Harry McCracken at Technologizer looks at why consumers tend to favor the iTunes download model for music over the Rhapsody/Napster/Zune subscription model (which can sort of be considered "renting" a gigantic music library). As McCracken points out, the cost of buying a single album on iTunes can be more expensive than an entire month's subscription, so why is the market so heavily skewed towards downloads?
A few reasons:
But I think a combination of both might work. I'd happily pay a modest rental fee if, for example, I could access Rhapsody's entire library for the duration a party. I certainly would have saved a lot of money by renting access to music for a recent early 90s dance party I hosted rather than buying 30 individual songs that I'll probably never listen to again. And I'd definitely pay to be able to add music to a playlist as it occurs to me, rather than having to download songs and resynch my iPod.
McCracken is dubious about the future of subscription music. But I think there's a lot more experimentation to be done before the jury is in.
A few reasons:
- You really are "renting" the music. If you stop paying your subscription fee, you've got nothing to show for it, unlike a downloaded purchase.
- If the music service goes under (as some have), you lose your music even if your payments were up to date.
- Apple did one heckuva good job marketing the iPod and tying it to the iTunes music store. As McCracken points out, "I'd switch from buying music to subscribing it in a heartbeat...if you could do so and still own an iPod or iPhone." (He advises that if you don't already have a digital music player, you may want to look into getting one that supports subscription services.)
But I think a combination of both might work. I'd happily pay a modest rental fee if, for example, I could access Rhapsody's entire library for the duration a party. I certainly would have saved a lot of money by renting access to music for a recent early 90s dance party I hosted rather than buying 30 individual songs that I'll probably never listen to again. And I'd definitely pay to be able to add music to a playlist as it occurs to me, rather than having to download songs and resynch my iPod.
McCracken is dubious about the future of subscription music. But I think there's a lot more experimentation to be done before the jury is in.
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