There are rumors and then there are "rumors". This one falls under the later category that Apple may be taking its iTunes DRM free. While not every rumor makes it to the front page this one can't seem to die off. Again and again we have heard trickles of whispers that it may happen.The idea is that DRM free services such as Amazon may catch on much faster than Apple's DRM filled iTunes store. It only makes sense that at some point Apple would finally seal a deal with the major four record labels to sell DRM free songs as well.
It was also noted that a subscription based iTunes model may not be too far off either. Simply, Apple is again feeling pressure from Microsoft with its Zune software and services. Many iTunes users would openly welcome a subscription based model but time will tell with this rumor.
All of the above are rumors but they are growing in stature as they won't seem to ever go away. Each rumor should be taken with a grain of salt but when a rumor pops up like this on multiple occasions there is generally some truth behind it.
See, I would actually love an iTunes subscription model...id gladly pay 10-15 a month for unlimited downloads...
I will never understand people who say that. You don't complain about a cable TV or satellite radio subscription where the content stops working the moment you stop paying, why should this be viewed any different? If you don't like the idea then don't use it, buy your music instead of renting it, but it is not a flawed business model.
I will say that I use Amazon MP3 downloads for everything now simply because it is DRM free and I can use it on my BlackBerry, car MP3 player, iPod, any device I want. iTunes seems a little easier to use, especially being able to buy content directly with the iPhone or iPod touch, so I would probably switch if they made their stuff DRM free. I am not interested in a subscription because I am more interesting in listening to the songs I love than always loading my device up with the latest new songs.
Last edited by sphbecker on 09 Dec 2008 - 19:22
Exactly my point. Buy it once, play it everywhere.
Sounds like CD to me (I know, I'm old school, but it has some unbeatable advantages).
Nokia's 'Comes With Music' is ~$100 (free with new Nokia phones) for a whole year and you can keep the music forever. How's that?
That's less than $10 a month for unlimited legal music. Kept forever.
Times change and so do attitudes.
http://www.listening-tests.info/mp3-128-1/index.htm
However, if you only own lossy files, you have no way of taking advantage of that.
The primary purpose of lossless media is archiving. That way, you can transcode into better, smaller, higher-quality lossy formats as they come along.
DRM free lossless would mean I could scrap CDs once-and-for-all.
Only reason to hold onto any of the CDs now is for the art.
Seconded. I have a 300GB firewire hard disk that I use (almost) exclusively for audio. The MP3s on it are slowly but surely being replaced by FLACs as I download various music (mostly metal), discover I like it, then order the CDs off Amazion (huzzah!) and rip them to FLAC, ditching the MP3 version.
Yeah, FLAC files are big, but storage is cheap these days - you can get 1TB for what, $100? That's plenty, and with external enclosures it's really easy to expand out your storage solution as big as you need it to accommodate all your files.
How exactly do you wear out a CD? Nothing touches it but a beam of light.
Bit rot, scratching, cracks etc.
I used 7digital here in the states to get a UK album. Paid with paypal and it was only like $7.99. I saw a lot of big names but I'm not quite sure how big their selection is.
us.digital.com
They have all the major record companies I believe, in fact the only artist I can think of that they don't have is the Beatles, but that can also be said for all other online services. They also apparrently offer FLAC on some songs for no extra cost, but i've not actually seen any songs with that option. All songs tend to be 80p, although they do have sales sometimes.
Also I'm pretty sure some albums (like some of Radioheads) can only be bought as an album, which is why they're not on itunes. I love 7digital
Where did you get this from?
If the zune subscription model wasnt working then the rumor of itunes subscription would never of happened
Erm, methinks you mean "speculative." "Specular" means "of, related to, or having the qualities of a mirror."
Yeah, it was early and I was rushed, still stupidity on my part is stupidity on my part.
The rumors of an iTunes subscription service are older than the Zune. The one linked is 1 week before the release of the first Zune and even earlier "mumbling" about such a plan isn't hard to find.
There's far more reason to expect that this is the Apple rumor mill adapting years-old fantasies to suit the current state of affairs than that the competition from the Zune market place is forcing Apple into a subscription model.
No there isn't.
For the hundreds of rumor / speculation posts a year it's no wonder eventually some of them get something right. There are far fewer hits than misses, and the ratio is so poor that increased "noise" doesn't really tell you anything but that another trade show is creeping up (WWDC, a Music Event, or in this case: Macworld 2009 in less than a month.)
-Spenser
What the general public fails to understand is that even when you buy a CD you do not own anything but the plastic shell. When you buy a CD you buy the *right* to listen to that CD. Unfortunatley, this does not translate well into the digital realm. It is important to recognize that Apple's $0.99 system is the exact same system used by recod labels - selling tracks but with the copy feature heavily restricted. With digital, however, the future is clearly with the subscription models.
When you rip or download a digitial music file you actually possess nothing. the file is treated by the computer as any other file and its ability to open and be copied is the same as with any other file - its controlled by rights. This plays into the Copyright system. Advocates of DRM-free look at usage not from the file perspective, but from what the user wants to do with that file. Despite the technological and business model differences, if you download a digital music track all you acquire is the right to listen to that track. Even if you download an unauthorized copy (this is why the RIAA is going after people who POST files for sharing)
Ultimately, an etherial system that allows users to acquire the right to listen is the wave of the future. Going to subscription just lowers the cost to the consumer and limits the royalties - considering distributing electronically cost loads less than printing tangible media those royalities should be lower anyway.
Its actually the Netflix model.
I also use Beatport, 7Digital and TrackItDown.
DRM-free unlimited legal downloads for ~$100 / year ($8 a month). First year free with new phone. You can also keep the music forever.
How are they going to beat this?
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