iTunes Subscription Speculation

[~loserman~]

What do people NOT get about this. Say they are "only" making two cents "profit" per song. With 300 million songs sold, that means 6 million in profit. Now, profit is much different than revenue. So if they are truly making a "profit" of any sort, great. With expected downloads to increase, who would cry at any profit. Sure, it pushes iPods, but as market share increases you get in to economies of scale. The larger the market share iTunes comands means the more Apple can demand from the labels - or - since it is set up, expenses can decrease increasing the actual profit (profit=revenues-expenses).

Nothing wrong with adding a subscription model so long as it doesn't eat away at the profit. Let Apple make some profit on this. At least it isn't the Microsoft way of using a loss leader or just throwing money out the window to force people into submission.

Actually I think you by accident make my point for me. The reason I brought up the small profit is If Apple does Fair Play this could hurt them in iPOD sales. While they may have made say 6 mil in profit off of iTunes they probably made close to a billion off iPOD sales in profit.

I would be willing to bet if iPOD sales ever start to flounder then Apple would drop the iTUNES store. Many companies of Apples size will not stay in a venture... even if profitable if the margins are too small. IMO iTunes would be one of those without the iPOD.

 

[Doctor Q]

Hey Doctor Q - seen the latest rumor on the front page yet?

Steve Jobs doesn't change his mind very often. Since he still hasn't given in to demands for rentable music, I don't think he'll change his opinion about single-button mice either.

 

[applebum]

Steve Jobs doesn't change his mind very often. Since he still hasn't given in to demands for rentable music, I don't think he'll change his opinion about single-button mice either.

Did you type that with a straight face?

 

[JesterJJZ]

I guess I wouldn't care as long as they made it optional. I only buy like a song or 2 if any from itunes. I'm one of those qualty nuts that needs everything at at least 192 if not 320. I prefer getting used cds for like 5 bucks on amazon. With shipping its about 10 bucks a cd if that. And I can rip to any format I want. 320 mp3 my preference. I have an mp3 player in my car that's why I use mp3.

 

[Doctor Q]

Did you type that with a straight face?

No. In fact, I always have an evil grin.

However, when there are rumors that Apple will surprise us by changing direction (two-button mouse, rentable music, OS X on Intel, "iPod movie", etc.), I play the odds and bet against it.

In fact, I still claim the iPod shuffle doesn't really exist, since Steve used to badmouth memory-based MP3 players. :evilgrin:

 

[PlaceofDis]

No. In fact, I always have an evil grin.

However, when there are rumors that Apple will surprise us by changing direction (two-button mouse, rentable music, OS X on Intel, "iPod movie", etc.), I play the odds and bet against it.

In fact, I still claim the iPod shuffle doesn't really exist, since Steve used to badmouth memory-based MP3 players. :evilgrin:

i am with you on the mouse and OS X on Intel, i dont know what this is about an iPod movie.......

but the shuffle was a good idea, helps solidify Apple's dominance over the whole MP3 Player market, and steve hated the other ones, he probably likes the shuffle because it takes a different approach

the subscription service i think is going to happen sooner or later, as with what happened with the Shuffle....

why?

well now that i think about it, Apple aren't using iTunes to it's greatest advantage, keeping people using it and you keep people buying iPods...subscription service does this without a problem, however, i think Apple is waiting to come out with this because they want to approch ing from a different angle. they want to offer a different subscription sercive that is unlike the others out there....who knows what it will be though

 

[pubwvj]

Doing both would be a smart move and counter the likes of Napster. You could download for listening on a monthly basis ($10/month) all the tunes you like and keep them as long as you are subscribed but the songs you want to own you buy for 99¢ each.

Apple could one-up Napster by having your iTunes play list remember the songs you like to have such that if you drop your subscription but then resubscribe later you would still have your list and wouldn't have to reorganize your list. More over, if you drop the subscription you could be able to click on a subscription song, iTunes asks do you want to 1) buy it, 2) resubscribe or 3) skip it. You've got the best of all worlds that way and you're still legal.

 

[vieoray]

at first i didn't like the idea of a subscription iTunes. but i've thought about it some, and i think it might not be too bad, and i might actually be interested. while i like to own music that i like, there is music out there i would like to listen to that maybe i don't want to buy...for example, i don't much care for the black eyed peas but hearing their songs used in the iMac introduction video and on other apple stuff, i kind of started liking one or two songs. same goes with stuff on tv or the radio...i might only want to listen to it for two or three weeks, or two or three months, and never again. i wouldn't mind paying a monthly fee to have access to music like that, and i also think i would end up finding music i loved alot more than on a temporary basis and would end up spending the money to own it.

 

[wdlove]

Steve Jobs doesn't change his mind very often. Since he still hasn't given in to demands for rentable music, I don't think he'll change his opinion about single-button mice either.

I for one treat highly an opinion of Doctor Q. They come from educational knowledge.

 

[Lacero]

He doesn't have complete say; he could be forced by the Board of Directors to mandate 2-button mouse, or even all the emails they get from PC users switching over and becoming irate at a loss of a mouse button.

