Apple Inc is trying to come up with an agreement with the record companies which would permit it to allow its iTunes users to download unlimited songs from iTunes music store. This has been reported by Bloomberg wherein the website mentioned the names of the three persons who are involved in the process of these negotiations and are cognizant of the plans of the company.
Here’s an analogy from the Apple’s own iTunes App Store. Currently, when a person purchases an app for his or her iPhone from the iTunes App Store, and somehow that application gets erased off his or her iPhone or otherwise the person purchases a new iPhone, then he or she can download the same app from the iTunes App Store again for free; but this is not the case with the music purchased from the Apple iTunes music store. Apple Inc is trying its best to allow the same for the music bought from the iTunes store.
Apple Inc is in the process of negotiation with several record companies such as EMI, Warner Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Vivendis Universal Music. If Apple becomes successful in reaching some good agreements with these record companies, the iTunes users will be able to download their once purchased music files to more than one Apple devices such as iPad, iPod and iPhone etc.
For the last few years, several free or cheap music streaming services such as Pandora, Grooveshark have emerged, thanks to theready and speedy availability of broadband internet. These services allow their users to listen to the streaming music for free but they don’t allow them to download any music from their websites. Apple has been having a hard time competing with these free or very cheap services as compared to its handsomely priced music content from the iTunes store.
With the current negotiations becoming successful, Apple would hopefully be able to regain a strong hold in the legal music market with its iTunes music store which would allow the users to keep a permanent online backup of their purchased music which they could download to several devices many times.