Renting Music

[theknife]

i just cannot imagine who would pay for this, knowing that the day they stop, it all goes away:

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Is music something you own or something you rent?

How music fans answer that question in coming months will help determine the viability of a new slate of online music services that offer to fill portable music players with an unlimited number of songs for a monthly fee.

While the music subscription approach has grown in recent years, far more music fans have opted to buy songs by the track, a business model popularized by Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL)'s iTunes Music Store and its hugely successful iPod portable player.

But the release late last year of new copy-protection software from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) may begin to change that. The software frees subscribers to move their rented tracks from their computers to certain portable music players.

The system works by essentially putting a timer on the tracks loaded on the player. Every time the user connects the player to the PC and the music service, the player automatically checks whether the user's subscription is still in effect. Songs stop playing if the subscription has lapsed. If the user doesn't regularly synch up the player with the service, the songs go dead as well.

http://apnews.myway.com//article/200...D880U7KO1.html

i'm not famous for my ability to forecast trends, but i just don't see an upside here. anybody else think this will fly?