Apple Lobbies Music Labels for Unlimited Music Downloads
Apple Lobbies Music Labels for Unlimited Music Downloads
Posted 03/04/2011 at 8:23am
| by Paul Lilly
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Apple is reportedly trying to get major music labels to give iTunes customers unlimited downloads of music they've already purchased. If successful, iTunes users would be able to access and download purchased music across multiple devices, in essence having a permanent online backup in case the originals are lost or damaged.
According to Bloomberg, which spoke with "three people with knowledge of the plans," Apple is currently negotiating with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group Corp., and EMI Group Ltd. The big draw for Apple is that this would help maintain demand for digital downloads in the wake of increasingly popular streaming services, like Pandora.
In addition to having online backups, the deal would also allow downloads to iPad, iPod, and iPhone devices linked to the same iTunes account. This would be a boon to iTunes users and those heavily invested in Apple products, as well as give Apple an added edge in the mobile device market.
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gothliciouz
March 04, 2011 at 11:46am
they should really do this, once my hd crashed and lost 500 dollars worth of music, i was young and didn't know what backup was at the time.
aviaggio
March 04, 2011 at 10:30am
Damn f*cking nice of them to allow us to download stuff we've paid for.
sotoa
March 04, 2011 at 10:29am
I got excited then I realized I don't own any Apple devices, nor do I have an iTunes account. Hopefully this could be offered to other music services too (Google Music).
aviaggio
March 04, 2011 at 10:33am
Don't be confused by the headline. This isn't a new pricing model that allows unlimited downloads for a flat fee. It's about being able to re-download songs you've already bought, something that you cannot currently do. Meaning, if you buy a song on iTunes, download it to your PC or iCrap device, and then lose it (HD crash, device failure, etc.), you're not able to download the song again unless you pay for it a second time.
someuid
March 04, 2011 at 10:12am
Absofreakinlutely this should be allowed, especially since "you didn't buy the music, just a license to listen to it."
I hate music executives. I haven't bought an album in months (no I didn't turn to piracey - I just gave up acquring new music.)
Ghok
March 04, 2011 at 12:43pm
I don't know what kind of music you like to listen to, but most of my favourite bands offer up their music for free streaming on their websites for a limited time after release. It's a great way to reform pirates who legit just wanted to listen to something to see if it's worth buying.
Pretty stupid that you can't redownload songs you've already purchased, because I'd assume they keep records on all that (come on, there isn't a company out there that doesn't keep records like that). One of the reasons I've never used iTunes.
Red Ensign
March 04, 2011 at 9:39am
I've seen a lot of people complain about this. Most assumed it was Apple being the bad guy. Should have known it was the Music Industry all along.
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