How Will Apple Improve iTunes?

Posted by: Peter Burrows on September 08

So it’s pretty clear that Apple plans to rock us with new iPods tomorrow, which no doubt will be fun (though I hope rumors of the fatty iPod’s demise are exaggerated. It’s my favorite iPod so far).

But enough about the hardware. What about iTunes? As Steve Jobs often points out, software is what sets Apple apart most—and Apple’s digital music store and jukebox seem more than a little stale to me. Plain old downloads, same old promotion of [mostly] the same old pop hits. In fact, just when I was wondering if Microsoft would call it quits on its poor-selling Zune, they’ve announced improvements that sound great to my ears (I won’t get the demo until Thursday; Microsoft insists the announcements leaked ahead of a news embargo, but I find it hard to believe someone didn’t want the word to get out on the eve before Apple’s event). Of course, Zune will almost surely never be a match for Apple’s iPod iTunes juggernaut—certainly not in terms of market share, the ultimate measure of success. But Microsoft now seems to be breaking down artificial barriers between technologies—say, by allowing wireless streaming or downloading of songs you hear on the new device’s FM radios—in a way that simply lets people listen to music how they want to.

I’m sure Apple will have its share of iTunes improvements tomorrow. But here’s a few items on my wishlist (leaving out some that are too much to hope for, such as the ability to play rival subscription services on my iPod and iPhone):

— Better recommendation engine. The “Just for You” section in iTunes is okay, but Apple knows far more about people’s musical tastes than what they buy at its online store. How about mining all of those tracks people rip from their CD collections or listen to on social networking sites? Yes, I know there are privacy concerns—but we’re talking about music here, folks. Do I really care if people know what music I like? OK, I’ll just admit it: I think Journey rocks!

— On-the-fly podcast synching. I’ve never believed that people will acquire most of their music via a tiny portable device and a wireless network (I never agreed with our 2005 story about how cellphones would emerge as iPod Killers). But I definitely want my iPod to grab the latest feeds from my favorite podcasts as soon as they are available. I’m tired of having to synch my iPod to get the latest NY Times headlines or installments of Terry Gross’ Fresh Air. Podcasting is great, but it would be so much more essential to people’s lives if it were a more real-time medium for iPod owners.

— A greater focus on DRM-free music. OK, so Apple’s deal with EMI didn’t set off a torrent of DRM-free music sales. But hopefully, Apple has finally urged the other labels to let it sell their music without protections as well. That’s assuming Apple even wants this to happen. The iTunes Plus store doesn’t give one the impression Apple wants to maximize sales of such unprotected music. For example, it’s currently only possible to upgrade all of your DRMed music to iTunes Plus tracks, at $.30 a pop. Personally, I wouldn’t mind being able to convert a few of my iTunes purchases to run on other devices. But I’m not going to pay that tab to upgrade every last track, most of which I’ve long since lost interest in.

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