Slashdot Mirror
OD2 Launches Penny-Per-Song Streaming Jukebox
securitas writes "BBC Technology's Darren Waters reports that UK digital music service OD2 launched its 350,000-song SonicSelector streaming 'digital jukebox' for a penny per song a day ahead of the iTunes Europe debut. The service (co-founded by Peter Gabriel) is available only in 'UK, France, Germany and Italy and will only work with users of Windows Media Player' 9. NewsFactor and The Register have descriptions of the pay-per-use / a la carte service. More at the Financial Times and Reuters via ZDNet UK. You can also read the previous OD2 Slashdot discussion."
With the massive proliferation of online music distribution services popping up all over the internet could this finally make the RIAA take notice that the old channels of distribution are finally dead and they need to reinvent themselves to stay alive? It will only be a matter of time before non-RIAA artists starting getting exposure through these new channels and the RIAA loses their shakey grip on the industry. Maybe they will never actually admit to being dinosaurs but that won't stop them from becoming extinct.
Please do not let scientific accuracy interfere with the intended humourous/interesting/insightful value of this comment
iTunes surprised a lot of people when they hinted one week ago that they would launch iTunes in Europe today. Well, it's not exactly Europe (just UK, Germany, France), but everyone is running scared right now trying to prevent Apple from doing in Europe what they have done in the US.
Competition is good for everyone, especially for the consumers. Let the music war begin.
Little Bricklets
Err.. he doesn't work for BBC Technology, he works for BBC News Online. BBC Technology is a very different entity.
Infrastructure
OD2 offers a complete end to end solution for the digital sale, promotion and distribution of Music.
The OD2 infrastructure is designed to serve all channels, devices, platforms and formats. This means that the consumer will be able to purchase digital product to their PC, Mobile phone, TV or portable devices - like MP3 players. OD2 provides all the tools required for labels to sell and promote their music digitally and, as the market evolves, OD2 will ensure that the label's music is sold in every viable media.
Performance
* Systems capable of delivering over 1,000,000 streams and downloads per day.
* New European clusters will extend this to over 2,000,000 in Q1 2000.
Reliability
* Full Application and System Monitoring 24x7x365.
* Automated test downloads every 120 seconds.
* Hardware and software redundancy throughout OD2 systems architecture.
* Rigorous development, test and deployment processes. (OD2 is an accredited Microsoft Solutions Provider).
Security
* Digital Rights Management (DRM) based on Microsoft Version 7 Rights Manager.
* Enables a range of distribution and playback controls to be defined.
* Media protected internally and externally using latest security and encryption techniques.
Multi-platform
* Architecture enables new DRM's to be inserted for support of new platforms e.g. Cable TV, ADSL, 3rd Generation Mobile.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
Europe launch for Apple's iTunes
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
You could always just capture the penny streams with AudioHiJack (I am sure there is a PC equivalent as well).
It's not ahead of the iTunes Europe debut... I live in the UK, I have a UK credit card, and I have downloaded music in my iTunes folder - the iTunes UK, France and Germany stores are open.
The definition of what Apple is doing is confusing on its face and the poster of this article made it worse.
The iTunes Europe debut is for the rest of Europe, while Germany, France, and the UK already have iTunes. Yes it doesn't make perfect sense, but calling the debut iTunes "rest of Europe" wasn't as catchy.
"All great wisdom is contained in .signature files"