I’m not too keen on the idea of paid filesharing programs, though enough entrepreneurs look favorably on the idea. With news that Napster will be back in a subscription format, and with other services whispered about, news of Apple getting involved has piqued some industry interest.
Currently, Apple’s strategy is very software-centric, given their lack of truly comparable desktop power compared to the PC market. Nonetheless, with Apple’s stunning innovation, their recent software announcements have turned a good number of heads, and with excellent hardware offerings (regardless of speed barrier), Apple is already leagues ahead in the portable mp3 scene, and currently offers fairly flexible options for portable computing.
Now, Apple is taking a step that I find rather odd; Apple has supposedly made a deal with four out of the five large music labels to distribute music online for profit. I’ll be very interested in seeing just how great a footprint this will leave on the future of filesharing and digital music distribution, though if anyone can make a significant impact, it’s Apple.
The downside is that the service will be aimed at Mac users only, who already have access to Apple’s iTunes program, and have excellent interoperability with the iPod music player. I’m going to guess that if the service really does premiere as a sexy new take on buying music, that a third party will quickly try to get in the game, just as what happened with the iPod PC scene.
In the meantime though, I’m wondering if Mac owners make up a large enough user group to keep this kind of a service going. Or maybe, that fact is exactly what’s convinced the major music labels to support the idea.
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