Subscription music coming to the iPhone?

Jake Widman
Tuesday, 25 August 2009 00:45

Your IT - Mobility

Online music service Rhapsody is submitting its streaming music app to the iPhone App Store for Apple's review. If approved, it won't be the first streaming music app, but it will be the first on-demand one. As such, it poses more of a challenge to iTunes than the other services do.

At present, there are three ways of getting music to your iPhone (or iPod Touch): download it from your computer, of course; listen to a streaming music service such as Pandora or Last.fm; or buy music from the iTunes store directly from your phone.

Of the three, the last has been the only way to get a song you want to hear that you don't already own.

That could change, if Rhapsody's app for the iPhone and iPod Touch is accepted by Apple. According to a company blog post , the application will be submitted this week.

Rhapsody provides online access to a library of 8 million songs, available for unlimited listening as long as the user keeps paying the monthly subscription fee.

Reportedly, the application, if approved, will require the Rhapsody To Go subscription (US$14.99/month), the version that enables Rhapsody music to be transferred to compatible players.

In addition to submitting an iPhone app, Real Networks is also working on an Android version, according to the blog post.