I’ll keep this brief. Mike Abramsky of RBC Capital Markets released a report claiming that 30% of iPhone users are planning to use Apple’s forthcoming iTunes Match service. You know, the service introduced at WWDC that will allow users who have ripped music from CDs or any other source outside of iTunes to sync them with Apple’s iCloud service. Even now in beta, if you buy a song on iTunes, you get iCloud syncing across your devices.
That brings me to my main point- iTunes Match. This new service will scan your hard drive for music you have ripped and then take the relevant copy already on the cloud, and sync it to your device. It strikes me as a creation of the music labels. It doesn’t make one damn bit of difference to Apple where you get your music. The iTunes music store, moreover the entire iTunes Store, only exists to add value to their products. Apple really doesn’t make that much money from it.
So, if you take all of this at face value, people who have honestly purchased their music before, but on CDs, and have chosen to rip them to their hard drive for use on devices such as an iPod, are being accused of stealing. It’s a guilty until proven innocent mentality. Granted quite a few users will have stolen music, from MP3 torrents and what have you, but I would say the majority of users have bought their music before.
But that’s the thing. The music industry, especially with the advent of CDs, has milked users for the same content, over and over again with the latest format over the years. The music industry has gotten accustomed to that recurring revenue, and are starting to feel the affects of slumping CD sales, and no one re-buying MP3s.
That’s what I read into iTunes Match, even with sight unseen.
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