The Beatles iPod...and Beyond

My co-author Kelli Richards, who spent a decade promoting music at Apple, has an ingeniously simple suggestion for how Apple and the Beatles’ Apple Corps can resolve their ongoing dispute.

What if producers and DJs designed your next iPod?

Although Kelli didn’t list a Beatles iPod in her plan, I’ve long wondered why Apple stopped with the U2 model. I’d like to see iPods based on producers rather than artists. Imagine the Jimmy Jam iPod, or models populated by Don Was, Phil Ramone, Nathaniel Kunkel, Tony Visconti, LTJ Bukem, John Digweed...the list is endless. I know that licensing all the music would be a chore, but think of the additional sales as fans discovered new artists.

Better, instead of creating a dedicated piece of hardware, why not sell iTunes download packs containing songs and playlists from top producers and DJs, along with custom artwork (or videos) to “skin” the player? Or make it simple for fans to create and distribute their own iPod Packs, much as Propellerhead Software did with Reason ReFills.

These iPod Packs would be like an enhanced podcast, but much easier to create. And to get around copyright restrictions, tastemakers could base them on 30-second previews from the iTunes Music Store—micro mashups!

Of course, the main update I’d like to see on the iPod would be crossfading (or at least gapless playback) between songs. Can’t have much of a DJ experience without that.