Sony Connect Online Music Download Store Launches 373
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."
Loss leader? (Score:5, Insightful)
So basically, Sony copied Apple . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
Retarded (Score:3, Insightful)
heh (Score:5, Insightful)
"Loss" - what do they mean? (Score:5, Insightful)
The claim is mostly inaccurate because it presupposes that the friend would otherwise have bought a copy from the publisher. That is occasionally true, but more often false; and when it is false, the claimed loss does not occur.
The claim is partly misleading because the word "loss" suggests events of a very different nature--events in which something they have is taken away from them. For example, if the bookstore's stock of books were burned, or if the money in the register got torn up, that would really be a "loss." We generally agree it is wrong to do these things to other people. But when your friend avoids the need to buy a copy of a book, the bookstore and the publisher do not lose anything they had. A more fitting description would be that the bookstore and publisher get less income than they might have got. The same consequence can result if your friend decides to play bridge instead of reading a book. In a free market system, no business is entitled to cry "foul" just because a potential customer chooses not to deal with them.
The claim is begging the question because the idea of "loss" is based on the assumption that the publisher "should have" got paid. That is based on the assumption that copyright exists and prohibits individual copying. But that is just the issue at hand: what should copyright cover? If the public decides it can share copies, then the publisher is not entitled to expect to be paid for each copy, and so cannot claim there is a "loss" when it is not. In other words, the "loss" comes from the copyright system; it is not an inherent part of copying. Copying in itself hurts no one.
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:1, Insightful)
1. They are one of THE major evil labels.
I refuse to put money in their coffers. If I can't get major-label music used, then I download it off P2P or copy it from friends.
The only music I *PAY* for is stuff from independant bands and small labels.
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:5, Insightful)
Sony is a good, solid brand. I own and love a Sony digital camera and have had treasured Walkman units throughout the years, but Sony is not quite as hip of a brand as Apple.
But I might end up surprised. With enough artist support and advertising, Sony might do economically better with their store.
Deja Vu (Score:5, Insightful)
Betamax : Tried to push its own standard. Failed even though it was superior.
Minidisc : See above
Memory Stick : Again persists on going it alone even though other standards are more popular and widespread (CF and SD)
Sony connect : Lauches its own spin when other established players are already in the market.
Interoperability means nothing to these guys.
Re:This sounds like a joke, but it's not April 1. (Score:3, Insightful)
I guess there go my hopes of having a NetMD plugin for iTunes! I love the NetMD player... it's small and it runs for 50 hours on a single AA battery. That and it's cheap -- I can drop it and not worry!
That's funny! (Score:5, Insightful)
2. Yeah. Apple has no following in Japan at all. Give me a break! The Japanese can't keep their hands off sexy, stylish, hip little things. I predict it'll be even harder to get your hands on the iPod mini in Japan (upon its release there) as it has been in the US. Name a Sony product that's come out in the last three years that's got anywhere near the amount of buzz as the 3rd-gen. iPod and iPod mini.
I think the words [pkmeco.com] of Seinfeld's Jackie Chiles will soon apply for Sony here: "This is the most public yet of my many humiliations."
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:3, Insightful)
Ask Nintendo or Sega how many years of head start they had over Sony, see what their answer is.
Note: this is not to say that Sony will conquer, but that the above reason is not proof against it.
Re:This sounds like a joke, but it's not April 1. (Score:3, Insightful)
I'm curious about what kind of DRM is there as well. I know SonicStage is supposed to interact with windows DRM in some capacity, not sure why.
My main problem with this is SonicStage. Can't get it working under wine (because of aforementioned windows DRM integration). And even in windows it's a PIECE OF FUCKING ASS CRAP FUCKING SHIT software. I feel like blowing a hole in a sony executive's skull and urinating inside his brain cavity every time I use that piece of shit.
I own a NetMD.. the hardware is pretty well-engineered, but it doesn't come close to compensating for the pure hate that is SonicStage.
Fuck sonicstage. Fuck sony.
-Laxitive
No Mac Client (Score:2, Insightful)
We know you are interested in using the Connect music store. Unfortunately SonicStage only works on Windows 98SE and above.
We have no immediate plans to support other operating systems at this time. However, we believe this is an important user base and we hope to support it in the future.
This is so sad... i'll stick with iTunes
You disagree...why? (Score:5, Insightful)
And you disagree with me here why? I didn't say it was bad for the industry!!
I'm criticizing SonyConnect because the Sony store and players are more restrictive than Apple. If you hate Apple, then fine. Don't buy an iPod or don't use iTMS. But do you think Sony is going to support OGG? Do you think they'll support AAC (DRM or no)? If you do you're dreaming. And if you hate Apple because of their "restrictions" you are going to hate Sony even more.
Sony makes Apple look like a bastion of free choice by comparison.
$1 per track is far too expensive (Score:5, Insightful)
When will the music companies realise that $1 per track is far too expensive, and their profits would probably increase if they acutally decreased the prices. And they'd have much happier customers as a result.
