04-16-2004, 03:00 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Connected Home: "Subscriptions Are the Future of Digital-Media Delivery"
"I've purchased more than 250 songs from Apple Computer's iTunes Music Store and probably a few dozen more at other online music stores such as BuyMusic.com, Musicmatch Downloads, Napster, and the RealPlayer Music Store. But these pay-per-play music stores are obviously a passing fad, and the future of online content delivery clearly has nothing to do with ownership of music. We'll soon look back on services such the iTunes Music Store and shake our heads, as we probably do today when discussing black-and-white TV or 8-track cassettes.
Although 99 cents might seem like a reasonable price for one song, it's expensive when you consider the capacity of a 20GB Apple iPod, Dell Digital Jukebox (DJ), or similar portable audio player. To fill up such a device using the iTunes Music Store or a competing service, you'd spend $19,800—more money than I spent on my last car (which, incidentally, I'm still paying off). That cost puts the exorbitant price of an iPod in perspective, doesn't it?"
I rather like that fact that Paul Thurrott isn't afraid to express a seemingly unpopular opinion! :way to go: The truth is that I can see a lot of logic in his approach - if I could get all the music I wanted for $10 USD a month, I'd sign up immediately. Who cares if I don't own it? For a meagre $120 USD a year, I'd get access to huge amounts of music that I could put on any device I wanted. I have over 500 CD (I think - I haven't counted lately!) so I consider myself serious about owning music - and I really can't see a huge downside to this. What do you think?
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