A report in the Financial Times and picked up in places like CNet has Apple working on a subscription music plan similar to Universal's Total Music where consumers would pay a premium when purchasing a device for unlimited access to the iTunes catalog. If this is true, it can't come soon enough for the labels and it would breath new life into online music sales. Lots of questions to answer and details to be worked out, but we may finally be at the point where subscription music is embraced by the mass market. Hopefully Apple will recognize the incredible potential that combining subscription music with social media, Web 2.0, widgets, etc will create for their business and do this right.
I just realized that my in-laws, in their mid-to-late 70s, have quietly become the most technologically advanced people in my family.
They are long time Apple fans and swear by the Mac's ease of use. They currently own 2 Mac Books, an iMac, 2 iPods and an AirPort.
They have listened to XM radio for a couple years.
And they just picked up a Wii and a 46" 1080p Sony BraviaLCD TV with Cox HD and PVR over the holidays.
Conventional wisdom says that gadgets and the connected life are the domain of younger generations. But my in-laws are clearly in the game too.
They don't see themselves as being on the cutting edge, and are somewhat technologically challenged. But they do want modern and simple tools in their lives to stay in touch and informed.
I suspect my in-laws are not alone, and that many more people than ever in their generation are embracing modern consumer technology to enhance their lives. I would love to see some statistics on the technology uptake by the "more experienced" generation in recent years. The trend line likely points up and to the right.
I've been doing a lot of running lately. Trying to stay in shape and generally live healthier. It also gives me a great chance to catch up some of the new music that I don't have a chance to hear at other times of the day. As I've mentioned, this to me is one of the great benefits of subscription music. I can load up whatever new music I want and off I go. I don't have to think about how much it costs or make decisions about which tracks I'm on the fence about - I just download and sync what I want.
I grabbed my Zen Micro at 6:15 this morning, turned it on, and....the dreaded "No license to play" error. Grrrrr. This is one of the great bugaboos of the MSFT Plays for Sure ecosystem that drives me crazy and never fails to raise its ugly head at the most inopportune times.
"No license to play" means the license to play the track on your device has expired and the track won't play until the license is renewed. Normally, a quick hookup and sync with the PC updates the license on the device and you are good to go. Except for me, today, after fiddling with things for 20 minutes, I could not get the error to go away. This has happened to me before, and I hate it. I'm usually running late or pressed for time and want to take my music with me. The ecosystem should just work. And I know...other ecosystems do.
So today I had to give up the Zen and run without music. The only sounds where my shoes on the pavement, my breathing, and my thoughts rattling around in my head. I'm not used to this, and it felt a little odd.
When I arrived home, my wife didn't miss a beat (no pun), offering to loan me her iPod next time I go out. And as she said, she's never had a problem syncing it. She's right. The Apple ecosystem just works.
