Sony Connect Online Music Download Store Launches

securitas writes "USA Today's Jefferson Graham reports that today Sony launched its online music download store, Sony Connect, to compete with Apple's leading iTunes service. The tracks use the MagicGate DRM copy-protection scheme and will work only with Sony Memory Stick-compatible devices including VAIO computers, CLIE PDAs, MiniDisc, CD and Walkman products. Sony will also launch a new line of 1-gigabyte Hi-MD disc players that support the service. Sony Connect's catalog sports 500,000 tracks from independent and major labels and songs sell for 99 cents each or $10 per album. The service uses Sony's SonicStage software and works with Windows 98SE-XP PCs only. It is only available in the USA until the planned European launch in June. That's a whole lot of restrictions in an already-fragmented market. More at The Register and The Age."

Comments

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

All of MP3 already outcompetes this

[paulproteus]

I've been buying music lately from Allofmp3.com, covered lately in Slashdot. A review of it can be found here.

It's cheap (1 cent per megabyte), great quality (offers me lossless FLAC files), and legal (royalties paid to ROMS, the relevant group in Russia). And the files are unencumbered

All the problems of iTunes (summarized excellently at Downhill Battle) still apply. Why go for something restricted, too expensive, and too controlled by the media monopoly, when you can get cheap legal music from Allofmp3 or similar services?

Re:So basically, Sony copied Apple . . .

[jdreed1024]

even right down to the vendor lock-in part

Yeah, that's my biggest gripe with Apple and iTMS. I mean, iTMS only works on Windows and Mac. Yeesh. Talk about vendor lock in - what about non-Apple machines?

*whispering off camera*

Huh? Apple doesn't make i386 machines? And they don't make Windows? Oh, uh ok. Well, still, it sucks that you can only burn CDs on Apple computers.

*more whispering*

Wait, you can burn CDs on any machine with iTunes and a CD burner? Oh, well, OK, it still sucks that you can only burn them on Apple media and then only play them back on Apple CD players.

*whispering, louder this time*

Wait, they're regular audio CDs that you can play back in your car or home stereo? Red-Book compliant? No Apple computer required? And you can burn them to any CD-R media? Hrm. Well, there's still vendor lock-in because of the, uh, hrm, let me get back to you on this one...