Now, Will Apple Do A Music Subscription Service?

Apple finally succeeded in getting rid of DRM in the iTunes store, a goal they got a lot of marketing mileage out of. I'd guess they aren't anxious to have their next move be putting it right back in via subscriptions -- particularly when, as indicated by your numbers, nobody cares about subscriptions in the first place.

The new in-app-purchasing will drive the total number of apps down.Why? There won`t be "lite"-versions of some apps.
So the consumer can download an app and then use the in-app-purchasing to buy the full version rather than download a new one.
This new method of buying apps will help make the AppStore more grown-up.

C'mon. You asked teenagers if they'd be "interested" in paying a $15-a-month subscription? Really? Could there possibly be any less reliable a group of monthly payment-makers than a bunch of kids? So what happens to this initial rush of pimply-faced subscribers after they miss a payment or two and their music begins to go "poof?" First of all, they'll be mad as hell, and of course they will blame it all on Apple. Then they'll run back to their P2P's in droves, undoing years of effort offering customers a legal alternative.

And I also agree with Mark U. What sense would it make to expend the energy Apple has in eliminating DRM, only to welcome it back with open arms? Jobs keeps saying no one cares about subscriptions, and the numbers keep proving him right. For Apple to embrace subscriptions now, even to, as you say, suck all the oxygen from their rivals, would be to say that they've been wrong all along, that subscriptions are a viable business model. As more subscription-based businesses appear and collapse, being able to say "I told you so" is more important to them than any additional crumb of profit they would realize through by jumping on that bandwagon.

If I could get access to every song ever recorded, and that access would be guaranteed in perpetuity, then I would be interested in a subscription service. Until then, I'll stick with CDs. Once I buy a CD, I am assured that I will be able to listen to those songs for the rest of my life.

The Macalope says it all in a nutshell (http://www.macworld.com/article/139950/2009/04/macalope_ruination.html): "If you consume a lot of music, it’s clearly a cheaper way to get your fix. But, unlike with purchasing your music, five years from now you could find yourself standing by the side of the road, $900 poorer with nothing to show for it."

I love Apple, iTunes, and iPods. However, I use a Sansa MP3 player for my music. Even though I have to run Windows in Parallels on my Mac just to update it, the extra work is worth it, as I have (mostly) unlimited access to all the music I can handle.

I would love to see Apple offer DRM-free purchases for keeps, as well as the option to rent the music for $15/mo. Heck, I'd even pay close to $20 to end the hacks that I have to use to get my Sansa player to sync with my iMac. Also, I wouldn't have to carry two players (still use iPod for podcasts).

The truth of this article is in the fact that most teens pirate the music. If you think about it, there is still 60% of the market left to reach. iTunes doesn't own the market, P2P does. I'm betting with an easy-to-use subscription model, and great marketing, they could significantly reduce the pirating market.

what if there was a subscription service DRM free, which includes unlimited downloading? Could this potentially come out soon?

I'm a Rhapsody subscriber but I'd switch to Apple in an instant if they offered a $15/month subscription service. The iPod Touch would be an ideal portable device for music subscriptions because you could download new tracks using its built-in wireless and not be forced to sync with a PC to get new music on it.

Ditto - I LOVE Rhapsody and our family listens to way more music and more variety then we ever did in the past. I used to spend way more that $15/month on CDs. No more. I have a subscription and can listen to virtually anything I want too. And if I tire of it I don't care. My young kids can experiment with all sorts of music without buying CDs or speding .89/song. I see no real reason to own music anymore. Just like I don't own movies either. I just call them up on netflix, or pay-per-view. Who needs the hassle of ever obsolescing media? I have no idea what happened to my 8-tracks, my cassettes are collecting dust and I had to give away my LPs 'cause no own would buy 'em. Now my CDs are competing for shelf space and collecting dust with DVDs and VHS tapes we rarely pull off the shelf. I get the content I need via other means and luv it that way.

I have a Zune subscription. 14.99 per month and can load up 3 devises and 3 PCs with as much music as they can hold and I get 10 songs to download and keep forever per month. This is the only reason I'm not an ipod owner. So tell me how a service like that for ipod won't work again? I'm just one Zune user who would switch to ipod touch in a heartbeat if they offered this service. There must be MILLIONS more of me.

I have a Zune subscription. 14.99 per month and can load up 3 devises and 3 PCs with as much music as they can hold and I get 10 songs to download and keep forever per month. This is the only reason I'm not an ipod owner. So tell me how a service like that for ipod won't work again? I'm just one Zune user who would switch to ipod touch in a heartbeat if they offered this service. There must be MILLIONS more of me. I agree with John R too. Why spend thousands for them to not work later anyway?

I can't decide between the Zune HD and Ipod Touch. I really want the Zune for its subscription and the Ipod Touch for everything else. I can't afford both, so I am still undecided. The Zune subscription service is so good that it makes it difficult to decide. If Apple had a subscription service, it would an easy to decide. Apple subscription service would kill the Zune.

I have a Zune pass, too. My wife just got an iPhone and it is awesome, but I am not willing to pay for each individual track. If there was a subscription iTunes I would b sorely tempted to switch.