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Microsoft, OD2 Start European Music Service
useosx writes "Reuters is reporting that 'Microsoft Corp. announced on Thursday a pact with Europe's biggest digital music outfit, OD2, to form the continent's first major a la carte online download service. ...
The move marks the first time European consumers can purchase song downloads off the Internet for under one euro ($1.13), and without requiring a monthly subscription, bringing the fee in line with the popular Apple Computer iTunes service, which is not yet available in Europe.'" Other stories: the Guardian, BBC.
The one article only states:
'Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason"'
That leaves a lot of wiggle room, and truthfully, given Microsoft's recent warming to DRM in general, I wouldn't be surprised if the service leaves customers with only partially usable music.
I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.
Maybe I can preempt the lot who will say "sniff it doesn't run on Linux" etc by saying that it's quite natural that Apple's iTunes is for MacOSX only...
That's not surprising given that both are services on competing platforms, and will not want to repackage essentially the same catalogue just with WMP and iTunes formats (and Apple eyecandy) to separate them.
This online music thing is interesting, I think I'll be sticking to mutella though.
Conversion Rate Optimisation French / English consultant
Try the sample download in moz/opera etc - even spoofing user agent it doesn't work. That is until you copy the download url from the source.
Considering that WMP 9 is the core of this service and is also (coincidentally) the focus of the recent EU complaint against monopolistic Microsoft, I see potential for the EU to cause this venture major problems.
I was quite pleased when I read about it on the beeb this morning, so I visited the site to see if was workable. I'd quite like to be able to legally buy music since the security loopholes enabling my Kazaa usage have been closed down at work recently, and the piece of wet string that connects me to the internet from my home in the English countryside isn't up to the job of downloading music.
Could I find any music I wanted to buy. No. And when I did a search for a song I'd heard on the radio this morning - typical impulse buy mentality, I was told I couldn't buy it because of my location. WTF!
RMS singing the Free software song can be found at the link at the bottom.
.au, .mp3, and .ogg! Scroll down a fifth of the way to find it, or it is the fifth item in the list. There are lots of other songs there too. Some are even pretty good!
It is available in
Songs
- You require a Windows machine with Windows Media Player 9. That presumably rules out all Mac and Linux users ?
- Compression is used so it won't be as good quality as a CD.
- You need a broadband connection really to make regular use of the service.
- It sounds like there is some form of DRM (press release is vague about it).
- You don't get any artwork/booklet save for a small JPEG screenshot of the front cover.
- Albums cost 7.99 pounds to download, whereas I can buy a CD (higher quality, artwork, no DRM) for 8.99 pounds from CD WOW!.
- I like solo female singer-songerwriters - good luck on finding Nanci Griffith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sam Brown or Shawn Colvin on there. And no sign of The Beatles (unless you count a covers band !) on there of course.
Just about the only good thing I could see about the service is the availability of non-album tracks that only previously appeared on now-deleted CD singles (e.g. "Humpty Dumpty" by Aimee Mann came out in January 2003 - I never saw the CD single in the stores I go to - and it has a non-album track on it). Apart from that, you're better every single time buying the CD album or single (the latter can be 1.99 pounds or 2.99 pounds in most cases for 3 tracks).It has been a consistent part of the iTMS that about half of all songs sold are purchased as albums. You are not the only one who wants the whole artists experience. And for those who don't (or don't care), there is the a la carte option.
you can buy "temporary" downloads (~10 credits) or "permanent" downloads (~99 credits).
temporary can be listened to but not transfered to another device like permanent can.
you can also "stream" for 1 credit - one listen only.
the cost of credits and their value seems to be variable, but starts at about 1p/credit with discounts for buying lots:
http://sib1.od2.com/common/frameset/frames.asp
Fans can copy tracks (from one directory to another on the same computer)
You can copy it all you like, to backup devices, remote servers, your mothers PC whatever. But if you don't have a license, you can't play it. It appears to allow license recovery and downloading recovery as well, but the labels set those rules.
from one directory to another on the same computer in WM9 format with DRM
Afraid not anonymous FUD boy. You can burn them as CD audio tracks (and then, of course, re- rip them)
transfer them to other devices
That seems to be a label restriction. EMI allow 3 transfers to any SDMI compatible device, Universal doesn't. Oh, and they're not even using WM9, it's WM7.
as much as they want "within reason" meaning simply that you can and will be prosecuted
Of course you will, because with every download, a microsoft employee is asigned to you for life and will watch every move you make, just to make sure you don't even hum the tunes and share them with others.
The press release on MSN says the service is only available in the UK: http://www.msn.co.uk/
. sh tml
One tiscali music club can be found at: http://music.tiscali.co.uk/
Both sites do not have any information on restrictions regarding music sharing, transfers and burning. I believe you have to use Windows Media Player 9 Series in order to get more information on these topics.
The service looks a lot like the one from BuyMusic. It seems each artist/music distributor can customize the usage rights for playing, burning, sharing. With iTMS it is clear from the onset to users that all songs can be burned 10x per playlist, shared on 3 Macs etc. Here (through OD2 platform) it is per song.
I don't believe this is serious competition for iTMS, but it will be very hard for Apple to launch a pan-european service with similar pricing and rights as the US store.
See following article for details:
http://www.macobserver.com/article/2003/08/14.5
My take on this new "iTMS attacking service" (see newspaper article links on www.macsurfer.com) is that it is no competition to iTMS.
``the continent's first major a la carte online download service. ... The move marks the first time European consumers can purchase song downloads off the Internet for under one euro ($1.13)''
What about Weblisten.com? They were there before, sell songs at less than a euro a piece, provide the songs in the standard MP3 format. 'nuff said.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
Weblisten.com. Legal, MP3, Europe.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.