Nobody has to pay for B2C software directly as long as it is monetizeable. Charging users directly isn't the only way to make money.

In this case the music industry reduces the possible monetization options and limits prospects even further with threats of lawsuits. That is what the issue is here.

That would've been really bad advice for some people. There is a lot of successful B2C software out there.

Devil's Advocate: iTunes made it compelling to buy a 99 cent track instead of downloading it for free. Surely there must be something to it?

It wouldn't have worked if iTunes also let you download the music for free.

True but a bit torrent client + google means that song is just a few clicks away.

what are these pop-ups? where do i get a bitter rent client ? i type in the google my songs, but i get all these pages.. how do i download from google with the bitter rent client? okay, okay, i did what you told me. now, it says downloaded. where did it go? i have a downloads folder? i dont want it on my desktop so i deleted it. how do i get it on my ipod?

also, it is much faster / more convenient and reliable.

OK, torrent client + thepiratebay/mininova/etc. I've never really had any problems with finding what I need, assuming it existed. It would seem some people do, though.

Agreed. I don't know if you can find it online anywhere, but Steve Jobs's pitch for exactly this argument was put together quite well.

I guess I also have to put myself in the mindset of 2001/2002. Nowadays, I see less compelling reasons for iTunes over bittorrent.

What is this other forum? Sounds promising.

The Joel on Software Business of Software forums. http://discuss.joelonsoftware.com/?biz

Its mostly people with small* businesses selling B2C and/or B2B downloadable software, with some contractors and web app folks mixed in.

* For many definitions of "small", including "Oh heck I want to be small like he is small".