iTunes Music Store shortcomings
I bought an iPod a few weeks back and signed up with the iTunes Music Store today. The layout of the store is great — very easy to navigate and the transfer rate is very fast. I tried downloading a free song and it transferred in about two seconds to my computer. The service is very convenient and I might use it in the future. However, at the moment I still hesitate to buy songs on the store. Here’s a list of the things that bug me about Apple’s current model:
Not every song on the store is available for individual sale
Consumers are already getting screwed over by not being able to select individual tracks from every album available. Instead, you can only download some of the tracks from the albums, usually the ones you hear on the radio endlessly. What’s the fun in that? Already you can’t make a decent mix because you are locked out of buying singles straight from the store. While the entire store is not priced this way, I have noticed that many of the new albums posted do follow this pricing model, which indicates to me that the store is going downhill. For an example, take a look at the new PJ Harvey iTunes exclusive album. You can only directly buy half the songs from it without buying the whole album. If you want to buy the Madden 2005 soundtrack, you have to buy every song, even if it sucks.
The songs cost too much
99 cents a song is a rip-off. Real Networks made a move this week by pricing songs at 50 cents a track. I think that is realistic pricing and that should be the gold standard. I’d be willing to pay that amount per track for a compressed file loaded with DRM.
Short songs cost the same amount as long ones
Am I the only one who thinks that it doesn’t make sense for a 30 second Jurassic 5 MC interlude to cost the same as a 15 minute Sigur Ros opus? The pricing model must be revised to factor this in. Apple is right in charging the same amount per artist though.
No Apple Lossless
This would be a great addition to the store. Audiophiles would rejoice and Apple could legitimately charge 99 cents per song.
The DRM policy can change at any time
Already, Apple has changed its DRM policy. Yes, the company loosened the restrictions this time, allowing you to play the songs on five machines. But what protects consumers against the reverse? Apple could be pressured by the RIAA into further reducing consumers’ freedom to transfer music to portable devices and to burn CDs.
Remember, the heavily DRM’ed AAC files you get from the store currently cost around the same per track as their uncompressed CD counterparts. For now, it just makes sense to buy a CD and be free of the DRM. However, I would be willing to let a little DRM into my life if the iTMS songs were significantly cheaper.
