Amazon pushes more digital media

“One day, most music, movies and perhaps even printed words will be sent as bits over the Internet instead of in bulky boxes.” Amazon Accelerates Its Move to Digital, The New York Times, April 7, 2008

That statement seems like a no-brainer to me, considering the influence of iTunes and e-books on traditional mediums. Just last week, iTunes surpassed Wal-Mart Stores to become the No. 1 source of music sales in the United States. Nevertheless, I was surprised to find in the above New York Times article today, that more than half of Amazon.com’s $15 billion in sales still come from CDs, DVDs and books – not digital content.

That’s why the company is rolling out what can be considered Phase II of their digital efforts.

Phase I included Amazon’s release of The Kindle e-book reading device in December, its new digital music store in fall 2007, and its digital TV and movie store, Amazon Unbox, in fall 2006.

While the company’s executives were unclear as to what Phase II might include, they told the New York Times to expect “a lot of innovation from us in this business.”

I can only hope, that when they “innovation,” they mean it. As opposed to buying out innovative startups (Google acquiring youTube) or copy-catting Apple (creating an online music store), I’d like to see this huge company use its resources and collective brainpower to truly bring some new ideas to the table.