iTunes vs Subscription Services? NO CONTEST.

Oh please. Be serious. Let's get this straight now. I don't care what MacCentral says and what Napster tries to say, people don't like having to rent all their music. It won't replace people owning music. Period.

Why do I say that? Because I'm an intelligent and reasonable human being. READ: I'm not STUPID!

No, this isn't a rant, it isn't an unreasoned diatribe. What it is, is a well thought out and contemplated reponse to silly people. And, I'll tell you exactly why.

For the same reason that people don't rent all their movies, for the same reason why people buy DVDs and video tapes, subscription based music will never replace owning music. NOW - that isn't to say that there isn't a market for it. But it won't replace it. And that's what people are really trying to convince themselves of. But why?

Well, maybe it's because Napster is so busy trying raise funding, trying to justify their actions to the board - whatever. Point is, they don't need to sweat it. As long as they aren't as bad at what their doing as Real has turned out to be (though they were the leaders in their market and I've still got them loaded on my machine), they're going to make money. Why? For the same reason why Blockbuster, Hollywood Video, Movie Gallery, NetFlix, etc. make money AND so don't all the retailers that sell movies. Heck, think about it, even the video rental companies SELL movies. So, what's the reason? There's not only room for both services in the market - there is even OVERLAP.

So, subscriptoin services won't replace iTunes. In fact, long term, subscription services may benefit iTunes. Why? Because I'd like to hear the WHOLE song before I buy it - and I also don't want to have to wait for it to play on the radio. I'll have a chance to listen to it a few times to see if it will work long term for me. Then, I'll buy it. Gosh, is it that hard to understand?

So. It really isn't iTunes vs Subscription services in the long range view, it's iTunes and Subscription services. So, if you're listening Steve Jobs, then give the folks what they're looking for BOTH.