If tracks were 10c each, I would quite happily buy whole albums without worrying if I might not like them after a couple of plays. I buy up whole genres of music - if it cost me $50 to buy up all the best punk tracks of the 70's (or whatever), I would do that, despite it being a genre I never normally listen to.
However, I spend very little on music. I just don't like to get ripped off and I don't think $1 a track is justifiable when they have virtually zero distribution costs. And don't give me all that crap about how expensive it is to promote a record, or how the cost has to be high to pay for the flops. That's just all bullshit, especially with the near zero distribution and manufacture costs that the internet allows.
Nothing wrong with choice (Score:3, Insightful)
OK, this one has DRM and vendor lock-in etc. But it's still a competition for Apple. And unless Sony and Apple get into a cartel, that's a good thing. Because at the very least, Sony can generate an environment where prices may even drop. Remember, you wouldn't see any sale prices on your favorite food if there was only one supermarket chain in existence.
Are you people really such sad, ignorant elitists?
Sony has no angle like IBM did (Score:5, Insightful)
So where's Sony's parallel advantage here? I think that analogy is a good thing to keep in mind in general, but very fallacious because Sony doesn't have a big captive audience that they can convince on a new standard.
For the record, MP3 is the Standard For Music, with all its faults (poor quality and no DRM from the label's POV) is the standard and will remain so for a while because of its ubiquity and freedom of use. The iPod has become the de-facto "Standard For MP3-Players" and it's not a personal thing--I'm just going by marketshare here.
Re:You disagree...why? (Score:3, Insightful)
Second, I know Sony isn't going to support AAC (although someone may figure out an iPod-like hack for Ogg). The point is that the more large competitors you get into the mix, the better the devices have to get. Your original post sounded like you were condemning Sony to failure because Apple's solution is so much better. It isn't.
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I did work for these guys (Score:5, Insightful)
http://www.wagnerconsultingllc.com/ goes nowhere. Hidden backdoors in BSD? One Eyed Jack? His journal claims that he's charging Rusty six figures for work on kuro5hin.org's back-end code, and his other entries are almost as amusing.
Sir, your fiction borders on the believable, in a Clancy-esque way. I congratulate you.
Hamster
Re:Why i will never buy sony again. (Score:5, Insightful)
It cannot be denied that SONY was once one of the greatest companies on earth. Take a look [pocketcalculatorshow.com] if you have not already seen this gallery of Walkmen. They got it right lots of times, in many areas.
In this one area, digital music, they have got it completely wrong. This is unusual for SONY. Their portable digital music players have completely flopped, their proprietary encoder is a failure, and they are being left out in the cold in an area where they should be numnber one.
They were in a position to set the rules. They own Columbia and its huge back catalogue. They have the technical expertise to build the most seductive portables. They have software developers. What they were/are missing is the foresight.
They should have:
They would have owned the portable music player space, created the number one destination for music online, demonstrated that MP3s are the new radio, short circuted all the RIAA lawsuits, and....acted more like SONY.
Re:Kiss Apple Goodbye! (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Betamax and VHS... (Score:2, Insightful)
The problem with Sony is internal, not external (Score:5, Insightful)
Correct, but what Sony also has is accountants, and they exert undue influence in Sony's strategic decisions. Allow me to digress for a moment, and I'll explain why this matters.
Sony is a two-pronged company -- they sell 1)content (music, movies, etc) and 2) components (televisions, vcrs, robots, etc.)
These two divisions are opposed to one another. The component side wants to make the open, flexible "killer" hardware we want, but the content side of the company wants those devices locked down (to the point that they're not useful) so as to prevent "theft" of intellectual property, copying movies/music, etc. So these two halves are continuously fighting against one another and the CEO must decide what the right balance is.
In step the Accountants. They're there to help the CEO make this decision, but Sony's beanmen only understand a static balance sheet -- as if Sony must choose between sales of Hardware or Content. They conclude that if a sony device can be used to copy music, they will lose sales from the content side of Sony, therefore the device must 1) be locked down, 2) be expensive enough to offset potential losses from the content side, 3)contain DRM to protect Sony's IP.
Fortunately, Sony's not the only player in the market, so their sales remain poor and they end up squandering an opportunity to compete.
This scenario is good!; the way I see it every company that fails at marketing a DRM device is a win for the consumer. Perhaps after years of disappointing sales, the boardroom will tire of seeing their money wasted and demand a decision, one way or the other (content vs. component) be made. Thus, the stalemate is broken and the company can move forward.
In short, Sony's current "have it all" strategy is doomed in a free market*: Given the choice, people don't want DRM. Let's just hope Sony's (or any other company following this model) spectacular economic flame-out doesn't encourage them to pressure government officials to mandate DRM in order to prop up their failing business model.
Uh.... (Score:2, Insightful)
Playstation 2?
