Online Music Subscriptions: Color Me Confused
Category: Music... Tech...
Posted Tuesday, May 10, 2005 at 03:59 PM [GMT-6]

Tomorrow, Yahoo will roll out its new online music service, where subscribers will pay $6.99/month or $60/year to rent music. This service will compete with similar offerings from RealNetworks and Napster.

I just don't understand the appeal of renting music. Perhaps it's a generational thing, but I want to own the music I pay for, and I don't want to have to worry about my entire collection disappearing if I'm a day late with a payment. I'm already dealing with more restrictions than I like by using Apple's iTunes Music Store, but at least it's my music (as permitted by Apple's license and DRM restrictions).

Up to this point, millions of people seem to agree with me on this, as the ITMS continues to dominate the market. So I can't help wondering where the Wall Street Journal comes up with the following assertion, from its story on the Yahoo announcement:

Apple has previously been critical of the subscription model, but services from Yahoo, RealNetworks, Napster Inc. and others could eventually pressure it to release its own offering.

I suppose that there's no harm done if Apple decides to make the subscription model an add-on to its primary ITMS approach, but I suspect the market numbers will have to be much more impressive than they are now for that to happen.

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Comments

Nope, it's not a generational thing, Eric. Like you, I want to own what I paid for. It's probably why I insist on buying CDs (or immediately burning a CDR after making a back-up).

I'll go you one better than being late with a payment. What happens if the site gets hacked or a server crashes? What then?

It wouldn't at all suprise me that there's something buried in the terms of service that allows Yahoo to essentially shrug it off. That, or some legal distinction that technically separates the service as a separate company allowing Yahoo to divest it in case of a catastrophic failure.

Posted by: Mr. Freen at May 10, 2005 09:26 PM

Good point about the hacking. And even if Yahoo made you whole financially, there's little chance they would (or could) re-create your music catalog. And who'd want to re-download 1,000 or 4,000 or whatever songs again anyway?

Posted by: Eric at May 10, 2005 10:16 PM

Rent music? Seriously? That's how those things work? I quit MusicMatch once I realized that what I bought was so full of DRM as to be unusable in the way I wanted it to use it.

Posted by: Scott Chaffin at May 11, 2005 08:37 AM

Yep. The subscription model gives you the right to download as much music as you want and keep it as long as you want...as long as you're paying the monthly fee. If you ever fail to do so...poof!...your music is gone, and you get to start over again.

Pretty draconian approach...

Posted by: Eric at May 11, 2005 09:13 AM
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