Apple Mulls Subscription Model....

titchard

titchard

titchard

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Financial Times Link

Not heard about this much, but my ears pricked up and got rather excited - subscription iTunes would make my life that much better!

Anyone else heard about this? I have read it a few times on the usual TUAW and Think Secret sites, but surprised me to read it on the FT site.

Rich
 
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It would have to be un-DRM'd, high quality for me to even consider it. Another problem is that, although they have a lot of music on there, they rarely have the hard-to-find stuff that I'm looking for when I go there. I'd only pay for a service if I was going to get what I want from it!
 
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I think I've bought 1 album on iTunes, and that was to test it out!

Unless they gave the option to choose the track-quality then I wouldn't touch it.

I fear they'd do something like;

$5 a month, 128kbps AAC, DRM, 100 downloads
$8 a month, 256kbps AAC, DRM, 500 downloads
$15 a month,Apple lossless, no DRM, 1000 downloads

Possibly have an option for unlimited downloads for $25
 
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I shan't link to the interview, but thepiratebay guys summed it up nicely for me. I shall paraphrase:

If the companies that are spending so much of their money trying to sue [us] would plough some of that money into an ad-based, free bittorrent tracker - they'd put [us] out of business.

The main problem with DRM is that there are already apps that can remove it so that it can be put into circulation on P2P protocols - it only takes one person to do it and the argument for DRM is confounded.

The thing is, that it's not about making money for these guys anymore, otherwise they'd have already done this. It's about their warped principles and winning this age-old fight that they never will.
 
Sic said:
The thing is, that it's not about making money for these guys anymore, otherwise they'd have already done this. It's about their warped principles and winning this age-old fight that they never will.
Click to expand...

Too true.

It happens over MSN, bluetooth, infact any communication setup.

They will never, ever win :rolleyes:
 
I've bought 1 album from iTunes, only because I can't find it in the UK (Roy Zimmerman) - I agree with EVH tho, unless Apple increase the bitrate (and without DRM), I wouldn't buy it.

I'd much rather buy non-DRM ones from a Jersey shop or CDs, ripping it myself.
 
How is Napster doing these days? They offer a subscription model and an "on the go" option so you can transfer to a portable MP3. I don't know a single person who uses it and the most common reason i hear is people don't want to rent music.

I can't see it being over successful tbh
 
The rainforest has a good mp3 service (for the US only) that offers better bitrates and zero-DRM.

Apple needs to do something or they'll start loosing customers.

I much prefer buying the CD, ripping it, then boxing it up as a backup.
 
As long as they don't force me to subscribe, fine.

I agree about the DRM. It only punishes people, like myself, who actually buy the music. Doesn't make a shred of difference to the pirates and file sharers. Fortunately I have an iPod so the DRM issue for me is fairly transparent, but it does leave a bitter taste.
 
I must say guys, I've had an American iTunes account for some years, and have spent many a $100's on it. Seriously.

I love buying music, movies & tv shows...yea ok I may still acquire stuff from other places *ahem* but on the whole I'm a legit guy :p

A monthly subscription kinda appeals to me, but it just depends on price. I doubt it will be a cheap as EVH guesses.

:)
 
theheyes said:
As long as they don't force me to subscribe, fine.
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I agree, they'd probably do better to offer the choice IMO.

For example, if you're a person looking for a rare song, or a person who goes to buy an album every 1 or 2 months then a subscription model is just going to rape you.

I can't see how they'll allow unlimited downloads for a set-price either, the record companies already hate Apple's strangehold for online music distribution.

Time will tell, (The Financial Times are pretty good at these things) so it can't be far away.
 
Sic said:
why?
Click to expand...

Un-DRM'd wont work on a subscription because for a subscription to work, all the music needs to be 'time bombed' with the DRM so it knows to check if you are still subscribed, renew the license then allow you to continue using it.

If you didn't have DRM protected subscription people would subscribe for a month, download all the songs they wanted, cancel their sub and keep the music.

Unless the Apple model is radically different from everyone elses.
 
JUMPURS said:
I thought the music companies wanted Apple to use a subscription model and Steve Jobs said no.
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They did, and he did indeed say no.

However, my point was that Apple has the iPod tied to iTunes and they've downright refused to offer anything-but fixed pricing.

Between the 2 issues ^ the record companies got pee'd off and started pulling content from Apple (See: ABC pulling out of contract renewal) to see if Apple would give in, and try to "level the field" as it were.
 
Engadget expands on the story a bit:

- It's likely to follow Nokia's "comes with music" model whereby you pay a premium for the device and then get 12 months of free music
- It's likely to be limited to iPhones, since Apple can tack the charge onto the line rental bill

I'd happily pay £7-10 a month for unlimited music on my iPod touch. No way would I swap to an iPhone just for this feature though.
 
I cant count the number of times I've heard a song on the tv, an advert or something, then checked it out on name that tune, and then checked it out on itunes...

More often than not, I end up buying an entire album, which at £7.99 is good!

I know a lot of people like to collect cds etc, I do it with DVD's - but I've now decided to unclutter my life and now I'll only download music from the interweb..

I'd be interested in a subscription based service.. There's a company called e-music who do a similar thing and all their music is DRM free (as far as I can recall..)

If apple do switch to this kind of business model - it'll be going against what Steve Jobs said when approached by the record industries.. I think ABC pulled out...as EVH mentioned

EDIT// wish I'd read the post above!

Interesting to see how this pans out!

Tom
 
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