Re:$1 per track is far too expensive (Score:3, Insightful)
Your argument appears to be "people will pay it so it's the right price".
It's the only price. They have to pay it. I'm not sure your logic is so great either.
I'm still old fasioned, going to the record store to pick up CDs I like
Who's living in the past..? My argument doesn't apply to CDs. I appreciate that there are production and distribution costs involved which make those more expensive. Downloaded tracks should be cheaper. They're not. Why not?
You say $1 is the right price because that's what people will pay. Not me. I expect there are others like me.
Re:good thing you're anonymous (Score:1, Insightful)
I indulge in free music as much as the next guy, but if you don't see depriving a person of money they otherwise would have had to be a "loss" then you should go live in some socialist haven where work, effort and initiative are rewarded on par with sloth, apathy and dismissiveness.
Supposing you work a 40-hour week. If your boss comes in and tells you that he's decided after the fact that he doesn't want to pay you for your work--after all, now that it's done and out there, he doesn't feel he should HAVE to pay for it--would you call that a "loss"? Or would you respect his view on your intellectual property?
I hate Metallica and all those other spolied brat movie stars and bands. Having said that, let's not mince words. Downloading and listening to a song you don't own is not legal. If you choose to do it, great; I chose to drink underage and do any number of other things that would be hard to pass off as legal. Still, don't be so sophomorish as to pretend that the only laws that apply to you are the ones you agree with. If you don't like the legal system, work to get it changed...don't just sit in a pool of egotistical neophytes who would rather scoff at it from behind.
Of course, that's just my opinion.
Re:Official Policy (Score:2, Insightful)
Revocable? One need read no further. Any agreement where one party reserves the right to modify the terms in the future is no agreement at all.
Re:$1 per track is far too expensive (Score:2, Insightful)
A new game will run me somewhere between $50-$70 CDN, so let's say $60 on average. How much enjoyment am I going to get out of it? Well if it's a half-decent game, I'd want at least 40 hours or so of gameplay, and that would make the effective cost of the game around $1.50 per hour.
To justify paying, say, $1.50 per music track (after currency conversion and rounding for convenience), I'd want at least that same hour of enjoyment out of it. If the song runs 4-5 minutes, I'd have to listen to it 12-15 times before I'd hit that same mark.
So the question is, will I listen to them that often? My favourite tracks, easily; there are a bunch that I'll probably have listened to hundreds of times in my life. Others though, perhaps not. There are some songs I kinda like, but wouldn't deliberately seek out, so the only time I hear them is when they pop up on random shuffle. And other times I'm just playing music in the background and I'm not really paying full attention to it or even caring what it is, so does that really count as fully enjoying it?
In short there are some tracks which I'd say are easily worth the $1 each, but there's plenty of grey area too. At least with the current stores we can pick and choose which ones we think are worth it.
What's the advantage to the consumer? (Score:5, Insightful)
I could understand Sony Connect if it existed in a music vacuum, but since it has competition, they would have to answer the single question: What is the compelling advantage to the consumer to buy their product?.
While I have a number of Sony devices which include memory sticks, I haven't considered tasking any of them to be music players because of other limitations inherent to the devices. For example. minimal available memory in a Clie, or the availability of more convenient modes of usage (CDs) in a VAIO notebook.
To repeat, I can't find a single compelling reason to consider purchasing from their online store over its competition. Can you?
Re:So basically, Sony copied Apple . . . (Score:2, Insightful)
Well, there's still vendor lock-in because of the, uh, hrm, let me get back to you on this one...
iPod: Only plays Fairplay files or files without Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). Meaning you have to have an iPod if you want your iTunes to go, or you have to buy from the iTMS if you have an iPod and purchase music online. Apple has already shown quite publicly that it has no intention to license Fairplay to other stores and I'm baffled. How is that any different that saying only Apple software is allowed on Apple hardware? Wouldn't it drive iPod sales to license Fairplay to other stores at some small cost to their iTMS loss leader?
Re:So basically, Sony copied Apple . . . (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:So basically, Sony copied Apple . . . (Score:3, Insightful)
1) RIAA will not license you to sell music without a DRM system in place.
2) RIAA will not license you to sell music that can have perfect reproduction.
Then you have to pay bandwidth costs on the pipes going in/out of your store. Of course everyone will choose the largest file size possible. It all adds up especially when you are only getting a percentage of the 99 cents.
I am guessing that as soon as they can they want to migrate to a DRM based CD format as well.
Re:So basically, Sony copied Apple . . . (Score:3, Insightful)
When will people realize? (Score:3, Insightful)
Even if fair use it taken into consideration through the use of proprietary hardware, the big companies will take those rights away as soon as they have M$-sized market share (proportionally-speaking) and people can't afford to switch to a platform that takes their interests into consideration.
I guess if you're gullible enough to chase after the pretty bells and whistles without considering the consequences, you deserve whatever happens. I guess that really means I don't have a point.
Sure. (Score:3, Insightful)