Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Windows Media Player 11 and Urge

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the toggling-the-new-toys dept.

j0e_average writes "The Washington Post is running a review of Microsoft's next version of Media Player, and its integration with MTV's new music service Urge. According to reviewer, Rob Pegoraro, 'Not only does this new, Windows XP-only software promote Urge to the exclusion of other retailers, you can't shop at this store-- or even just play your Urge downloads -- in any earlier version of Windows Media Player.' The Microsoft/Urge subscription model contains a new twist as well: 'Urge also lets you rent songs: $9.95 a month (or $99 a year) lets you download all the tracks you want to a computer, while $14.95 ($149 a year) lets you transfer those downloads to most newer Windows Media-compatible players. These rented songs can't be burned to CD and go silent if you stop paying the fees.'"

7 of 488 comments (clear)

  1. How is this a new twist? by WalterGR · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Microsoft/Urge subscription model contains a new twist as well: 'Urge also lets you rent songs: $9.95 a month (or $99 a year) lets you download all the tracks you want to a computer, while $14.95 ($149 a year) lets you transfer those downloads to most newer Windows Media-compatible players. These rented songs can't be burned to CD and go silent if you stop paying the fees.'

    How is this a "new twist"? Listen Rhapsody has been using this model for years.

    --
    The Online Slang Dictionary
  2. What's the logic here? by Gothic_Walrus · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Please tell me they're not seriously expecting this to compete with iTunes.

    Even with MTV and Microsoft pushing it together, I think that the fact that you can't burn the music is going to turn away most of their potential customers. People are stupid, but given the choice between owning DRMed music that you can burn or renting it and watching it all vanish when you stop paying...well, I'd hope that people aren't that stupid.

    --
    Goo goo g'joob.
    1. Re:What's the logic here? by WalterGR · · Score: 5, Interesting

      People are stupid, but given the choice between owning DRMed music that you can burn or renting it and watching it all vanish when you stop paying...well, I'd hope that people aren't that stupid.

      I subscribe to Rhapsody, so I guess I am that stupid.

      I know some people feel very... passionately... about "renting" music rather than "owning" it. But I like having access to thousands upon thousands of tracks that I can listen to at any time. Rhapsody has two million tracks.

      Am I going to listen to all two million? Of course not. But I have extremely varied tastes and like exploring new music. Last week I was listening to my favorite indie tracks, then I got bored. So I started checking out world music - African, Caribbean, Brazilian. Then I got bored and listened to some hip-hop. Then I got bored and listened to some music from Rent.

      In a given week, I'll listen to hundreds of different tracks - most of them brand new to me. How much do I pay? About $12.

      But that's ok, call me stupid. ;)

      --
      The Online Slang Dictionary
    2. Re:What's the logic here? by Jeff+DeMaagd · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Why does it matter whether you can "burn" an audio CD? For music, you may as well use a Bic lighter. Portable audio players are so dang small and can hold a hundred albums in a third the volume of a single CD jewel case, such that there is no point in CDs except as a purchase medium.

      It is clearly a subscription service and shouldn't be treated as if that is the only choice you get, you can still buy single tracks or buy physical CDs. You trade "buying" 10-15 CDs a year (though you can still buy if you like) for the ability to legally sample any of a few million tracks at any time without having to commit to buying them, and still get to time-shift. To me, that sounds like a decent trade-off.

      I don't think a subscription service where you get to subscribe to a huge library for dirt cheap and you get to download what ever you want and keep them forever is a viable business model. I understand basic psychology, people would subscribe for a month for the cost of a single CD and acquire a library of a lifetime and unsubscribe. What you want seems to be the have-your-cake-and-eat-it variety, which frankly, makes you seem a lot like how the RIAA behaves.

  3. Re:i bet by Ruff_ilb · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I don't think it's that no one CAN... I think it's that no one cares enough to even bother.

    Considering the fact that high-quality, free music can be obtained without any sort of DRM cracking, there's really no incentive to crack the iTunes DRM system.

    --
    http://www.TheGamerNation.com/Forums
  4. Re:i bet by complete+loony · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Or there's Virtual Audio Cable which creates a fake sound card that lets you redirect it's output to another applications input.

    --
    09F91102 no, 455FE104 nope, F190A1E8 uh-uh, 7A5F8A09 that's not it, C87294CE no. Ah! 452F6E403CDF10714E41DFAA257D313F.
  5. Re:i bet by clockwise_music · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Just make sure that you mute the record output (monitoring) level - otherwise you'll end up with a wonderful feedback loop!

    It's actually more difficult than you might expect to be able to record your computers output - it actually would be an easier solution to use a second PC. Just make sure that you've got your equalizer set to something reasonably flat, otherwise you'll have too much bass and treble.

    Pretty funny how we've now come full circle - doesn't this remind you of the tape trading days? Next thing you know we'll be playing back + recording sounds at twice the speed (so that you could tape an album in half the time...) - ahh, those were the days. Made it easier to slow down a fast guitar solo :)