Mod Machine vs. iTunes
MOD Machine and iTunes are vastly different in most ways. But they are similar, in that they are both downloadable software programs that allow you to browse, purchase, download and enjoy content.
iTunes revolutionized recorded music distribution, as MOD Machine is revolutionizing video distribution, but in different ways. iTunes is an aggregator, where MOD Machine is a distributed, white-label solution.
Here is a fictitious conversation that illustrates why iTunes and MOD Machine are not competitors:
DVD publisher: “Hello, Apple iTunes department?”
Apple: “Yes, how can we help you?”
DVD publisher: “Could you make a version of your iTunes catalog with my logo on it? And my company colors and branding?”
Apple: “Sure, no problem!”
DVD publisher: “Also, I want my customers to download it from my website, I don’t want them leaving my brand environment.”
Apple: “Sure, we’ll even send some HTML to save you time!”
DVD publisher: “Oh yeah, I only want my products, and other products I choose in the catalog, I don’t want a lot of my competitors products in there.”
Apple: “Sure, you can choose to carry whatever you wish from our library.”
DVD publisher: “Also, I know you keep customer’s email address and other information, and market my competition’s products to them, and I have no way to build my customer list. Essentially I’m helping Apple build their customer base, not mine.”
Apple: “That’s true.”
DVD publisher: “Anyway- I want total access to all my customer info, and you can’t use it at all.”
Apple: “Okay, we can do that.”
DVD publisher: “Also, I need to include PDFs, workbooks, sheet music, audio files, project files, a metronome, additional software, or plugins with my products– can I do that?”
Apple: “Sure, that’s easy! We can put those files wherever you’d like on the user’s system.”
DVD publisher: “Also, I want a custom user experience– special buttons beside the movie that do whatever I say they will do.”
Apple: “We’ll program anything you want for $95/hour– and we’re fast!”
DVD publisher: “Great! I also need my products to play on computers that do not have Quicktime installed, or older or slower computers that cannot play Quicktime reliably.”
Apple: “No problem. Anything else?”
DVD publisher: “Just one more thing… can you drop your percentage from 30% to 19% + 30 cents per cart?
Apple: “For you, we’d be happy to.”
The actual answer to all these questions from Apple would be “No”. If they were to say yes to all of these, then MOD Machine would have a competitor!
Here is a quick rundown of differences:
Key Differences:
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Your brand, your website.Your MOD Machine has your brand. Your colors, your identity, your logo. Your customers never leave your brand environment, from your website through browsing, purchase, downloading and enjoying content. |
Apple’s brand, Apple’s website.iTunes only comes in one color: Apple’s, and the only place to download iTunes is from Apple’s website. Once you give up your brand, you’re just a commodity. |
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Your customers.With MOD Machine, your customers are yours. You are constantly building your customer list to market to in the future. With MOD Machine’s auto-updating capability, you can continue to add features and engage your customers, even if they never return to your website. |
Send your customers to your competitors.Putting your content in iTunes and other aggregators takes away your connection to your customers. Once you send your customers to Apple, they’re not yours anymore. They’re Apple’s, and the iTunes Genius feature is only too happy to market your competitors products to them. Sending your customers straight to your competitors doesn’t sound like a smart long term business strategy. |
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Your sales.Most major brands are missing out on a huge opportunity in the Digital Age– the opportunity to once again control their own distribution. |
Their sales.95% of iTunes sales comes from 5% of the products. If people are buying your content through iTunes, it’s not because you’re in iTunes. It’s because they are already fans of your brand. |
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Syndicate your content through a growing digital distribution network.As you and we work together to find high traffic websites who have visitors interested in buying your content, your distribution network will grow ever larger. |
Not possible.iTunes is an isolated content silo, and cannot syndicate content to a distributed network of catalogs. |
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You control the user experience.Every product delivered by MOD Machine is a powerful, full-blown software program. Any kind of engaging interactivity you can imagine, we can deliver. The features and user experience are under your control. |
Sorry, dead end.iTunes is based on a primitive, obsolete paradigm, only capable of delivering media files, with no customized surrounding features, additional media, or interactivity possible. |
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Fullscreen HD on a Pentium IV.MOD Machine’s BrainPlayer can play perfect fullscreen HD on an older, slower computer that cannot play movies downloaded from iTunes. |
Needs Quicktime and a fast computer.Movies downloaded from iTunes need Quicktime and a fast processor to play smoothly. |
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Demo Movie
Here is a movie we made for one of our clients, Hudson Digital On Demand, to show the features of their MOD Machine catalog and products.
Client Resources
