Second, in defense of subscription-based music:
I listen to *massive* amounts of music, and I have a very album-centric listening style (meaning a listen to full albums instead of radio/singles). This allows me to understand where a band's sound is, where it came from, and what they're all about. I can't afford to buy all the music I listen to.
I also buy lots of music in CD form, but only the albums that I absolutely love (which turns out to be lots of albums). I'll never buy an album I haven't heard before. So I end up only buying amazing albums instead of mediocre ones that have 2 or 3 great singles on them.
Furthermore, my taste in music changes as often as daily and as infrequently as weekly. I might be listening to some grungy sunshine pop one day and some kind of afrobeat the next. I can't afford to buy all that music, and internet radio stations don't give me the granular control I need to find the music that exactly fits what I'm looking for that exact moment.
The end result is this: Since I started using Imeem, and then Lala, as my main music sources, music (and more specifically, new music) has become one of the most important parts of my life, where before I would only listen to whatever the radio played for me.
(And to the music execs: I have bought more physical albums in this past year than I had bought in my entire life before that.)

The central issue isn't subscription, but the utter lack of relevant music. Apple is one of the few sellers who has done much with music in a digital format. Unfortunately, music has become such a spur of the moment kin of thing, that Apple outsells many digital music sellers who sell the same song in a superior format for less money.

Music has become ringtone!

I cannot think of a time were music is more needed, but less relevant. We have war (yes, we are still at war), a corrupt and incompetent government and a social fabric that is stretched to it's limit.

WE NEED GOOD MUSIC!