Apple Rumors - iTunes
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iTunes recently became the second biggest music seller in the world. I admit I miscalled this one; I didn't think it would fly. Congrats to Apple for making it work when nearly every other online music store has flopped. Apple recently took another step and brought movies to the iTunes store. You can now rent and buy many movies and watch them on your computer or iPod. There isn't much news on the iTunes front other than new releases to combat piracy, or fixing compatibility with upcoming iPods or firmware upgrades.
The rumors about possible subscription plans are swirling again. It seems this rumor comes up every year or two, but nothing happens. I really do think that this is the time for Apple to bring it out. People are afraid of being sued for downloading music illegally, but the music industry changes so quickly that new songs are always coming out. A subscription-based service would allow the user to download any song and any number of songs.
Many people complain that you don't get to own the songs, but I like to think of this as similar to cable companies. I don't own the TV stations I see or my cable box, but I pay a monthly bill that allows me to access all the TV I want. If I stop paying my bill, no cable for me. I think that this monthly service plan would be a huge win for everyone. Apple gets lots and lots more music downloads, the consumer gets all the legal songs they want, and the music industry gets paid. Who in this scenario is worse off than they are now? I would jump on this, and I'm sure anyone that has a family would love this. Each member can download their own songs and not worry about being sued for $100,000 for a single downloaded song.
I do see a few areas that need to be looked at first. The big one is DRM -- can't live with it, can't live without it. If Apple's DRM is cracked with this subscription-based system, it would kill the whole deal. I could download all the music I want for a month and then cancel my subscription. And if I cracked the DRM, I can still play all those songs, with no need to continue to pay for service.
Conclusion
Apple, like any company, is working on some interesting ideas. Some should be great, like the subscription-based iTunes or the iPhone SDK. These are great ideas and will make Apple and its products even more popular.
The potential iPhone additions look interesting, but I'd rather have a full-out iPhone. Still, I’m sure many would love to see a smaller size and a cheaper price tag.
There isn't much apparently happening at Apple with the iPod. I really don't want to see iPods with music already loaded onto them. Music choices are personal and widely vary from person to person. I don't see there being a demand for any type of preloaded music, no matter what type. Apple is hard at work developing something I'm sure. Perhaps we'll get to see something new at WWDC. I can't wait to see what Apple has in store for us.
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