Mobile Payments...Not Worth The Effort

Starbucks earlier this week announced they are launching a new way of paying for their caffeinated drinks through the use of our smartphones, such as the iphone and blackberry devices.  ( Mobile Payments )  These types of transactions are known as mobile payments and I don't quite understand all the hype surrounding it.  Starbucks claims that these type of transactions are faster than regular cash & credit transactions but I do not see how it is a faster transaction for the consumer.  I would first have to download the proper app for my smartphone, in this instance the Starbucks app.  Then I would have to create an account with them and either link my debit/credit card to the account or purchase a Starbucks gift card and dump that into the Starbucks account.   I have to do all of this before going to Starbucks just to purchase some coffee or tea? How about I just go to Starbucks and pay with cash or my debit card to make my life easier.  I know we all take our phones with us everywhere we go, but we also take our wallets everywhere we go...
     Another concern with Mobile Payments is the security of lack of security currently found within the software of our smartphones.  With smartphones now acting like wallets that are linked to our checking accounts hackers are going where the money is. In 2010 attacks on android smartphones quadrupled and attacks on java based smartphones were up 50%. (Attacks on Smartphones ) Until the software on our smartphones are updated to better deal with their current security flaws I for one will not be using my smartphone to make payments for anything.  Smartphones putting consumers at risk

Music Piracy...it's Good

     The music industry of today is one that is in a state of change.  On one side of the spectrum there are thousands of artists who use the internet as s distribution channel to get and share their music online for free.  On the other end of the spectrum are the large music labels who are attempting to tighten down on music piracy.  They recently were able to get the world's most popular peer-to-peer file sharing content Limewire to shut down through a court order.  (Limewire shutdown)   The internet and file sharing programs are often blamed by large music labels for the downfall of the music industry. Yet the reality is that the internet has been a blessing for these labels.  Music piracy has shown them how to create a format to sell music online and turn it into a profit.  Itunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon Music Downloads are all examples of this.  Despite the best efforts of music labels through legal remedies to stop piracy there is no effective way of even slowing it down.  A new peer-to-peer program already is up and running called Frostwire and much like a zombie Limewire is quietly back from the grave.  (Limewire returns!)
 
Music Labels make their money by promoting artists who have signed on to their labels and taking a very large percentage of the artists' album sales.  Their control over over the distribution channels of old, such as radio, gave them a lot of negotiating power over artists.  Because of this artists never made much money through album sales, they made their money through their tours. (Highest Grossing Tours of 2010)   Today the Internet is being used by more and more artists and independent music labels to reach millions of customers without the "help" of large music labels.  This is the real reason why the music industry is against "piracy."  They are the middle-man in this operation and they are slowly being cut out.  Studies conducted by large music labels even show that their "research shows that only 10% of all illegal downloads are considered to be a loss in sales."(Piracy & Sales) So the next time you hear the complaints from the music industry about losses due to piracy, don't believe the hype.