Killer
There has been a little bit of coverage about a so-called iPod killer that Microsoft is planning on releasing this summer. It really does address one of the chief problems of music subscription services in that you can't play the music on your portable, but unless the catalog is really broad, it won't make much of a dent - it still makes sense to go a la carte if the service isn't going to have what you want. Is owning music that big of a deal? I've got a lot of CDs that I rarely listen to anymore and most music is just not worth keeping forever. Especially if you get a huge selection of new music tailored to what you already like to explore at zero marginal cost.