Aaron Adams’s Blowhard Blog

Check out the opening line to this Reuters article about the iTunes subscription content Apple released today:

Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes music and video store on Wednesday took its first step toward a monthly subscription model with a new service called Multi-Pass that lets users buy TV shows on a monthly basis.

“First step”? I sincerely doubt Reuters knows something about Apple we don’t know, inasmuch as Apple’s ultimate goal is to establish some kind of subscription-based service. I dunno if this is bad writing, agenda-pushing, or wishful thinking. In any case, it’s idiocy.

This follows later:

Apple has so far resisted calls from media companies and competitors to adopt a monthly subscription fee favored by the likes of Napster and Real Networks Inc.’s Rhapsody, preferring an a la carte download model where music tracks cost 99 cents and videos $1.99.

And they should resist those calls. Why would Apple want to do what its competitors call for anyway? The subscription-based services are getting their ass kicked by iTunes. The reality is very simple: Content that updates frequently fits a subscription model, and static content fits a purchase model. “The Daily Show” and “The Colbert Report” are updated frequently, 16 times per month according to the article, so a subscription makes sense. The soundtrack to “The Producers” that I bought a few months ago will never change, so I want to buy it once and have it forever.

My kingdom for competent tech writers.