MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Subscription music is taking off (to overtake Itunes in a few year) what about ebook?

fjtorres · 12-22-2012, 08:56 AM

I use both Pandora and Last.FM.
And I've tried out the XBOX Music (nee Zune) subscription service.
Like'em all. Very good way of discovering new acts. Also a nice way to provide a semi-random soundtrack to day to day activities.
But I also buy CDs for albums I really want.

A friend of mine caught his son downloading pirate CD music off the net a few years back. He reprimanded him and signed up for a Rhapsody subscription. He figured that for the cost of one CD a month he could keep both his kids current, teach them good ethics, and avoid the potential embarrassment of a court appearance.

I'm afraid I don't see subscription services actually *dominating* anything any time soon. (This decade, at least.) The revenue they deliver to the content owners is out of line (too low by far) with what discrete sales + piracy generates.

There is room for subscriptions but they're never going to be comprehensive enough, easy enough, or cheap enough for massive consumer adoption. The content owners won't allow it.

12-22-2012, 08:56 AM	#9
fjtorres Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,732 Karma: 128354696 Join Date: May 2009 Location: 26 kly from Sgr A* Device: T100TA,PW2,PRS-T1,KT,FireHD 8.9,K2, PB360,BeBook One,Axim51v,TC1000	I use both Pandora and Last.FM. And I've tried out the XBOX Music (nee Zune) subscription service. Like'em all. Very good way of discovering new acts. Also a nice way to provide a semi-random soundtrack to day to day activities. But I also buy CDs for albums I really want. A friend of mine caught his son downloading pirate CD music off the net a few years back. He reprimanded him and signed up for a Rhapsody subscription. He figured that for the cost of one CD a month he could keep both his kids current, teach them good ethics, and avoid the potential embarrassment of a court appearance. I'm afraid I don't see subscription services actually dominating anything any time soon. (This decade, at least.) The revenue they deliver to the content owners is out of line (too low by far) with what discrete sales + piracy generates. There is room for subscriptions but they're never going to be comprehensive enough, easy enough, or cheap enough for massive consumer adoption. The content owners won't allow it.