Stephen Withers
Thursday, 21 August 2008 07:55
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 3
Although Apple in general and Steve Jobs in particular have eschewed subscription music, there's a suggestion that we'll see an about-face before September is out.
MacDailyNews says it has received word from "an anonymous tipster" that "iTunes Unlimited" will be announced in September, with the service going live in late October.
We all know that anonymous tips can turn out to be anything from being bang on the money to pure fantasy, so let's not get too excited at this stage. Instead, let's assume this one is true and ponder the implications.
Is it possible for Apple to have greater success in this field than other companies have managed?
Part of the issue other subscription services have had to face is the iPod's huge market share. If a service doesn't work with the iPod or iPhone (and they all seem to rely on Microsoft's WMA format and DRM system), it'll have limited appeal. And remember that while Apple's FairPlay DRM works on Windows as well as Mac OS X, protected WMA files play on Windows but not Mac OS X.
Importantly, the MacDailyNews tipster asserts that iTunes Unlimited will be offered in parallel with the current sales system. If you want to keep buying music, there's no suggestion that outright sales are going away.
What's the appeal of subscription music, and how much might it cost? See page two.
