Apple may be considering unlimited iTunes access for premium price on hardware

According to a report in the Financial Times, Apple may be working with some of the major record labels to make the entire contents of the iTunes Store available to consumers in exchange for a premium paid on its iPod and iPhone hardware.

It's not the first time that there's been talk of an alternative consumption model for iTunes, though in the past that's been about users paying a monthly subscription for an "all you can eat" streaming service.

Recent market research (exact details of which aren't known) suggested that consumers would pay up to $100 extra for music hardware to gain unlimited access to the iTunes music library. Alternatively, they'd pay between a $7 and $8 per month subscription.

As things currently stand, a monthly subscription model would only work with the iPhone, for which Apple already has a way of billing customers via the mobile phone operator. I'm not sure why they couldn't just use the credit card information on file for each iTunes Store customer.

Apparently, discussions going on include provision for customers to keep between 40 and 50 music tracks per year, even if they change devices or subsequently cancel their subscription to the service.

It's an interesting move. As phones move closer to "always on" connections via high speed Wi-Fi and 3G networks, streaming music from a vast library such as iTunes may become increasingly popular compared to purchasing individual tracks to keep. More reason for Apple to get a 3G iPhone out this year, perhaps.

What do you think? Good idea?

(Via Financial Times)

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