The subscription versus download debate continues...
We reported earlier that music industry heavies
believe a subscription-based model of digital music acquisition will eventually win out over the iTunes Music Store’s
pay-per-download model. The
latest comes from Napster chief Chris Gorog, who quips about the iPod: “You can fit 10,000 songs on it… [but] to
do that would cost you $10,000 if you bought the songs from Apple. With our plan, customers can get 10,000 songs on
their device for $180 a year. It’s an enormous value.”
It *is* a good value, but it’s tied to your PC. If you want to move your tracks to a portable device or to CD, you
still have to shell out $1 per track. As reader Doug
Grissom suggests, who not make the subscription itself portable? Dock your (insert non-iPod player here because
Microsoft’s DRM won’t work with the real deal ;)) and replenish it with a whole new selection of music whenever you
like, for a low monthly fee. That’s a concept that just might rock.