If you’ve been paying attention, you know I like the idea of subscription-based content services - specifically, movie rentals and all-you-can-eat music. And here we were with another rumor that Apple could be moving in this direction. According to updated AT&T iPhone data plan documentation:

Consider that just 20 minutes of iTunes radio takes 20MB of data.

So is someone at AT&T confused about iTunes WiFi store purchases, will Apple allow Internet radio streaming (as seen in iTunes) to the iPhone, or does Apple have an entirely new service in the works? The blogosphere feeds on speculation, so I may as well also point out an updated desktop iTunes client (v7.5) is due any day…

Guest blogger Kevin Groppe is a digital media enthusiast, located in the DC metro area, who covers media centers and home theater computers at Floppyhead.com.

Two things I hate about exercising with my current MP3 player are how the cable from the player to earbuds constantly bounces around and how covered in sweat my MP3 player gets when I hold it. With this in mind, OTTO has developed a Wireless MP3 Player Headset.

The unique concept behind the OTTO Wireless MP3 Player Headset is that it combines an mp3 player and headphones into one compact device, eliminating the wire from earpiece to MP3 player. For most people, carrying around your entire music collection in your MP3 player is overkill. 10,000 songs in the palm of your hand is great for long vacations or business trips, but not necessary for your commute or trip to the gym. OTTO embraces this fact and has developed an MP3 player that has a useful form factor with the following specs:

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I’m not much of a photographer, but that doesn’t stop me from always taking my camera with me. Here are some recent gadget shots:

The music branding and advertising at Starbucks has gone completely over the top. Above is a pic of the digital release displayed in front of the cashier. I also picked up a business-card-size promotional sheet offering a free “song of the day” by entering the download code online. Makes me wonder where Starbucks will go next. (Co-op work spaces? Theme parks?) They’re clearly more than a coffee shop these days. And what about the music distribution business? Do music studios have to sell an experience rather than just a song?

Next check out what I found at Costco and a yard sale…

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Radiohead made the biggest splash in the music industry recently by giving away its new album online for free… or whatever you choose to pay for it. But the band certainly isn’t alone in trying to innovate and improve on an economic distribution model that is rapidly decaying. Much like in the movie biz, music artists are playing with ways to bundle digital files with tangible items. In the latest example, Matchbox Twenty has put its new album, Exile on Mainstream, on a USB bracelet, complete with 17 songs, a music video, band interviews, album art and customizable computer extras. The idea here is not just to elevate kitsch, but to add value and a legitimate revenue stream in the eternal war against digital piracy.

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SanDisk has unveiled TakeTV — a new line of USB accessories (4GB @ $99, 8GB @ $149) which, when docked, allow standard definition DivX, Xvid, and MPEG4 television playback. I don’t imagine the sneakernet media extender market is very large. In fact, Iomega tried something similar (using a hard drive, as opposed to flash) last year at a slightly higher price point ($220) which didn’t seem to gain any traction.

In conjunction with today’s hardware announcement, SanDisk is also taking the wraps off Fanfare, a video download service (in beta) offering both free and paid content - from partners such as CBS and Showtime. The DRM-protected video can currently be played back on PCs via TakeTV and, in the future, directly on select Sansa portable devices.

DeVillain’s $3370 Folding Electric Guitar

Adam Smith’s invisible hand is at work in the music download world. Apple apparently plans to announce tomorrow that it will drop the price of its DRM-free tunes from $1.29 to $.99. Coming on the heels of Amazon’s launch of its own MP3 store, this sounds like a bit of competitive pressure on the music download king. It was bound to happen. What’s amazing is that it has taken so long.

Also in tomorrow’s announcement, Apple plans to add some indie music labels to its iTunes Plus (DRM-free) service.

Thank you Robert Plant and Jimmy Page for opening your catalog to digital downloads. Led Zeppelin gets started this week on Verizon Wireless but, come November 13th, will also make songs available via iTunes and other services. Kevin Tofel, of jkOnTheRun, has loaned me his Zune so I may try out the all-you-can-eat Zune Pass if they get the Led out.

Even more progressive, and as you probably already know, Radiohead started selling their album online last week… for whatever price one chooses to pay. They managed to move 1.2 million downloads in the first 48 hours, though 1,200,000*0=0. Seriously, I’m sure they did bring in some money while cutting out the middle man. (This approach wouldn’t work for newer, lesser known, or lesser loved bands.) They’ve also generated a ton of press and goodwill, which will probably fill their coffers via concert ticket and merchandise sales. Oh yeah, you have to give up your contact info to make a purchase - which probably has an intrinsic value. However, it IS very cool to see the music industry continue to experiment as they fight to remain profitable in the age of BitTorrent.