“While Apple Computer grabs publicity for its new 99 cent music download store, Microsoft is quietly preparing for a counterattack by improving its own technology for supporting subscription music services. Services such as Pressplay, which uses Microsoft technology, have been put on the defensive with news that Apple has sold more than 2 million downloads since April 28, the day its iTunes Music Store launched. But Microsoft is betting that new security enhancements planned for later this year could make renting music, rather than owning it, more attractive to consumers,” writes Evan Hansen for CNET News.com.
“Microsoft said it is developing software that makes it easier for subscription services to transfer music to portable music players. These services now provide unlimited downloads of hundreds of thousands of songs to a PC for a monthly fee, but they typically do not allow files to be moved around much. Microsoft said it will soon address this shortcoming with technology that will allow unlimited downloads to a portable device–a dramatic improvement. ‘We can already support unlimited downloads tethered to the PC,’ said Jonathan Usher, director of Microsoft’s Windows Media division. ‘The next step is enabling access to unlimited downloads on consumer devices,'” reports Hansen.
“Microsoft plans to add support for a clock in portable music players and other consumer-electronics devices. The clock would provide a “time out” feature much like that used in PC versions of its DRM software. If customers don’t pay their monthly subscription bills by a certain date, access to the files on those devices is cut off,” Hansen writes.
“‘We already support a couple of business models,’ Usher said. ‘The other part of the business model that gets interesting is, what about unlimited downloads? The Apple store is not looking at or supporting anything like that,” Hansen reports.
Full article here.
I don’t believe what I am hearing. It’s funny, 95% of the people buy MS. But they want to be Jobs? Who has had it for years but the sorry saps copy and copy and copy and copy… WAKE UP. WAKE UP.
Dont they get it at all. People dont want to rent music, they want to own it. The P2P networks are not succesfull because you can store the files for a limited period of time on your hard drive. Rentals for mobile devices is just stupid.
let them rot in hell
Expecting customers to keep subscribing in order to keep listening to their music is a stupid business model. Apple has a much less restrictive model and it works well for both the music industry and the people buying the music.
Imagine Microsft teaming up with drug companies. “Your heart medcine will continue to work until you miss a payment…”
Always trying to pre-empt the inevitable. The other day they showed their next OS, scheduled for 2005, to catch up with Panther cooming up next month, now this other vaporfriggingware. What is amazing is that a lot of idiots believe them…
<sarcasm> Mmmmm… yeah… so good. I mean, step back and look at all the mountains and mountains of cash that Pressplay is rolling in. Hmmm yeah… so much cash… all those hundreds of subscibers </sarcasm>
…. they’re already dead. It’s just they don’t realise it yet.
“Imagine Microsft teaming up with drug companies. “Your heart medcine will continue to work until you miss a payment…”
No need for M$, that’s already the current scheme….
Well, its a good indication that Microsoft has been stung by the iTMS. We’ll see how the promises turn out but the business model has fundamental flaws: subscription/rental agreements (a failed model), user inconvenience, lack of instant gratification, poor return for the record companies. Apple will go head to head with MS in the Windows arena and it’ll be interesting to compare the sale versus rental incomes.
Let’s just hope that M$ doesn’t play dirty and force exclusive on-line contracts….
Microsoft and security enhancements in the same sentence..ha ha ha….
M$ claims 90% marketshare, yet EVERY Apple move NEEDS to be counterattacked. Interesting.
I didn’t see any pre-emptive move against M$ with iTMS, did any of you?
What I saw was a legitimate answer to the RIAA regarding p2p. It seems typical that megalomaniac Gates somehow turned that into how this effects HIM.
Regarding ‘Longhorn’. Panther in 2003 – Lh in 2005. But, we all know that BG3 will get the credit. Atleast M$ knows marketing. It appears that Apple doesn’t.
Renting music?!?! That’s about as welcome as a fart in a space suit. Who on god’s green earth would ever want to rent music?
How about a coin-operated television?
Pay by the kilobyte internet access?
Swimming suit rental?
Debit card operated umbrella?
Microsoft JUST DOESN’T GET IT. A “time-out” FEATURE? That’s like claiming income tax is a “feature” of living in a civilized society.
I am more cynical about this than the rest of you. MS will adopt The iTMS business model, and take Apple on, should the iTMS continue as successfully as it has started, as seems likely. It is therefore imperative that Apple get the Windows port of Itunes out, extends the reach of the iTMS to the rest of the world, and ties up as many deals as possible to increase the variety and depth of music for sale there ASAP.
Even then MS will almost certainly use its financial muscle and a little crude blackmail and dirty tricks to take it from Cupertino. Any bets on how soon after the release of the Windows version of iTunes will a MS security update have the unfortunate side effect of making it unusably unstable? The Bush administration is unlikely to make any obstacles. but I hope Apple at least puts up a decent fight.
Ain’t big business wonderful?
The rental model is similar to what they are doing with their licensing system for the Windows “OS”. It is massively unpopular with big businesses, who are investigating alternatives.
I realize that Apple probably felt like they had to put out the new iPods and the iTMS cause it seemed like a decade between gen2 and gen3. I wish they could have had the Windoze version ready at the same time, but I agree with James that they need to get it out pronto. But they need to make sure it’s not buggy like most Windoze software.
As to what James (and others elsewhere) said about the Bush admin… I place all the blame on Bubba Clinton. If I remember correctly (the trial lasted so long I’m a foot taller now) Most of the trial happened before GW even started campaigning. The decisions that were made that weakened the prosecution were made under Bubba. And don’t complain about the economy either, cause 8 years of Bubba is what got us to where we are today.
As to what James (and others elsewhere) said about M$ adopting the iTMS business model and taking Apple on, consider that only 2 of the 5 music studios have only signed up for iTMS for windows. That tells me that the big 5 is not as anxious to support a iTMS-like business model on the Windows platform as they are on OS X, probably because there may be more cheapskates and morally corrupt users on that platform.
What makes you think that the all the studios will jump on board to support a poor performing strategy as music rentals as M$ is suggesting?
There is already a strong analogy between the computer industry and the pharmaceutical industry. The pharmaceutical industry has two sectors: the innovative drug companies (e.g. Glaxo SmithKline) and the generic drug companies a.k.a. the idea stealers. To spell it out, Apple = GSK, M$ = generic pharma. To get back on topic, renting the music as in the incipient M$ business model, smacks of a video rental store with one big difference (for me anyway). I seldom watch a movie more than once or twice – so rental works. With music it’s different. I can listen to music over and over – it’s a mood related thing. Hence, “ownership” is a better model (IMHO). If I like a tune and it’s gone the next month, I think I would get upset. In addition, there is the collection factor for music. Like stamps, people like to collect music (especially true in the vinyl days) especially for their unique qualities (version, release date etc.).
Without rambling any further, music purchase sounds like a much better business model (no matter what technology you put behind the alternative). On the down side, either model is not going to satisfy the needs of the speciality collector – rare music, oldies, special interests. There is too much music out there. I can see myself still seeking out the CDs for the music of my choice (much to my chagrin).
P.S. Still glad to see there are some Laurie Anderson tunes out there on the Apple iTMS
Now that Apple is using a *nix core, my next PC will be a Mac. In fact my Celeron 700/Win98SE just died yesterday. Maybe that’s a sign…
I’m just waiting for those new Power970 models, which should be announced at the same time as Panther.
Now that Apple is using a *nix core, my next PC will be a Mac. In fact my Celeron 700/Win98SE just died yesterday. Maybe that’s a sign…
I’m just waiting for those new Power970 models, which should be announced at the same time as Panther.