iTunes-On-Demand
There are so many things that this hiring of the VP from MS could suggest and all the while it could suggest nothing at all.. but take a minute to speculate beyond just Apple making a carbon copy of Napster's subscription model for a second.. Think of the other possibilities of expanding the iTunes service into your living room and the increased presence for Apple. Think of the options for you 
The subscription model as an added choice to iTunes users would definetely kill most of the competition and probably give Apple at least and 85%-90% market share as far as online music stores go. This in turn would obviously sell more iPods for what the true purpose and overall goal is of iTunes.. But it will be more costly in the short term to Apple depending on the price they pay to the record companies..
However, with the current market share Apple already has with the iPod's, they hold a lot more negotiating power at the record labels then say, Napster, who has no player per say of its own creation. You also have the potential with new people drawn in by the subscription service of people paying a fee per month (Of which if Apple does do this I expect will be lower than Napster's $15) to find songs they really like and pay 99 cents to keep them forever.
You also have an expanded subscription service you could offer to corporations or tv stations or schools of a higher per month price but businesses who would pay this in order to license the music and use it commercially.. Apple also has much greater ability than any other online music store to negotiate this with record labels and also take their product directly to the business and education market a lot easier than say, Napster, would.
Also think about this person from a "living room" standpoint. We know Apple wants to get into your living room, (Thus the rumours of a TiVo takeover and such) but think about iTunes-on-demand.. a settop box that could be purchased for a modest fee at any electronics store.. or be made available through cable and satellite companies as a component of their DVR service.. a firewire port or a USB port on the back of these boxes and a iTunes download service directly through your TV.. a service thats charged to your cable bill or internet bill or direct to a preset credit card.. think of being able to take your iPod anywhere and lacking a computer be able to plug it directly into any TV and find a cool song you just heard.. think of Hotel chains making these boxes available in their rooms if your on a trip and your laptop dies or you simply don't have one.
The possibilities are endless and we can speculate all day.. but there is alot more coming to your iPod and iTunes in the future than just a carbon copy of Napster
The subscription model as an added choice to iTunes users would definetely kill most of the competition and probably give Apple at least and 85%-90% market share as far as online music stores go. This in turn would obviously sell more iPods for what the true purpose and overall goal is of iTunes.. But it will be more costly in the short term to Apple depending on the price they pay to the record companies..
However, with the current market share Apple already has with the iPod's, they hold a lot more negotiating power at the record labels then say, Napster, who has no player per say of its own creation. You also have the potential with new people drawn in by the subscription service of people paying a fee per month (Of which if Apple does do this I expect will be lower than Napster's $15) to find songs they really like and pay 99 cents to keep them forever.
You also have an expanded subscription service you could offer to corporations or tv stations or schools of a higher per month price but businesses who would pay this in order to license the music and use it commercially.. Apple also has much greater ability than any other online music store to negotiate this with record labels and also take their product directly to the business and education market a lot easier than say, Napster, would.
Also think about this person from a "living room" standpoint. We know Apple wants to get into your living room, (Thus the rumours of a TiVo takeover and such) but think about iTunes-on-demand.. a settop box that could be purchased for a modest fee at any electronics store.. or be made available through cable and satellite companies as a component of their DVR service.. a firewire port or a USB port on the back of these boxes and a iTunes download service directly through your TV.. a service thats charged to your cable bill or internet bill or direct to a preset credit card.. think of being able to take your iPod anywhere and lacking a computer be able to plug it directly into any TV and find a cool song you just heard.. think of Hotel chains making these boxes available in their rooms if your on a trip and your laptop dies or you simply don't have one.
The possibilities are endless and we can speculate all day.. but there is alot more coming to your iPod and iTunes in the future than just a carbon copy of Napster
Comments
i still think the subscription is most likely. it just makes sense
one problem-i dont think record companies will agree until apple protects their music as well as wma. as of now ppl can dl a program to remove protection whicch isnt a big deal now because you already bought song, but with subsription it would be