Random thoughts, ideas and other things!

So Apple have done the respectable thing and granted Spotify into the App Store. Sure they had no choice really, it doesn't violate their terms and conditions or anything nasty like that. It's just a bit of a pain (for Apple) that a third party developer has done something a lot better than what they currently offer with iTunes.

Although having said that, people do like to have the choice between download and streaming media. Spotify is great for when you're in the office or at a party, you can just search and instantly stream the tracks/albums you want with little or no fuss. On the other hand, if you're in the car and are in a 3G blackspot, then obviously downloaded iTunes music will come into play.

In order to stay competitive with Spotify, Apple really need to have done with the thirty second track preview. I mean, even more than ever now. Including music videos too, I mean c'mon Apple, YouTube has been streaming music videos (albeit, maybe not legally) since day one. Sure they would need to fund this with advertising, but there could also be monthly paid tiers to dodge the ads (ala Spotify). You could then also then get a discount on the tracks you want to download.

The great thing about Apple's position is that they have the download option built in, natively. No need to roam over to other websites like 7Digital to download (which is what Spotify currently offer). Which means no need to register at another site and faff about.

It's pretty obvious to say that streaming media is the future, no doubt about it and Apple really need to jump on this bandwagon ASAP. Time to give the people what they want.