, with the objective being to understand whether iTunes offers the best experience.
For the task we set out to demonstrate an in-depth analysis of our respondents and their expectations.Comparing alternative digital media players and whether iTunes provided the best entertainment.The objective was to fully understand why iTunes is the market leader.Finally we wanted to produce tangible evidence and provide a conclusion.
Understand, create and publish an online surveyDistribute through social networks/media channelsCreate an email campaignConduct one-to-one interviewsProduce reports and analyse the informationContact Apple for promotional codesObserve individualsCreate presentationProvide
Our action plan consisted of – First comparing various online survey tools, to identify the advantages and limitations?! Then create the survey and launch online; through friends, social networks and an email campaignFor observation purposes we would contact iTunes and potentially other providers to see if they would provide promo codesWe wanted the survey to be available for 2 weeks, monitoring daily to identify any trends, for example increases and decreases in activityAfter this period we would analyse the results, relate to reading and critical concepts encountered and answer the research question
Here’s a brief summary on our respondents -A total of 58 respondents completed the survey; 22 attempted it but that data isn’t included in our results.We launched several campaigns – Direct, Email, Facebook and TwitterFacebook provided the most success; Twitter the most exposure; and email the worst success rate which is the abandoned figure.We had expected more from Twitter, intending to use many established tech enthusiasts as gate keepers but they were concerned with their reputation and that helping would open the flood gates to personal requests.Almost two thirds of the respondents were in the 18 - 24 category Of those that completed the survey – 36 were male and 22 were femaleThe majority of people were in the UK and most were either in full time employment or a student
Every respondent that we asked had access to portable digital media devices.. From the graph (and the handout) it’s clear that the iPod, iPhone and iPad were the most popular devices. Each device is managed and synced by iTunes, so already a technical dependency has emerged from the results of our survey.It was obviously no surprise then that many respondents were long time users of iTunesThrough further open questions we were able to identify what our respondents required from devices. This included - media consumption; file management; organising; downloading and streaming content.Spotify and Windows Media Player were popular alternativesSignificant percentage of respondents thought thatApple understand what users want in the new digital age and that iTunes provides the best user experience. Although many felt they were decent alternatives available…
Respondents felt that iTunes was –Easy to useUser friendlyExtensive catalogueAccessible anywhereUniversally acceptedRespected reputationProvided leading technologyMajority of comments were mainly positiveSome respondents had a different view –ExpensivePoor updated productsApple are making mistakesMarket saturation isn't the key to success
From Observations, we found that people would for the majority of time, use it listen to music. After talking to people, we worked out that, in a social environment, where there is more than just themselves in a place, they are more likely to like listen to music. However when they are by them self, they are just as likely to watch TV shows or films. Watching a film or TV show is very time consuming, and people generally do not chat when they are watching something. But when listening to music people can chat and socialise more, so that’s why the majority of time they listen to music on iTunes when with other people.
…it heightens the validity of the research and gives an in-depth view of the participants views and perspectives of the subject matter. …understand how much society relies on technologies such as the iPod in as it satisfies our...(BULL QUOTE)…and shows that …(ADORNO QUOTE)
We conclude that…A consistent experience is expectediTunes provides a rewarding and easy-to-use interfaceRequirement for syncing and updating the most popular devicesThere are alternatives, but they can appear nicheNot ready for the mainstream Apple provide great products and apply clever marketingStrong brand recognition, and deserved market leaderiTunes provides everything that the majority of people expect