Many readers were perplexed by the lack of an iTunes streaming music service at yesterday's WWDC keynote. Apple instead launched iTunes Match -- a service that allows users to get the same "download anywhere" benefits from songs they have ripped from CD's (or, ahem, *acquired* from other sources) as songs they have purchased from the iTunes Music Store.

iTunes Cloud
As All Things Digital's Peter Kafka put it:

Apple will take the songs you've stolen, and turn them into legit files, with big music's blessing.

Awesome. But, users still have to download songs to their iDevices, and if you have a ton of music, that can be a pain. Many observers expected iCloud would include a music streaming service, a la Lala -- but it didn't. Why?

Because it would have killed the carriers. Erica Naone writes in the Technology Review:

A streaming version of iTunes could have hugely increased the amount of data that carriers would be expected to carry. The largest carriers in the U.S., AT&T and Verizon, both cancelled their unlimited plan in June 2010. T-Mobile and Sprint both still offer unlimited plans. Today, T-Mobile says, the average 4G smart-phone user consumes about a gigabyte of data per month. That number could change significantly if a popular service like iTunes truly moved to the cloud.

With Apple selling nearly 20 million iPhones per quarter, launching a major streaming music platform that every iPhone user would instantly start using would quite literally overload the carriers. It would be like Manhattan or San Francisco, only everywhere. And what's the point of a streaming music service if you can't get a signal?

Tag: iCloud

Top Rated Comments

milo Avatar
179 months ago
Seems like the obvious solution would have been to include streaming on wifi only (and on computers), but people would whine about that too. No matter what they do, someone will complain, but this service will likely still be a big hit. And down the road when the networks can handle it, they'll upgrade the feature.

Everyone already streams Pandora, Napster, Youtube, etc...

"Everyone" doesn't stream Pandora or Napster by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe 5 or 10 percent of iPhone users? Put streaming audio in the bundled apps and that probably jumps to 90%.

There's a difference between allowing something that's data heavy but only used by a few power users and making something that's data heavy a prominent feature.

I'd be vaguely interested to see the stats, but I can't imagine for one second that 'most people's' digital collections are too big for an iPhone, let alone an iPad. Out of interest, have YOU got more than 64gb of music?

Not just music, apps and particularly movies (which can be HD) can eat up that space quickly.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
locust76 Avatar
179 months ago
I'm a bit disappointed at the lack of streaming from iCloud. How would it kill the carriers? People use Rhapsody and Napster and the carriers are fine. How is it different from streaming tons of Netflix? Obviously it will eat away your data plan, but really what's the difference? iCloud is cool without a doubt, but "it'll kill the carrier" is a pretty weak answer.

Mobile carriers, not ISPs. You won't stream Netflix over 3G like you would your music. Streaming videos over 3G is a painful, horrible experience, while with much less bandwidth you can get perfect audio quality, therefore you'd be streaming gigabytes of music per month instead of that one time you tried to watch a TV show over 3G.

Think about it; AT&T already bitches enough having to carry only a few kilobits per second per phone. Imagine if that jumped to a few hundred kilobits per second per phone because Apple saw fit to enable iTunes streaming.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
andi242 Avatar
179 months ago
Apple will take the songs you've stolen, and turn them into legit files, with big music's blessing.

At least the labels will get something for that pirated music.
And will get a little something more for legally ripped music. :)
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jlgolson Avatar
179 months ago
How would it kill the carriers? People use Rhapsody and Napster and the carriers are fine.
The difference is that not that many people use Rhapsody and Napster, especially on mobile devices. If every iPhone user began using a streaming music service for all their streaming needs (as a streaming iCloud would be meant for), it honestly would be more than the network could handle.

