Yet another Apple rumour, this time about iTunes allowing some type of subscription model:
Media Biz Apple changes its iTune? «
In this case, the comments to the blog entry are, dare I say, more insightful than the entry itself. Movie subscriptions would make more sense than music subscriptions because people are used to rent movies.
OTOH, a WiFi-enabled device which could play any music in the iTunes catalogue could be interesting in a context of DRM-free music tracks.
Yes, there is a logic to this. If you can buy DRM-free tracks, renting DRMed music can make sense as an advanced music discovery service (complete “excerpts”). Especially if you’re provided with a way to share the DRMed music with people who subscribe to the same service. And use a WiFi connection to get music directly on the device.
In fact, an iTunes version of the Ruckus model could work really well. “If you want to keep this track, as a higher quality, DRM-free file, you can buy it directly.” And Apple can bring together ideas from Last.fm, Pandora.com, eMusic, Calabash Music, Microsoft’s Zune, Ruckus, the new Napster, the new Bittorrent, and even MySpace.
It probably won’t happen. But if it does, it could be cool.
The “buffet,” “à la carte,” and “table d’hôte” systems can coexist.
Now, I’m getting hungry.
Disparate 