Apple considering unlimited music for "premium" iPods?

Would you pay extra for an iPod in exchange for unlimited music for the lifetime of the player? Word has it that Apple is talking to music execs about exactly such a deal, which would undoubtedly come with plenty of strings attached.

The Financial Times (via TUAW), which has a pretty good track record in terms of sniffing out Apple's upcoming moves, reports that discussions are well underway between Cupertino and the big record labels.

Under the purported plan (which sounds strikingly similar to Nokia's "comes with music" model), you'd pay extra for a "premium" iPod or iPhone; in exchange, you'd get the run of iTunes, as long as you're using that particular device.

Of course, the key question is how much the premium would be, and apparently Apple and the music labels are arguing over that very point. The Financial Times claims that Apple wants the premium to be about $20 an iPod, while music execs are probably looking for something in the $80 range.

Apple is also (supposedly) looking at a subscription plan for iTunes, which might cost about $8 a month, according to the FT; however, such a plan would only be available for iPhone users, who already have "billing relationships" with AT&T. Why Apple couldn't simply offer subscriptions to everyone, a la Rhapsody, is beyond me.

So, is it worth spending an extra $20-$80 for unlimited iTunes access? Well, the devil's in the details, and in this case, we're talking big-time limitations (wait, what happened to "unlimited"?) on how you could listen to all those tunes.

According to the Financial Times, you'd get to keep 40 to 50 of your "unlimited" songs a year, even if you drop your subscription or get a new iPod.

But what about your other unlimited songs? I'd imagine you could play them on your PC and on your "premium" iPod/iPhone, but what about your other devices and/or iPods, Apple TVs, etc.? Probably not, I'm guessing. Naturally, once you're done with your premium iPod or music subscriptions, you can kiss all your "unlimited" songs (minus your yearly allowance) buh-bye.

This is all still speculation, of course, and as long as iTunes still offers a la carte for-pay songs, I'll be happy. (In fact, I'm beginning to ditch iTunes's music store altogether in favor of Amazon's DRM-free goodies.)

That said, many of these proposed "unlimited music" plans are, in fact, quite limited when it comes down to it. If this rumored Apple "comes with tunes" idea comes to fruition, we'll have to take a long, hard look at the fine print.

Related:
Apple mulls unlimited music bundle [Financial Times]