Dreamy business models are familiar to the digital music industry.  But lofty visions of a jukebox-in-the-sky could produce rich dividends in future generations.

The ubiquitous concept is already taking shape through subscription services like Rhapsody and Napster.  Subscribers can access immense collections from different PCs and transfer contents to compatible devices, though cutting-edge companies like Sonos and SanDisk are extending those virtual collections into digital homes and WiFi-connected environments.  "The idea that you will have just one media player in the future is absurd," said Michael Robertson during an interview at the Digital Music Forum on Wednesday.  "Everything is going to move to the cloud."

Robertson, a digital music visionary since the late 90s, founded the lawsuit-prone - and ultimately lucrative - MP3.com.  Since then, Robertson has sparked a string of startups - often at the same time - and currently helms a music locker concept called MP3tunes.  The service auto-syncs virtual collections across various PCs and devices, a future-focused concept.

That hyper-distributed model could define future consumption, though Robertson is a magnet for major label litigation.  In November of last year, EMI sued MP3tunes and its companion, Sideload.com, for infringement.  The Robertson-controlled Sideload allows users to quickly search for MP3s across other accounts, and sideload them into their lockers. 

That is a concept that mostly involves the free acquisition of copyrighted works, an incredibly gray area at best.  "The labels view delivery as a replacement for a sale," Robertson said.  The EMI lawsuit also includes personal action against Robertson, according to the wealthy entrepreneur. 

Michael Robertson Blog (November, 2007), "Behind The Scenes - EMI Sues MP3tunes"