Rick Rubin, co-chairman of Columbia Records, has publicly stated that the iPod and iTunes models are doomed, with the way to go being subscription-based, music-anywhere, services.

In fact, he thinks the whole music business will only be saved by going to a subscription model, but he’s quick to pick on the iPod. “The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home,” he said.

Rubin’s motivation is that adopting cheap music subscription services will curb illegal downloads, believing that “If music is easily available at a price of five or six dollars a month, then nobody will steal it.”

I’m not convinced.