iTunes Store Subscriptions?

Although the bulk of the industry has embraced the subscription model, Apple’s own iTunes Store has shunned them outright since day one. So far, the numbers speak for themselves, and it is obvious that Apple had the right to it, but will that change in the future?

Les Ottolenghi, CEO of INTENT MediaWorks, a digital distribution system that works with peer-to-peer networks, said he’s had meetings with people from Apple and he believes the company will announce a subscription service for iTunes within the next six months. "I think Apple is seriously considering a subscription offering right now even though they will probably tell you otherwise," he said.

So far, Apple’s model has proven to work, and Jobs has repeatedly stated that customers want to own their music, not rent it. Others, Ottolenghi included, think that while music subscription services have struggled against iTunes so far, this is not because consumers are necessarily averse to paying monthly subscriptions. Instead, the theory is that the aversion towards subscriptions stems from the fact that Apple, the industry leader and trendsetter, has shunned them.

It seems unlikely that with all the subscription services out there, not one of them would rise up if that’s was what customers really wanted. The iTunes Store has been doing very well, hitting record sales numbers, and there has been no public outcry over the lack of a subscription service. If anything, with the recent EMI partnership and DRM free offerings, Apple has actually taken a clear step away from subscriptions, which are by definition DRM heavy.

While all this stands true for music, movies are a different beast altogether, and there seems to be a keen interest in an iTunes Subscription service for movies and TV shows. Especially with the introduction of the Apple TV, such a service would make more sense than ever, since the device is especially catered towards streaming the content from remote sources, that can include either your own computer, or the iTunes Store directly.

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