Apple Preps Browser-based iTunes Store

In 2003 Apple introduced the iTunes Store to millions of Mac users. Later they introduced the Windows version to many millions more. On the eve of their '10 Billion Song Download' celebration, all signs indicate Apple is preparing to bring the iTunes Store to a browser near you. There's been talk going around that Safari (or at least the WebKit framework) is the rendering engine behind the iTunes Store within the Apple iTunes desktop application. With recent redesigns of the Store, the navigation, layout and general interaction resemble more the characteristics of an app built for a web browser, not the desktop. So why would Apple go to all this trouble?

Steve Jobs and Apple recently boasted how they have over 100 million active credit card accounts within the iTunes Store. That's an impressive number, but more impressive if you're a record company, or movie studio, an app developer, or book publisher. You get the idea.

If Apple can get these results from a limited number of people who download the application, find the 'Store' icon, and create an account, how much more successful do you think the iTunes Store would be as a website one click away from a global audience?

In the past year Safari has taken a big hit in market share due to recalculations many metric companies made that affected the web browser rankings. During this same period, the rise in popularity of Google's Chrome browser (also based on WebKit) has created new competition and concern in Cupertino.

If Apple introduces the iTunes website, they will make it compatible for all standards-based browsers. But don't be surprised if its promoted as a 'better experience" with Safari. Steve boasted how HTML5 would deliver a better video experience than Flash. Apple and Google browsers are already HTML5 compatible.

While the debate rages on about the definition of IPTV, there are scores of companies battling for supremacy to get TV content on your computer, and others trying to get Web content on your TV. Not to mention the war brewing in the mobile space. The recent popularity of media consuming hardware and software like Roku and Boxee have made that definition even less clear. But there is no debating that websites like YouTube, Hulu and the crossover hit Netflix have found great success with their online audiences.

Delivery is only part of the battle. Getting the rights to distribute the content comes first. There are recent rumors about how Apple has negotiated with the television industry to sell TV shows for $1. Apple has described AppleTV set-top box as a 'hobby'. It may eventually play a role, but it won't get the exposure by itself. Make no mistake, Apple wants the living room, but the path to victory may not be through the TV but rather through the browser.

Apple has already made moves towards a web-based iTunes experience. In the past few months they have turned on music previews so you can share a link to a song or podcast in iTunes with someone else and they can preview it in their browser, even if they don't have the application installed. And just this past month, they've added app previews. Since most of the content of the iTunes Store may already be web-ready, don't be surprised if the entire store appears online over night!

And with last year's purchase of the web-based music service LaLa, Apple is clearly showing interest in using the web to enhance its overall media distribution model.

Another purchase may show signs of things to come. Apple may leverage the ad network developed by newly acquired Quattro, as they integrate the technology into their content delivery service to create another revenue channel or subsidize media costs to keep prices low. Hmmm... ad subsidized media distribution, where have I heard that before?

Yes, these predictions and assumptions could the product of listening to too many Podcasts, too many pundits and too many prognosticators, but the evidence is pretty compelling and Apple has shown the ability to make dramatic changes to improve results. Whether they deliver the entire iTunes Store as a website, only time will tell. But speaking as someone who has helped build a successful website service agencyofrecord.com, focusing on improving one web platform everyone uses is far more cost-effective, efficient and productive than managing dozens of versions and millions of copies of software. Plus, the idea of taking your business online and connecting to a global audience only make sense to me.