Apple is supposedly planning to use its acquisition of online music service Lala to transform iTunes into a Web-based service, according to sources "briefed" on the strategy. Infrastructure and licensing hurdles must still be overcome, but if all goes according to plan, it may change they way we think about media ownership forever.
Lala currently offers two ways to buy music—10� buys the right to stream the song anytime from Lala's servers, whereas a variable price—about 69�-$1.29—gives you unlimited streaming as well as an mp3 download. Lala also allows users to stream songs they already own at no charge.
According to sources for the Wall Street Journal, Apple plans to incorporate these features into iTunes as early as next year. Given the iTunes Store's recent HTML5 transformation and Apple's other forays into cloud-based services (MobileMe and iWork.com), iTunes could also be offered as a Web-based application. Such a strategy would give Apple access to a wider customer base, including those who don't prefer to use iTunes or those who otherwise can't install it (e.g. Linux users). It could also free users from managing storage and backup of large libraries on local hard drives.
These same sources say that Lala executives are already being given leadership roles within Apple's iTunes division, shaping strategy for the iTunes Store going forward. "It's our understanding that the Lala guys are going to be in very significant roles," one person who was briefed on Apple's plans told WSJ.
This shift could fundamentally change the way we think about "ownership" of media like music and movies, "shifting the emphasis from possession of a physical disc or digital file to the right to access content," as WSJ put it. This shift isn't far from reality of the rights we have when we buy a CD or DVD—we own the physical media, as well as permission to access the media on it. The difference is that instead of attempting to charge customers multiple times for accessing the same content different ways—something the music industry has tried to do unsuccessfully during the digital transition—you would pay to access the song in whatever way is convenient.
The shift would have a number of implications for Apple. It would put the burden of storing, maintaining, and making available complete libraries for millions of users on Apple itself. Apple's recent deals with content delivery networks and its upcoming North Carolina data center could certainly address the infrastructure issue. Of course, there are times when we simply aren't able to connect to a network, so a method of transferring songs for local storage when needed would also need to be addressed.
Beyond those issues, however, are a number of legal hurdles that could prove problematic. How would Apple guarantee access to a particular song, for instance, if ownership is later transferred to a new label? Furthermore, as music shifts more and more into the realm of virtual goods available from any Web browser, how will Apple address the issues of worldwide licensing? Such licensing is still inexplicably tied to certain geographic areas, with a litany of different rights-holders responsible for licensing songs in nearly every country.
Even if Apple were to overcome the infrastructure and licensing issues, however, moving iTunes into the cloud is dependent on record labels being comfortable with Apple wielding perhaps even more power when it comes to music distribution. "Even before the acquisition closed Friday, Lala Chairman Bill Nguyen and Eddy Cue, Apple's vice president for Internet services, began making joint calls to various business partners, including record-label groups, discussing possibilities for the music service's future," said the WSJ. But labels are still wary of the control that Apple already has as the number one music retailer in the US and the number one digital download source worldwide, with many believing Apple already holds too much control.
Still, transforming iTunes into a Web-based service will give Apple several ways to fend off encroaching competition from streaming and subscription services, as well as online distribution from the likes of Amazon MP3. And having a customized library of music accessible from anywhere, at anytime, via any convenient device—well, that seems like the long-awaited fulfillment of the promise of a digital music revolution we first heard about in the mid-90s.
reader comments
22