As iTunes adds my 26GB MP3 library (for the 3rd time today, it pops into the foreground every minute so hitting ENTER at that moment Stops the whole process), I thought, there has to be a better way!

I have a PC and a Mac, but this problem is for anyone with a new computer or re-installing. After many hours wasted trying the different ways I can workaround iTunes to share my music library with more than one computer while keeping ratings, album art, etc., I figured out the solution. And it doesn't exist.

The solution? Put it on the cloud. Here is how it would work:
- Open your browser and login to Apple's new online music service (or another company's, but I think only Apple can pull this off).
- Every song ever made is available, streaming. No need to store music on your computer, your disk space is free! (Get over "owning" your music).
- Use the online iTunes-like interface to create unlimited playlists, accessible anywhere via a browser. Of course there would be an iPhone App and/or mobile web interface as well so you can stream with 3G in your car.
- Ability to play stations (using Genius or a Pandora-style recommendation engine).
- This would all be paid for with a subscription fee, much like NetFlix or Satellite Radio.

I don't like paying as much as the next guy, but hear me out. How many hours have you spent downloading mp3's, organizing the folders, re-tagging them, buying the odd few from the iTunes Store, sharing and importing libraries, debated over WMP vs WinAmp vs iTunes vs MediaMonkey, and then changed computers and had to re-import your libraries and lost your playlists? And if you're like many who still get MP3's via BitTorrent or from friends, add to that the headaches of poor sound quality, fakes, or Japan exclusive versions. Think of the time you'd save.

Many companies are trying this, but they are struggling. A quick Google fails to show any recent articles or success stories. This TechCrunch article written in 2006 compares the major subscription services like Napster and Rhapsody. Apple didn't do much from iTunes 7 to 8, and just reading this article about the 10 things Apple should do in iTunes 9 has me hoping they are secretly developing this service.

You might be asking: What if I want to burn a CD? And how will I add music to my iPod if I don't have the files locally? Until we are 100% wireless, here are two solutions:
1) To burn a CD, the service allows downloading of playlists via a proprietary self-CD-burning program, or just an ISO image (since we are leaning towards DRM-free anyways).
2) To copy to your iPod, the online interface will have a Sync much like iTunes already does.

And as I hit ENTER, iTunes just came to the foreground and my import stopped at 843 of 3467. I can't re-import, or else I'll get duplicates, and we all know how well iTunes handles those. I'll attempt #4 overnight. :(

Labels: mp3 music iTunes subscription