Why the iTunes in the Cloud Rumour Makes No Sense

There’s been a rumour doing the rounds the last few days that really doesn’t make sense. It started when some analyst (I think it was on techcrunch) said that they’d heard that Apple plans to offer people the ability to put their iTunes collection “in the cloud”. Basically, it would allow people to access their music anywhere in the world. CNET are now reporting that Apple have been talking to the record labels about the possibility. Needless to say the mac rumour web has jumped on this. I have doubts though. There’s one aspect in particular that just doesn’t make sense. Here’s an example From 9-5 Mac:

“Apple didn’t reveal much, but much like what was reported yesterday, the idea is that people would upload their music to Apple’s servers and it would be available to them anywhere in the world on any device.”

Why though would Apple make you upload your music? Surely it would make more sense to scan your library or even your iTunes sales records and see which tracks you’ve bought and allow you to stream them from Apple’s servers. I mean, why download a song from iTunes only to then re-upload it to another Apple server? There’s no way in hell you’ll be allowed to do this with content you didn’t buy through iTunes either, so forget about using this for music you’ve bought on CD.

Then there’s the whole problem of availability. Although it may be the dream of some people, ubiquitous connectivity is a long LONG way away. This whole concept only works if you have a permanent internet connection, but then the very idea of having your iTunes collection in the cloud is of primary benefit to mobile users, which by their definition do not always necessarily have internet access. Then there’s the bandwidth issue. Techcrunch have been floating the idea of iTunes in the cloud for a while now as a solution to the amount of space on your computer that iTunes content takes up, but streaming that content constantly would require considerable bandwidth. With most broadband providers outside the US capping monthly bandwidth, and many us providers considering caps, this again becomes a big issue depending on how often you listen to music.

It seems to me that a far more likely option is that Apple could give you the option to stream tracks you already own from their iTunes servers as added value to buying music on iTunes. You buy a track and you can also play it directly off iTunes whenever you want. I really don’t see them offering to host your whole music collection though. I think this is a little too much pie in a very cloudless sky.

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