Wal-Mart Music Download Service Launches

nns6561 writes "Wal-Mart launched their music download service today. They are providing wma files for 88 cents. I was able to download and play the test file with MPlayer and Linux. Finally, a music service for us geeks." While it may be only another online music seller, I'd hazard a guess that Wal-Mart has the name recognition to be the most prevalent music download service, especially among the tech-unsavvy.

Comments

Less Restrictive Than Some

[digitalvengeance]

They seem to be a bit less restrictive than Napster2.

From their usage agreement:

You may download music to a single computer. You may then transfer music files and backup license files to up to two (2) additional personal computers. You may play music an unlimited number of times on up to three (3) personal computers. You shall be entitled to 1) burn Products solely for personal, non-commercial use up to ten (10) times and 2) export Products solely to a portable device capable of playing Windows Media (TM) Audio ("WMA") files such as a WMA-compliant MP3 player an unlimited number of times. WALMART.COM is a reseller to you and does not accept orders from music dealers, exporters, wholesalers, any businesses of any kind or other customers who intend to resell.
Emphasis mine.Still, I won't pay for any music until I can burn it to CD in MP3 or Ogg format. My car has an MP3 player and changing CDs every hour or so has become as objectionable to me as following the speed limit.

As for the submitter's claim that wal-mart might be able to make this the "most prevalent online music service," whatever happened to the ISP that wal-mart tried to float? I rest my case.

Censorship

[MikeCapone]

I'd never buy anything from wal-mart just because they have been a major promoter of censorship in music (and films). I suspect their online music store is the same.

Re:Censorship

[JUSTONEMORELATTE]

For the record, it's not censorship for a retailer to choose what they're willing to sell.
It bites, and the fact that they don't clearly label the "WalMart Edit" as such is bordering on deception, but it's not censorship.

A Government saying that no retailer can sell the unedited version, that'd be censorship.

--

Re:Censorship

[MacEnvy]

I agree. Anyone who's ever bought an "explicit lyrics" CD from WalMart can tell you that it is filled with the radio-edited versions of songs.

http://www.massmic.com/walmart.html

It's about what one would expect from a Bible-belt-run company whose main source of income comes from the lowest 2 tax brackets. Not to be stereotypical, but it's true. Sometimes cliches are true. Hey, I'll buy some stuff at WalMart, but never music. Unless you're okay with edited, censored music, you'd best stick with iTunes. Apple has a better selection and doesn't use DRM'ed WMA files. AAC isn't very restrictive.

Re:Censorship

[MikeCapone]

For the record, it's not censorship for a retailer to choose what they're willing to sell. It bites, and the fact that they don't clearly label the "WalMart Edit" as such is bordering on deception, but it's not censorship.

censor ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snsr) n.

1. A person authorized to examine books, films, or other material and to remove or suppress what is considered morally, politically, or otherwise objectionable.

I don't care how they do it, they are still forcing artists to modify their vision and keep lots of people from accessing the original piece of work.

Sure they can select what they sell, but it doesn't mean that it's not censorship. When they throw their economic weight around to get people to re-record songs, or when they alter artwork and lyrics. That's censorship.

When the biggest store in the USA decides that it won't carry any album what has X or Y on it, it's pressure put on the artists to conform or suffer huge losses of money and exposure.

For joe mullet that lives in a small town that doesn't have indie music stores and such, wall-mart is often the place when he first discovers music (at age 11 or whatever). If all they carry is a "weeded out" selection, it could affect his tastes for years and reduce his horizons quite a bit.

For geeks?

[IGnatius T Foobar]

Somehow I doubt Wal-Mart has "geeks" in mind as the target audience. It does not help the geek community to patronize an online music store that provides WMA files. When those WMA's start including Palladium-enriched goodness, you won't be able to play them on Linux anymore. And maybe by then, Wal-Mart and Microsoft will have put iTunes and the more legit shops out of business.

Think about the big picture. Demand MP3 and OGG files. This cannot be understated.

Re:Wal-Mart Music Download Service Launches

[Anonymous Coward]

Wal-Mart has more name recognition than Dell, Apple, Microsoft, Sun, HP, and Red Hat combined.

As well, in addition to the $0.11, you get to directly use the music without burn/waste disc/re-rip and recompress and add more loss and hassle on multiple media players and several (20+ at last count) portable units from multiple manufacturers. Not to mention in-dash and portable CD players that do WMA.

Re:88 cents!

[Paulrothrock]

1) Apple doesn't kow tow to M$ by using wma. They use their own format, with decent DRM policies. That's more than enough for me to keep using them.

