Youtube's Trojan Horse

Just yesterday I wrote that YouTube needed more competition, otherwise they'll become the sole platform for online video. Today, YouTube unveils its Music Key, its paid subscription music service. Now, while people might see YouTube as playing catch-up to Spotify and Pandora, I think YouTube is going after a much larger target, namely iTunes. As far as paid active accounts (with actual credit card information), I believe Google Play Store is behind both Apple iTunes and Amazon subscriptions. The way I see it is that YouTube Music Key is a strategy to acquire the coveted paid active accounts and then eventually direct them to other paid subscription services. It'll be interesting to see how Apple responds. Since YouTube needs a serious competitor to prevent it from dominating the market, how about if Apple makes iTunes a video platform, where every iTunes account can make their own "channel" and people can subscribe to it? Web services are not Apple's strength, but the company does have knowledge in video editing (ie Final Cut Pro) and users trust the Apple brand. Also, since most people now use their mobile phones to record, it'll be great if Apple allows them to automatically upload to their personal channel on iTunes. It might actually be a great alternative to YouTube and will force YouTube to be on the defensive, a position it hasn't actually ever been in. (music:)ally has a great write-up on the new service, be sure to check it out if you're interested).