Cloud based music from Apple?

There have been rumours for some time that Apple is working on a cloud based music service and that this is why it hasn't yet launched a streaming music service. Time is running out for the company and it needs to get this service going as soon as possible. One reason why timing is crucial is because the streaming music service, Spotify, has been doing very well in Europe for a few years now and it is said to be planning to launch in the US by the end of the year. Whether that end-of-year deadline is real or not, Spotify's ambition to launch in the US certainly is and it wants to do it as soon as possible.

The only problem is getting the music industry to agree to allow it. Apple hasn't revealed its plans, but it is fighting to stop Spotify launching and this may be because of the threat to its iTunes store sales, but it could also be because it is planning a similar service of its own. A cloud-based music service could be attractive for music companies, but giving Apple such a dominant position would not.

Apple's dream is for everyone to store their music not on their computers or on CDs, but in the cloud - some internet storage system that looks after everything for you. The advantage to the user is that you would be able to listen to your music on any device anywhere. You could stream it to whatever device you are using straight from the internet, or download and cache a certain amount for offline use when you don't have a Wi-Fi or mobile signal.

This is a great idea in theory, but knowing how much trouble I have with internet connections, it's not something I would want to rely on. The internet is brilliant when it works, but it's availability is patchy and the connection quality is variable. The Wi-Fi at a Starbucks I regularly visit has been down for a week and don't get me started on my home internet, it's been appalling lately.

From the music companies' point of view, a cloud based music service would be good because it would prevent people from pirating music. Copying and sharing music is one of the biggest irritations to the music industry and if everyone's music was stored online it would be difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to share it. Security within the music and internet service would enable it to work on your own devices, but prevent it from working with anyone else's if you tried to pass it on. What's more, it would be very easy for someone to flick a switch and block access to the cloud music service for anyone suspected of file sharing. One mouse click and the pirate's gone.

Of course, this wouldn't stop people from buying CDs, ripping them and sharing the files, so cloud based music would only be attractive to honest people and the pirates would continue as usual. However, music companies might see cloud music as being a step in the right direction.
The downside is that it would give Apple too much control and market share. The company is already the biggest seller of music and it sells more tracks online than music companies sell on CDs. Letting it also run a cloud based music service would give it even more power than it already has and it would take away power from the music companies. This is a bad idea and the music industry needs a competitive market, which weighs in Spotify's favour.

The music industry is stuck between a rock and a hard place as they say. The best solution for everyone would be for the music industry to do a deal with both Apple and Spotify. Competition and freedom of choice is always the best option.