2) They bundle their store with free burning/ripping/playlist software and seamlessly integrate it. The only thing Wal*Mart is good at integrating is their supply chain.

3) Apple is a company that gives me a warm fuzzy feeling when I buy their products. Did Wal*Mart create the first music store? No. Did Napster develop a really great MP3 player? No. Apple innovates, and that's why I like them.

Walmart is evil and full of controversry

[Billly Gates]

I for one am boycutting them. Go do a search under Google and its fairly easy to see what this company represents.

They are screwing all the grocery store businesses in the southwest by forcing their competitors to stop paying their workers health insurance just to say competitive. They are the cheapest because they buy alot of customers fire all of them and ship the labor oversea;s. The made in the USA banner in all their stores are such crap!

They have the GDP of most countries and according to Business week magazine is projected to be the seller of 50% of all household goods by 2008!

Walmart also forces vendors to outsource labor to 3rd world countries because they only stock products that are the cheapest. If not then you go out of business since Walmart will own 50% of all your customers by 2008!

All the products are cheap crap over there and the walmart down the street from where I live recently, because they put in camera's in the breakrooms, bathrooms, and hired a gumshoe to determine if the employees were forming a union. Only a few were but they fired all 120 workers in the store just to be safe and replaced them will mexicans willing to work for minimum wage.

The controversy is endless and this corporation makes Microsoft and the RIAA look friendly.

Just a little warning and you all may want to do some research before buying any laptop or music service from them.

Re:Walmart is evil and full of controversry

[richieb]

They are screwing all the grocery store businesses in the southwest by forcing their competitors to stop paying their workers health insurance just to say competitive.

Perhaps part of the problem is that health insurance in the US is outrageously expensive.

Walmart also forces vendors to outsource labor to 3rd world countries because they only stock products that are the cheapest. If not then you go out of business since Walmart will own 50% of all your customers by 2008!

By keeping their prices low Walmart provides a lot of goods for people who are in the lower income bracket. These people like to eat too.

If vendors want to sell to Walmart, they need to keep their prices low. How they do it is up to them, not up to Walmart.

Even if Walmart has 50% the market (which it doesn't yet) shouldn't competition be able to survive? MS has 90% of the desktops, but somehow Macs and Apple are doing OK.

Re:Profit?

[Billly Gates]

Wallmart is losing money and only doing this to turn their competitors under. They will raise the costs afterwards. Walmart does this more then Microsoft and the DOJ can't touch them because Americans would have a fit since it would raise the cost of goods there.

Re:Quick look

[herrvinny]

All rights in the Products are owned by WALMART.COM or its licensors and you have only a limited, nontransferable, nonexclusive, revocable, nonsublicensable right to use the Products for personal use in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.

What the fsck is "revocable" doing in there? Why should I pay Walmart one red cent if they can just roll back my rights whenever they want to? That has to be against some law, right? Or else you're not really "purchasing" the song, more like it's being leased to you.

Selection??

[scottblascocomposer]

Interestingly enough, there is no Classical music at all! Even something as common as Beethoven.

I'll stick with iTunes for myriad reasons, but here are the biggest ones:
1. WalMart has excluded me based on my status as a Mac user. For some reason, they saw fit not to include me and my ilk in their business plan.
2. There is no classical music, which is 90% of what I buy. Here even iTunes isn't so great, as what I'm interested in is new music by living composers, and the selection there is limited.
3. WalMart is an evil, unscrupled company.

Reading this, WalMart? You could turn me into a customer, but I imagine it's not likely to happen.

don't shop walmart...don't shop anywhere....

[donutz]

Sounds like a lot of the reasons not to shop at Wal-Mart are reasons you shouldn't shop anywhere at all.

Re:Why Not to Shop at Wal-Mart - idiocy

[bryanthompson]

You can always smell a "something for nothing" democrat.

Life isn't all ergonomic keyboards and naptimes on company time. Your entire argument is based on emotion and conjecture. Walmart has done nothing illegal, and for you to bash them as if they're just some evil corporation is ridiculous.

...sub-poverty level wages. If you stay long enough you're left with back problems, wrist problems, and bone spurs for your trouble.
sub-poverty level to me, and I may be wrong about this, means below poverty level. Being paid about two times minimum wage wouldn't be below poverty level. I would think below minimum wage would be sub-poverty level.

not the way the world works. These people are living on such a thin margin of financial saftey that a missed paycheck, an injury, their car breaking down, can make the difference and put them on the street.
Actually, that's exactly how the world works. Here's the secret. If you have some ambition for a better job, go out and start looking while you hold your current job. You may be miserable for a little while, but if you line it up right, you can quit your current job and move on to you new happy job.