Will Apple Strike Up The Band For RealNetworks' Rhapsody?

There's still no word from Apple on whether RealNetworks' Rhapsody application, which would offer a digital jukebox subscription for the iPhone, will be approved. Apple has made waves by rejecting apps that it considers competitive with its own services, most recently putting the kibosh on Google Voice. In this case, while iTunes sells song titles on an individual basis, Real Networks' Rhapsody offers a monthly subscription fee to receive digital music.

RealNetworks' Rhapsody offers its 750,000 subscribers instant access to any of the music in its catalog for $14.95 a month. Neil Smith, vice president at RealNetworks, told USA Today that the Rhapsody iPhone application would allow customers to listen to a Rhapsody song or playlist anywhere.

Real Networks took the unusual step of stating it was submitting an application before it was approved. "We figured it was going to get out there anyway," Smith told USA Today. In its application, Rhapsody plans to link instant song purchases to iTunes, not the Rhapsody store, Smith told the newspaper.

"We find that the ability to stream music only gets people to consume more music, not less," Smith told USA Today, noting that online music radio station Pandora is a top iPhone app.

Rhapsody's appeal to Apple comes as several companies, including Facebook and Google, have criticized Apple for not making more apps available in its App Store. Apple has countered that it wants more control over the user experience of the iPhone to ensure a more standard experience.

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