I dont't think i am sold on the idea that he thinks consumers are not getting quality music, therefore he is here to rescue us.
This is exactly what I think Neil Young
is thinking. If he needs more money than he's got at this stage, there'd be easier ways for him to make it than this. I think that he does believe that people will gravitate towards quality sound given a viable way of accessing it that fits into how people consume music now. He is trying to serve a target market that may or may not actually exist - a new generation of music-to-go audiophiles. Their age demographic may require more current offerings than a re-hash of old catalogue titles offered up at higher resolutions in order to succeed. That's where things could go sideways with Pono.
If he succeeds and this nu-audiophile demo does actually turn out to exist and provide a market for what he's offering, good for him and for all of us. If he gives iTunes a good kick in the ass while he's at it, better yet.
What I'm not totally convinced about is that these nu-audiophiles actually
do exist. Is there any buzz about Pono outside of the hi-fi hothouse ?
D.D.
