httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sgtK63DALQ&feature=player_embedded
Apple must really not want iTunes Match to stream. Last night’s hasty release if iOS 5 Beta 7 seems to have been hastened to release specifically to change the way downloading songs from the iCloud takes place.
When iTunes Match was first released to developers last Friday, it appeared that in addition to downloading your songs to your disk, you could stream them remotely from Apple’s servers. An Apple rep later denied this, saying instead that it was “instantaneous download” that “just worked,” but the fast tracked release of iOS 5 Beta 7 suggests Apple didn’t even want it to look like iTunes Match streamed anymore.
Why? I can hear you guys asking. If iTunes Match can stream, why doesn’t it stream… and why does Apple think letting it stream is such a bad thing, especially if, as Apple claims, they already have streaming licenses?
It all comes down to how Apple makes its money, and right now, a chunk of Apple’s empire is spent selling music downloads to people. If Apple starts offering streaming, not only does it undermine that download business — which is a far more lucrative venture than a la carte streaming services like Rdio and Spotify — but it pisses off Apple’s carrier partners who are already feeling the pinch on data plans.
John Brownlee is a writer for Fast Company, and a contributing writer here at CoM. He has also written for Wired, Playboy, Boing Boing, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, and Gizmodo. He lives in Boston with his wife and two parakeets. You can follow him here on Twitter.
26 responses to “Apple Fast Tracked iOS 5 Beta 7 To Remove iTunes Match “Music Streaming” [Video]”
first comment!!!
Wait, why does the streaming “hurt” Apple’s bottom line? iTunes match still relies on the music you own. In order to “own” it you would have needed to purchase from iTunes or obtained from another source. iTunes match, even in it’s (supposedly) streaming form, does give you access to music that does not already exist in your local library.
and a brilliant one at that!
correction:Â doesn’t give access to music that does not already exist in your local library.
I call BS. Â Streaming something you bought vs. downloading doesn’t change Apple’s income.Â
If they don’t allow streaming it will be a huge fail. Â Spotify will win. Â Â If I’m at work on my Mac the last thing I want to do is download music to my local drive when I can stream it.
What are they thinking? Â Â I love Apple, but this is just dumb. Â This blog doesn’t hit the mark either.
I just lost all respect for cult of Mac after reading this. Please re-read your article John and realize that it makes NO SENSE at all!!
No biggie. Neither music or video works in Beta 7.
This is a complete non-issue amongst anyone but techies anyway. Â No one really cares about streaming, they just want access to their music. Â
This is a typical Apple solution in that it doesn’t use technical terms or require the user to understand what streaming is or any of that BS. Â You press one button if the song is on your phone and a different one if it’s a song that you forgot to bring with you. It just works. Â
In any case, streaming a song you already own is not “streaming” in the usual sense of the word as in “I don’t own music, I pay a monthly fee for streaming.” It really *is* a cached download. Â
Is anyone having problems with the YouTube app?
I think they wanted it as streaming in beta 6, and downloading in beta 7 so that the two options could be tested in their entirety and all the bug reports could get worked out on a large scale. With the final release it will be an option to either stream only or stream and download simultaneously.
I for one won’t be using iTunes Match if there is no streaming option. I keep my iPhone and iPad storage pretty maxed out as it is. I liked the idea of downloading to a temporary cache so I could hear my music on the go without taking up more storage space. But as it stands now, I’ll stick to Spotify for new music streaming, and ZumoCast for the music I already own. So in effect, Apple is losing out on a revenue stream I would otherwise have gladly given them.Â
“If Apple starts offering streaming, not only does it undermine that
download business — which is a far more lucrative venture than a la
carte streaming services like Rdio and Spotify”
Except this wasnt like Rdio or Spotify, you had to buy the songs to be able to stream them in the first place.
Same here. It’s mildly annoying.