As to why they didn't offer it Wi-Fi only? That I can't answer.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
diamond.g Avatar
179 months ago
No sir you do not. Maybe 489 MB. 489GB would be around 80,000 songs. There is no way in hell you even know close to that number of songs. Understood? Good.

see previous reply. THAT WOULD BE AT LEAST 190,000 songs. there is no way in hell you have that many. maybe you have a lot of movies or something in there. I also want you to realize that not even the high end 17-inch macbook prop has a hard drive that big. LEARN YOUR FACTS! it's 890mb or you have like several hundred movies in there.

What if the music was lossless?
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ACKRITE Avatar
179 months ago
And you need all of that every time you leave the house?

P-Worm

Obviously not...and in no way did my comment suggest that. :cool:
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Coming Next Week With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday February 14, 2025 6:18 am PST by
The first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner, and the update is expected to include many new features and changes. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman expects the iOS 18.4 beta to be released by next week. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri is expected to get several enhancements powered by Apple Intelligence on iOS...
iPhone 17 Roundup Feature 2

iPhone Design to Change 'Significantly' This Year

Monday February 17, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple is set to "significantly change" the iPhone's design language later this year, according to a Weibo leaker. In a new post, the user known "Digital Chat Station" said that the iPhone's design is "starting to change significantly" this year. The "iPhone 17 Air" reportedly features a "horizontal, bar-shaped" design on the rear, likely referring to an elongated camera bump. On the other...
apple launch feb 2025 alt

What to Expect From the 'Apple Launch' Next Week

Thursday February 13, 2025 11:48 am PST by
Apple has yet to announce any new devices this year, but that could change starting next week. Apple CEO Tim Cook today said to "get ready" for a "launch" on Wednesday, February 19. "Get ready to meet the newest member of the family," said Cook, in a social media post. The post includes an #AppleLaunch hashtag, along with a short video featuring an animated Apple logo inside of a circle....
Apple Maps 2024

Apple Maps Might Start Showing Ads

Sunday February 16, 2025 7:22 am PST by
Apple is "exploring" the idea of showing search ads in the Apple Maps app, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Back in 2022, Gurman said software engineering was "already underway" to display ads in the Apple Maps app, but Apple did not move forward with the idea at the time. Today, he said Apple is "giving this notion more thought" again. This time around, he said Apple has yet to...
Tim Cook Apple Park

10+ Announcements Apple Could Have Rolled Into a February Event

Saturday February 15, 2025 8:00 am PST by
Apple appears to have enough upcoming product announcements to justify a full event this month, yet all signs indicate these reveals will be handled through a series of press releases instead. There are a multitude of rumors from reliable sources about specific announcements in the coming weeks, so here's everything that Apple could have feasibly included in a hypothetical February event: ...
iPhone 17 Pro Render Front Page Tech

iPhone 17 Pro With All-New Camera Bar Design Allegedly Revealed

Thursday February 13, 2025 5:49 pm PST by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro will feature three rear cameras arranged in a familiar triangular layout, but the cameras will be housed in an all-new rectangular camera bar with rounded corners, according to YouTube channel Front Page Tech. iPhone 17 Pro camera design render created by Asher for Front Page Tech In a video uploaded today, Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser said the camera ...
m2 pro mac mini

Apple is Now Selling a Refurbished Mac Mini for Just $319 (!)

Saturday February 15, 2025 9:58 am PST by
A few days ago, we reported that Apple's refurbished Mac mini pricing had a problem, and it appears that Apple has taken note. Apple was offering a refurbished Mac mini with the M2 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage for $559, which was $50 more than a refurbished Mac mini with the M4 chip, 16GB of RAM, and 256GB of storage. All other key specifications were equal. That's no longer...
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

Apple's Next iPhone SE Launching on Wednesday - Here's What We Know

Friday February 14, 2025 4:04 pm PST by
Apple CEO Tim Cook teased an Apple announcement that's coming on Wednesday, February 19, and it's looking like that mystery announcement will be the next-generation iPhone SE. We've been hearing about the iPhone SE 4 for quite some time now, and we essentially know everything to expect. If you want a sneak peek at what's coming, read on. Naming Apple first introduced the iPhone SE in...