 

[corywoolf]

I think this subscription service would be great. It would make sense to have a deal where, if you put one of the songs on your mac/ ipod and like it enough to want to own it, then you get a discount on it. This is probably a person who will work on the quicktime movie store, where you can rent, buy, and put 'em on your ipod movie or your mac. Seriously, it will take a couple years before it actually is available, but you have to start sometime.

 

[LionelEHutz]

I've been using eMusic.com since December '04 because iTunes just doesn't carry enough of the music that I am interested in buying. iTunes is good, but it's not the end all be all of online music. The mp3's that eMusic distributes are oftentimes encoded at a higher bit rate than Apple's protected AAC files, plus, there's no restriction on how many computers you get to use the file on, no restrictions on CD burning, or anything.

 

[chaos86]

Do you shop at iTMS? If you do, you don't really own any thing you have bought there. You own a license to play that song on up to 5 computers and an unlimited number of iPods. That could change though. With the DRM system Apple uses you don't have much ownership of the actual song, as you would have to break the law (DMCA) in order to use it should Apple go under or decide to stop making iPods/iTunes, etc.

You're really renting it for 99cents for a "lifetime" of use.

no, if apple goes under they will release something to unlock all the files

 

[wdlove]

no, if apple goes under they will release something to unlock all the files

I consider my ownership of a song from iTMS the same as a CD. Once purchased you own the song. The restrictions seem to be that same as with software.

 

[Lacero]

What do you mean if Apple folds the songs become useless? Does Apple keep track of DRM from songs you transfer between computers?

 

[Decanus]

iTunes movies

Subscription service for movies perhaps?

Exactly.

 

[Inspector Lee]

I agree with you there. More likely she's been hired to make improvements in .Mac, wouldn't you think?

Maybe that is where the subscription service will show up. Don't want to turn this into a whole pro/con .Mac thread but this would be a nice additional feature and could be a good testing ground. .Mac is currently $8.33/month. If they were somehow able (as I begin talking out my backside) to include this... Napster would be absolutely done a la Dillinger.

 

[wdlove]

Maybe that is where the subscription service will show up. Don't want to turn this into a whole pro/con .Mac thread but this would be a nice additional feature and could be a good testing ground. .Mac is currently $8.33/month. If they were somehow able (as I begin talking out my backside) to include this... Napster would be absolutely done a la Dillinger.

I would prefer to have an option to either have a purchase or subscription. Are you think that this might show up in .Mac first?

 

[Lacero]

Apple should offer a subscription service to those people who wish to discover new music and not too overly concerned with owning music. I think owning music is slightly overrated. I have a whole bunch of CDs I bought over the years and I am appalled I hardly ever listen to them anymore, even when them digitized and in my iPods.

My life is so busy as it is, I think I'll never listen to some of the tracks on my CDs ever again. Serious. 10,000 songs x 4 minutes each, and that's like 40,000 minutes. Figure out how many days that is and it really is a waste of time.

 

[iindigo]

I surely hope this doesn't happen, cuz if it's anything like Napster's subscribtion plan it's retarded...

 

[HasanDaddy]

Apple better do something soon

it may not manifest itself now, but Apple is going to quickly lose customers to a $15 a month service, like Napster

If not a good subsrciption price, then we gotta see a price reduction in the song prices

 

[~loserman~]

I surely hope this doesn't happen, cuz if it's anything like Napster's subscribtion plan it's retarded...

I think Napster's plan is fine. If some people don't want to rent their music they won't. Some will like it.

ITUNES Store WILL add subscription service it's just a matter of time.

 

[jaw04005]

He doesn't have complete say; he could be forced by the Board of Directors to mandate 2-button mouse, or even all the emails they get from PC users switching over and becoming irate at a loss of a mouse button.

Have you seen Apple's Board of Directors? The board is practically a "club" of Steve Job's best friends. Hehe.

Steve ousted the old Apple board upon his return in 1999, and filled it with people that would not oppose him. How many boards have the former Vice President of the United States? Very few, if any...

 

[jaw04005]

I surely hope this doesn't happen, cuz if it's anything like Napster's subscribtion plan it's retarded...

I'm with yah. Napster to Go is ridiculous. Every three or four days, you have to log back into Napster through the Windows Media Player interface and relogon to your account, which reactivates your music.

If you have a large collection (2000+), WMP rescans every music file and updates it with a new license. It takes practically 15 to 20 minutes on my 3Ghz P4 w/ 1GB ram every few days. In the meantime, WMP appears to be "not responding" and the most people are not going to know what's going on.

Also, if you have a compatible WM device, it requires a re-sync every few days or it will disable your music.

I can see once a month, but not every few days... ridiculous. I predict Napster To Go will be less of a concern, six months down the road... when everyone has at least tried it.

 

[Inspector Lee]

I would prefer to have an option to either have a purchase or subscription. Are you think that this might show up in .Mac first?

Just pure speculation on my part. If they wanted to test it in a very small niche, they could start with .Mac subscribers as either an included feature or add-on and go from there.

Based on the release history of iPod and iTunes, it wouldn't surprise me if this thing was Mac-only to start before migrating to windows. However, with the mass proliferation of iPods being used on both platforms, this may not be wise.

Nonetheless, I am concerned about the current "napster hack" and its implications on the future of digital music. I don't want some RIAA fossil to have a coronary and pull the plug on everyone.

Again, pure speculation.