AOL Music Now Relaunches Music Service

Planetrudy writes "Reuters reports that AOL has launched a new version of its Music Now subscription service. It's web-based, slick, performs well (fast page loads and downloads), and contains over 2.5M songs and 'thousands of videos.' This launch seems to be in line with AOL's 'tearing down the wall around the garden' strategy."

Comments

Strategy?

[slapyslapslap]

This launch seems to be in line with AOL's 'tearing down the wall around the garden' strategy

Sounds more like their "copy a business model in desperation and be second rate" strategy.

Re:Strategy?

[alcmaeon]

Let' see, AOL invented the $14.95/month from everyone forever strategy and it got them where they are today--the verge of bankruptcy. It sounds really good, but I'm thinking something is left out of the formula. Maybe they should add value for the expense. Or maybe "consumers" don't really like being a perpetual money drip for corps.

Note to Microsoft: No one in his right mind will "rent" Windows Vista, but AOL would like company in its misery.

Tear down the wall, but give the user a tether.

[Tackhead]

> AOL said digital media on the service can play directly from a Web browser without the need to download a standalone software application, as with Apple Computer Inc.'s popular iTunes service. It is also compatible with Microsoft Corp.'s PlayforSure compatible portable devices.

Translation: If you're using Windows, you have an MS DRM-compliant player (Windows Media Player) installed. You therefore don't need iTunes. It gives you DRM-cripped windows media files, and it requires that you run IE, with ActiveX and Javascript turned on.

Tearing down the wall around the garden? Hardly. Just changing the name spraypainted on the Gates.

Re:Tear down the wall, but give the user a tether.

[jb.hl.com]

Be fair though, this is an AOL service. It's hardly targeted at Firefox/Linux/Winamp/whatever users, it's targeted squarely at people who don't want to, for whatever reason, use something other than Windows Media Player. For those people this service will do admirably.

Re:Tear down the wall, but give the user a tether.

[jb.hl.com]

Fair point. I do however have some faith in people learning from their mistakes, and I goddamn well hope AOL has done so.

Re:Tear down the wall, but give the user a tether.

[Parafilmus]

"this is an AOL service. It's hardly targeted at Firefox/Linux/Winamp/whatever users"

Actually, AOL owns Winamp, and AOL owns the primary developer of Firefox.
For that reason, I'd be surprised if this new service doesn't work with them.

ooops, NOT 10 Million SONGS

[yagu]

Went to AOL's home page to check this out, and there on page one was the ad for 10 Million Singles! Thought, "Wow, four times more than the article stated!", then discovered it was a dating site advertisement, sigh.

Aha, there is another link that goes to AOL's music service... Alas, it's one of those:

1. 30 day free trial
2. enter your billing information first

kind of "offers", not my cup of tea.

For those who care, the "Service Agreement" which you really should read before signing up is more than 5000 words long. Good luck reading and understanding what's new and different about AOL for this offering.

Of course the very first provision of their service agreement is: " We may modify these Terms of Service at any time.... "

YMMV

Re:ooops, NOT 10 Million SONGS

[jb.hl.com]

Most free trials of subscription services are like that. They tend to work on the basis that if you don't like the service, you'll cancel before the trial runs out. Same with magazine subscription offers.

AOLs track record

[IflyRC]

Personally I'd be afraid to purchase anything from them. With AOLs history, I'd expect to be signing up for one of those CD clubs where you get a CD every month for life and can't cancel. I can see that with AOL. Also, it makes me fear for my personal information. Should I cancel the service, will my information be sold? Leaked? How in-depth will their sales reporting data be?

Last month you purchased the new album from SomeStupidArtist - we thought you'd like to hear the new release from a similar group called SomeStudidTeenAct

Re:AOLs track record

[wwiiol_toofless]

Yeah and if they release my music purchase history, I'm gonna be pissed.

#45498734 purchased Yanni:Live at the acropolis
#45498734 purchased Kenny G: emotional sax
#45498734 purchased Rock eh?:The ultimate Canadian Rock anthology

Re:Russia

[jb.hl.com]

Or you could "donate" some money by buying a CD or using iTunes/MSN Music/Napster. Then you can boycott AOL, get music, AND give the artists (and everyone else involved with making a record) money! Everyone wins!

Nothing to see here folks, move along...

[DreadfulGrape]

Sorry, no sale. Three reasons:

1) It's still pay-to-play (you stop paying, songs stop playing)
2) Won't play on 78% of the players in circulation (i.e. iPods)
3) It's AOL, for God's sake

Re:Nothing to see here folks, move along...

[OverlordQ]

1) It's still pay-to-play (you stop paying, songs stop playing)

Well yea, it's a subscription service. If you go rent a rug doctor you dont get to keep it after your rental period is up.

Re:Nothing to see here folks, move along...

[rearden]

I wish people would stop listing "doesn't play on iPod" as a reason the service is no good. If the Apple Fan Boys are not happy that does it not play well with iPod - then complain to APPLE! This is not the sites fault, it is the fault of APPLE which REFUSES to license FairPlay to anyone. While this is Apple right, dont hold that against others. I dislike MS as much as most, but at least their system gives me SOME choices in different sales sites, different players, etc. Apple makes all the choices for me- iPod and iTunes - and nothing else. I for one would like say... a changeable battery!

PS: Before you get all up in a huff saying "iPod's support MP3's" well yeah but like it or not (and I for one do not) none of the major RIAA companies will license music for non-DRM download. Get over it, that is not a valid argument as a way to have other sites support iPod and we all know it.

AOL's music service

[suv4x4]

AOL Music Now Launches Music Service!: noone cares

AOL Music Now Relaunches Music Service!: noone cares still

BTW I really enjoy their pink "only works in US" creeping bar.

It's about time music is sold from a single retailer worldwide, online. It's not that we have a local Britney Spears to translate and resing the songs, so what's with that non-sense? Only shows how desperately out of tune with the world the recording/movie industry is.

Re:An unpopular view

[suv4x4]

I have found though, that for newer users especially seniors citizens find alot of what AOL has to offer less intimidating than being let loose on the wilds of the internet

It's so much cosier to sleep in the sh*t we're in right now than try something new, isn't it.
Here's another cruel and unpopular view: if AOL is for senior citizens, does it mean AOL will die along with them?

Bad encoding. No thanks.

[Eq 7-2521]

I don't know how this is possible, but the encodings sound *worse* than XM streams. It's WMA, so of course it's going to sound bad at any bitrate below about 150kbps, but the clips I listened to were around 32. Why do they even bother?

New AOL search data released

[wizzahd]

(8936521) aol music npw
(8936521) aol music now
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(8936521) aol music now made my computer slow why
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(8936521) how to fuck a horse

Re:Apple Tax

[JimDaGeek]

Stop paying for iPods and eventually they'll "stop playing" for you portably.

No they won't because you _own_ that copy. You are allowed to burn an audio CD and from there you can convert to whatever the new audio codec is to work on whatever device you want.

I don't personally buy any music with DRM so I am not saying Apple's method is "better". I am just stating that with Apple and iTMS you actually own your copy and you don't have to pay an MS-Tax/AOL-Tax/Napster-Tax/Etc to continue to listen to your purchased audio.