Relative Advantage of a Technological Innovation

No doubt one of the most influential contemporary technological innovations is Apple's iTunes store.

By creating and promoting a place where billions of people can legally and easily download their favorite song, television show, or movie Apple has truly provided a service that has changed the way people access the media they demand.  When discussion the relative advantage of Apple's iTune's store, an obvious question may be, "relative to what?".

Here I would argue that the advantages (or lack thereof) that existed prior to iTunes is a great place to look.  Particularly the older paradigm of physically having to go to a store and purchase a CD with it's time consuming inconvenience speaks to the improvements that the iTune's store has fostered.  Now consumers, with a few clicks can acquire the same or better value of a media product in less time and for less money.  Gone are the days of having to purchase an entire album on CD if you only really like or want to listen to one of the artists' songs.

Another relative advantage of the iTune's store is the ease by which small, independent media producers can get their creations to the market place.  There is no bar to admission from music promoters, or skeptical distributors.  Now, if artists want to find folks who might be interested in their produces they can do it with less hassle.