Off the wall iTunes idea that will never come.

[SimonLee5282]

Here is an idea for Apple, one that will never happen. Offer a subscription model, fifteen dollars a month for a subscription model with porting to the iPod. But as an added bonus, your first fifteen permanent downloads are included. Extras are still $.99.

In other words, you get to have access to the entire library if you pay for fifteen permanent downloads a month. They can be kept forever. That way music buyers will be happy because they keep thier music that they paid for, and get the benifit of taking the entire library with them, and when they cancel they get to keep the fifteen tracks and whatever extra they purchased. If fifteen dollars is not enough, make it twenty dollars or whatever, but give twenty permanent downloads, or maybe even twenty five dolalrs a month, however much apple needs to support the model.

But, it will never happen.

 

[mad jew]

So are you suggesting a combined subscription and outright purchasing method for iTunes? That'd be pretty cool IMO, but I don't know how they'll be able to get the right DRM on each tune. I can't see that it'd be all that simple.

 

[SimonLee5282]

So are you suggesting a combined subscription and outright purchasing method for iTunes? That'd be pretty cool IMO, but I don't know how they'll be able to get the right DRM on each tune. I can't see that it'd be all that simple.

I cant eather, and that is why i cant ever see it happening.

 

[cube]

You know, I decided to never buy compressed,DRM-infected music, but with this model, I think I'd go for it.

 

[mad jew]

The more I think about it, the more I like it. You get the best of both worlds. One question: how does ITMS currently assign the DRM stuff? From memory, I read somewhere that it's attached to the track as it's downloaded which means that this concept isn't as tricky as I first thought. Apple would just have to create a new DRM code for the subscription-based tunes. Of course, that's easier said than done but these are the same people who made Tiger.

Of course, if the DRM stuff is already attached to the music they'll have to get two copies of each song they sell which would be pretty taxing on their resources I'd imagine.

 

[SimonLee5282]

maybe they can offer it only on mac platforms. Then promote the mac mini and use the new iTunes and the mini mac to get people onto the mac platform. I have always wanted a mac, but never able to afford one. I should have enough saved up for the 20 inch iMac come janurary.

 

[SimonLee5282]

Of course, if the DRM stuff is already attached to the music they'll have to get two copies of each song they sell which would be pretty taxing on their resources I'd imagine.

No, just change the DRM of the song from a temp to a permanant one when one is purchased, or used as the bonus free one.

 

[Sharewaredemon]

This is actually a really good idea, though I'm not sure I could afford it, I really like it.

I mean.... never mind, 180 bucks isn't bad at all, I've spent that in less than a year already.

This would be really cool, because what you could be doing is sampling the music you will want to buy next month.

For example you get your 15 songs for that month, and are listening to you subscription based ones, and realise that you want them, so you go and get those songs for permanent download next month.

 

[howard]

that is really cool

it would basically be, for me at least, having free complete "samples" of everytihng. in otherwords, i'd listen to a bunch of stuff, and then when it comes to buy stuff i'd pick my 15 favorite songs that i'd been listening to that month. Thats a really cool idea.

 

[dongmin]

Here is an idea for Apple, one that will never happen. Offer a subscription model, fifteen dollars a month for a subscription model with porting to the iPod. But as an added bonus, your first fifteen permanent downloads are included. Extras are still $.99.

In other words, you get to have access to the entire library if you pay for fifteen permanent downloads a month. They can be kept forever. That way music buyers will be happy because they keep thier music that they paid for, and get the benifit of taking the entire library with them, and when they cancel they get to keep the fifteen tracks and whatever extra they purchased. If fifteen dollars is not enough, make it twenty dollars or whatever, but give twenty permanent downloads, or maybe even twenty five dolalrs a month, however much apple needs to support the model.

But, it will never happen.

This is not all that different from what Yahoo! does with their service. The 'renting' service is $5 a month. And tracks are $.79 to buy. So if you buy more than 25 songs, you are saving money over Apple's model.

