Nivi makes a strong case that Steve Jobs’ recent keynote was positioning Apple as a monopsony. This is the inverse of a monopoly, in which one seller has power over many buyers, and instead is a situation where one buyer dominates many sellers:
In principle, Steve Jobs’ keynote today introduced the iPod nano and iTunes phone.
But the real message was directed at his current and potential suppliers (music, movies, components), partners (Sony, Nokia et al), and competitors (Sony, Microsoft et al).
What was his message to these colleagues?
I buried the competition.
A terrific, thought-provoking read about Apple’s market power when it comes to digital music, and perhaps, other forms of digital goods.