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AOL Enters Music Service Fray

Posted by michael on from the buy-the-cow-or-get-free-milk dept.

Masem writes "Several sites, including The Washington Post and News.com report that AOL is planning to enter the online music service market with its own MusicNet offering. The service rates vary from $4 to $18/month, the latter giving you unlimited downloads and streaming content and 10 burnable tracks a month to CD. Future plans will include a pay-as-you-burn cost as well, expected later this year. However, the service is strictly limited to AOL customers, making many wonder if it will grab enough attention of the current subscriber base to actually be of value."

10 of 243 comments (clear)

  1. AOL CD's by guacamolefoo · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sort of gives a new meaning to AOL CDs.

    GF.

    --
    Lots of petrified grits
  2. aren't most of their subscribers dialup? by garcia · · Score: 5, Interesting

    how many of the 22 million people that use AOL are either doing AOL High Speed or using it over a TCP/IP connection from another broadband provider? Is it really a good move for them to do this when they have such a large dialup userbase? There already seems to be financial trouble ahead for the ISP as the appeal of dialup dwindles even further...

    No thanks, I am not paying $23 + $4 - $x for songs when Kazaa is still fucking free.

    1. Re:aren't most of their subscribers dialup? by goldspider · · Score: 5, Insightful
      "No thanks, I am not paying $23 + $4 - $x for songs when Kazaa is still fucking free."

      It's statements like this that validates everything that the RIAA claims.

      If you want to positively change the music industry's approach to digital media, this surely isn't the way to do it.

      --
      "Ask not what your country can do for you." --John F. Kennedy
    2. Re:aren't most of their subscribers dialup? by Anonvmous+Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      "t's statements like this that validates everything that the RIAA claims."

      It might validate them in their eyes, but as far as it being a good argument, that's questionable. He does bring up a good point about the pricing.

      My math was a little different. You get 10 tracks a month, but you pay $18 a month. So you're buying an album for $18, that's a little spendy.

      The flip side is that you get streaming options (presumably from the actual content...) and your CD is nothing but music you want. That's not all bad.

      But there's still the sticker shock deal like the guy mentioned. Yeah, he sounds bad for saying Kazaa is "fucking free", but when you think about what he's really saying here, Kazaa is just plain a better service. I imagine lotsa people'd be happy to pay $20 to use Kazaa, just for the right to use it legally. (Note: that's completely different than paying $20/mo to use Kazaa because the company demands it.)

      The RIAA hasn't figured out yet that the price tag isn't the major issue here (Lots of people are buying $50 games when the tools the pirate them are there and waiting to be used), it's a matter of the service. The RIAA still has a wonderful opportunity here that they're arrogantly overlooking. They should set up their own music download service. All the songs they can muster, they guarantee the quality, and they provide a server that can handle quick downloads. That's it. Don't make it more complicated than that.

      I mean seriously, every single music service I've seen has pricing policies that resemble cell phone plans!

  3. Another one that flops before it starts.... by grapeape · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Ok lemme get this straight for $18.00 a month I get to listen to sub par streaming radio and get roughly one cd's worth of music...what a bargain :(

    Of course when it goes down in flames they will blame it all on piracy and claim they offered an practical alternative.

  4. Usage Rights on burned CDs? by syf0n · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am wonderign what the usage rights will be on CDs you burn using songs from their service. One copy only?

  5. Sounds Fair... by Talez · · Score: 5, Insightful

    $18/month for unlimited downloads plus you get a free CD of tracks you actually like in the process. Sure you need to keep subscribed to listen to the songs but many people spend more than that on their CDs every month.

    Pay by the song will be interesting so long as the price point is sufficiently attractive ($0.25-$1 per song) as well as the conditions (physical PCM on the CD, no DRM bullshit).

    Maybe they're sick of fighting us and actually want to give us what we want? How many people were saying they'd start buying music if they were given a chance?

  6. From the inside.... by thatguywhoiam · · Score: 5, Funny
    INT. DAYTIME - AOL CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

    THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HAS CONVENED TO DISCUSS THEIR NEW ONLINE MUSIC STRATEGY.

    AOL SUIT #1
    So, the idea is this - we've already got subscribers, and the music people want subscribers, so lets turn OUR subscibers into THAT kind of subscribers! I'm frickin' brilliant!

    AOL SUIT #2
    But, what if they pirate the music they download? Can't they just play it out of their headphone jack, onto a MiniDisc, or basically anything else?

    AOL SUIT #1 motions to the gorillas standing guard at the door. With a quick motion, AOL SUIT #2 is sent through a trap door under his chair. At the same time, his stock options are released from a hatch in the ceiling and all the other SUITS scramble to collect them.

    AOL SUIT #1
    Now, as I was saying...

    FADE OUT

    --
    If Jesus wants me it knows where to find me.
  7. A REAL music service by heidkamp · · Score: 5, Informative
    I've signed up for an subscription service, emusic, that does it right.

    Its cheaper than this AOL crap, and allows unlimited downloads and unrestricted use of the music.

    The downside is that it doesn't have Top 40 type stuff, and all files are 128kB/s, but they got tons of good music if you're willing to dig a little. (It helps if you're into jazz and/or punk).

    I just wanted to bring them up as an example of a site doing it right, and worth checking out. I signed up not on principle, but because they had a bunch of albums I wanted.

  8. Meet the Basic Requirements of Consumers! by asv108 · · Score: 5, Insightful
    The problem with this service is that it does not meet the demands of the average music enthusiast. MP3 devices are pretty much ubiquitous these days, even in non-techie circles. Nobody is going to subscribe to a service that does not maintain fair use rights. When I purchase a CD or download a song from a pay service, I expect to be able to play that song on my Ipod, put it on a samba share to play on an audiotron, or burn it to a CD for my car.

    If your going to provide a pay service, it must be in a standard format. MP3 is the current standard, and if it is not in MP3, it will go under. With this current strategy, Musicnet users can only play downloaded tracks through AOL! The CD burning feature is such a joke, 10 tracks? 10 tracks, considering the average song length is not enough to fill a 74 minute CD.

    The most ridiculous part about this whole service is the requirement of an AOL subscription. So in order to use this service a prospective customer needs to pay $25/month for an AOL subscription and $18/month for unlimited downloads of a DRM crippled format and the ability to burn 10 tracks. So for $43, users can download low quality, DRM crippled songs from a 56k modem, and every month they can burn half of a mix CD with 10 tracks!

    I've said it before and I will repeat it again, because apparently nobody at AOL/TW reads /. If you are going to charge for a service, any service whether it is downloadable music, catering, or blowjobs in a cheap motel, you need to meet the basic needs of your potential customers.