Several 'analysts' have stated that Apple can implement such a system at the drop of a hat, if they feel that's what the customer wants.

 

[Chip NoVaMac]

I too like this idea. Apple could have a button on ITMS or a button press on the iPod that allowed you to purchase the song you were listening to.

 

[dhracer88]

I like the idea, but I go through so much music each month it wouldn't work for me. Emusic works great for me though, although I wish I paid $15 for the 60 someodd downloads per month. If Apple offered a service like emusic (a subscription service where you can download and redownload your songs with no limits and had higher quality songs or more options I guess--like AAC, mp3, Lossless), I might do it, so I can have access to the big labels. But it'd have to be cheap, like the $10/mo I pay for 40 songs at (usually) >180kbps. Plus, there would be a tell-a-friend program so I can get more songs by informing others of the service (click link below to let me tell you about emusic ). This is all fantasy though .

 

[mcmav37]

The more I think about it, the more I like it. You get the best of both worlds. One question: how does ITMS currently assign the DRM stuff? From memory, I read somewhere that it's attached to the track as it's downloaded which means that this concept isn't as tricky as I first thought. Apple would just have to create a new DRM code for the subscription-based tunes. Of course, that's easier said than done but these are the same people who made Tiger.

Of course, if the DRM stuff is already attached to the music they'll have to get two copies of each song they sell which would be pretty taxing on their resources I'd imagine.

Actually, remember that linux program that allowed people to access iTMS songs without having any DRM? I believe the reason that worked is because the downloaded files, themselves have not DRM... it is all applied/enforced by iTunes itself. So, with the subscription service as already described, download all the songs you want, listen to them on your computer or iPod as long as you pay your monthly fee... unless you access the new section of iTunes that allows you to switch the DRM on a specific song from "rental" to "buy"? It would be just like the "Purchased Music" playlist. At the far right of each song would be a "buy this song forever" button. Your remaining credits for the month (if any) would show up in the upper right just as they do in the store and could pop up in a dialog box when you try to "buy" the song.

I think it would be awesome and could be very easily implemented.

 

[Mechcozmo]

The files, while AAC files, are wrapped up in DRM. It isn't just iTunes, which allows you unlock the files on the fly.

 

[corywoolf]

Awesome Idea...

I wish I knew someone who worked at apple, I'd tell them in a second. Good thinking.

 

[SimonLee5282]

I like the idea, but I go through so much music each month it wouldn't work for me. Emusic works great for me though, although I wish I paid $15 for the 60 someodd downloads per month. If Apple offered a service like emusic (a subscription service where you can download and redownload your songs with no limits and had higher quality songs or more options I guess--like AAC, mp3, Lossless), I might do it, so I can have access to the big labels. But it'd have to be cheap, like the $10/mo I pay for 40 songs at (usually) >180kbps. Plus, there would be a tell-a-friend program so I can get more songs by informing others of the service (click link below to let me tell you about emusic ). This is all fantasy though .

Under my iminagary plan that we will never see, you can transfer as much music as you want to your iPod, and listen to it all. But once you cancel, you would loose it all, EXCEPT for the fifteen songs a month you taged as permanent. If you want to have more, then you buy it for .99 each. As far as emusic goes it is awesome, but it is independs who have thier music on there, so you will never hear the popular music on ther. I think emusic is awesome though, because it gives independents a chance to be herd.

 

[mcmav37]

The files, while AAC files, are wrapped up in DRM. It isn't just iTunes, which allows you unlock the files on the fly.

Well, this article about the iTunes "hack" seems to say otherwise. Fairplay is added by iTunes, at least it used to be... don't know how the iTunes updates have changed this.

Here is a quote, "the iTunes store downloads songs wrapped in encryption, but that music purchasers are given the key to unlock that encryption when they buy a song. Ordinarily, the iTunes software would then rewrap the song in Apple's FairPlay digital rights management software"

So, if iTunes could choose which "type" of Fairplay to add to a file, the system proposed in this thread is possible.