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The developers of Ubuntu One, the next Ubuntu release, are apparently planning a music store along the lines of iTunes.
The Ubuntu Developer Summit currently taking place in Dallas TX is serving as ideasmith for the upcoming Ubuntu version. Developers are meeting there to come up with what they call Blueprints, detailed feature suggestions for the next release, of which not all will see the light of day.
Among the newest Blueprints is one that may be a money-maker for Canonical. Developers of Ubuntu One, which is a commercial offering in and of itself, are planning a Music Store from which you can possibly buy music without DRM restrictions, much like Apple's iTunes store. Because the idea came from the summit, it's likely that the store will become part of the Ubuntu 10.04 "Lucid Lynx" release.
The blueprints don't go so far as to present details on the iTunes alternative. However, users should be able to play in the songs directly to their audio players. A similar model has been around for some time for Linux, with the Amarok KDE audio player and Rhythmbox, both of which integrate Magnatune, for example.
It's likely that Ubuntu will enter into an agreement with an existing music service provider. Otherwise the financial burden of opening a shop in each country worldwide might signficantly exceed any profits gained.
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