Subscription Music: Good, But...

Apple is reportedly considering a music rental service, a la Rhapsody or Napster. I happen to be a Rhapsody subscriber (though I use it less and less), but realistically, because it's incompatible with the iPod, its odds of major success are pretty limited. An iTunes-based rental service, compatible with the iPod, just might take subscription the next level.

The music industry would probably love it if Apple could get its denizens of iPodheads paying $15/month for all-you-can-eat music, but mainly because that would wean users of the track-based model. And where there are tracks, there's free and easy downloading.

The industry has definitely been talking this up -- I've listened to a few industry panels lately where folks were pounding the table on it. But it's all pretty transparent: subscription music is a way to change the model without changing the model. Car companies might be indifferent if you want to buy a car or lease car: what they don't want you to do is ride a bicycle to work. The big fear in the music industry is that everyone start riding bikes... so to prevent that, they'll find different ways to sell the same product for the same price -- just with different kinds of terms. Unfortunately, I think the genie is out of the box on this one and any attempt to lure it back in or probably sunk.