Apple may be attempting to regain their stranglehold on the online music industry by invading Spotify’s turf. According to Billboard Magazine, Apple is ready to launch a service that would rival Spotify and provide a subscription to the iTunes library. From Mashable:
The company took its first major step into streaming last year with the launch of iTunes Radio, a service similar to Pandora that allows users to listen to, and curate radio stations based on genres and types of artists. They also have the option to buy any song being played.
By moving toward a model similar to Spotify, as the report suggested, Apple could effectively offer music fans more tunes at a lower price.
An anonymous source from one major label told Billboard, “They are feeling out some people at labels on thoughts about transitioning its customers from iTunes proper to a streaming service … So when you buy a song for $1.29, and you put it in your library, iTunes might send an email pointing out that for a total of, say, $8 a month you can access that song plus all the music in the iTunes store. It’s all in the ‘what if’ stage.”
I’m an old man, so I still enjoy having some sort of media connected to my music for some reason. The idea of a streaming service is nice, but I don’t know if it would draw a person like me away from just having the music files on my computer. Pandora is fun on the go and Google music allows access to your library via a cloud service.
I wouldn’t be shocked if Apple allowed you to access iTunes the same way and with the introduction of an Android version of iTunes, it could very well be a tech war on all fronts with Apple on the offensive.
Meanwhile, my uncle is still awaiting the return of 8-track tapes to the mainstream. You might call him an idiot for believing in dying media, but you’d have to get in line behind the rest of my family first.
(Via Mashable)