Edible Apple

With Apple’s massive Data Center in North Carolina set to become operational soon, some feel that all the pieces are in place for Apple to offer streaming content from the cloud and to perhaps even offer subscription based music services. But is that really what Apple has in mind?

The Financial Times clarifies Apple’s position:

More than a year after buying Lala, a cloud-based digital music service, Apple is now looking to use the cloud mainly to allow users of its iTunes store to back up their collections and access them from any Apple device.

One person with knowledge of Apple’s plans said the company did not want to undermine the market that it dominates for paid downloads, likening its plans for the cloud to “insurance”.

Debunking plans for an Apple subscription service via iTunes is especially well-timed given the hoopla over Apple’s new guidelines requiring publishers to give Apple a 30% cut of all subscriptions that originate from within an app. Music services like Rhapsody and Last.fm have bluntly stated that it will be impossible for them to churn a profit on Apple’s new terms, with Last.fm founder Richard Jones going so far as to accuse Apple of boxing out competing subscription services because of plans to offer a competing service later down the line.