Puretracks Music Store Drops DRM

khendron writes "The Canadian online music store Puretracks (a store I have generally avoided because of their Microsoft-specific solutions) has announced that it will immediately start selling part of its catalog as DRM-free MP3 files. The site's unprotected catalog, which includes artists such as The Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan, will initially feature only 50,000 of its 1.3 million tracks, but their number will grow weekly. The Globe and Mail says the move will likely profit Puretracks because its DRM-free-music will be playable on iPods. It quotes one industry watcher saying 'We're seeing the death of DRM.'" Essentially Puretracks is relaxing the major-label mandated DRM rules that it had initially applied to all labels, even the indies that wanted no part of DRM.

Don't believe the hype

[sulli]

Boing Boing [boingboing.net] debunks this story. In brief: stay the hell away.

Not True

[govtpiggy]

This article is completely wrong. This store actually uses standard Windows PlaysForSure DRM on all it's tracks. The friggin' PlaysForSure logo is on their homepage. http://www.puretracks.com/ [puretracks.com]

Not so fast

[Wubby]

It looks like some users over at BoingBoing have already debunked this one Link [boingboing.net]. According to them, all the track on the site, including the supposedly "DRM Free" are Windows crippled WMA.

Either they aren't doing this "immediately" or someone screwed up. I can't find a single BNL song that is available in anything other than WMA from Puretracks.

I call BS.

[JayPee]

http://www.puretracks.com/content/viewer_page.aspx ?cid=UserDetection_MacOSNotAllowed [puretracks.com]

Microsoft-specific solutions?

[nganju]

(a store I have generally avoided because of their Microsoft-specific solutions)

Do you mean Microsoft-specific DRM solutions? Because if you're avoiding them simply because they've chosen to build their website/infrastructure with ASP and .NET, you've gone off the deep end with your Microsoft-hating.

From The F'in Web Site

[torstenvl]

Is this what's meant by "immediately" ???

FTFWS:

http://www.puretracks.com/res/img/macsplash.gif [puretracks.com]

Ah, you're on a Mac. Here's the thing about that.

Thanks for visiting.

Our current music sotre uses Windows Media technology to play our music files. Unfortunately that means our songs are incompatible with your operating system. Furthermore, Aple's iTunes FairPlay system is currently not available to us for use with iPods.

We'd love to offer our music to Mac users, and we are currently working to offer content in new formats.

Ah, comme ça vous êtes sur Mac. Sauf que...

Merci de votre visite.

Notre magasin de musique utilise présentement la technologie Windows Media pour jouer nos fichiers musicaux. Malheureusement, cela signifie [sic] que nos fichiers musicaux sont incompatibles avec votre système d'exploitation. De plus, le système iTunes FairPlay de Apple [sic] ne nous est présentement pas [sic] disponible pour fins d'utilisation avec des [sic] iPods.

Nous aimerions offrir notre musique aux utilisateurs [des] Mac[s], et nous sommes en train de travailler sur la possibilité d'offrir notre nouveau contenu sous de nouveaux formats.

Re:Not so fast

[Yer Mum]

All tracks on the US site.

If you go to the Canadian site and you're not in Canada it moves you on to the US site.

So we need someone in Canada to verify the story.

Re:Not so fast

[Merlynnus]

Didn't try too hard did you? From the main page, click "MP3". Next, click a BNL album, like this one: http://www.puretracks.com/catalog/details.aspx?pid =indy_624284002354_mp3 [puretracks.com]

Two clicks is too much to expect from the average Slashdot bandwagoner, I guess.

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[Anonymous Coward]

Otherwise you will be condsidered a hypocrit and ignored.

EMusic [emusic.com] has been around for years. Everything on the site is MP3.

They don't seem to be having any business difficulties. And for the record, I've been a subscriber for years.

Re:This is nearly worthless unless...

[Merlynnus]

I've just checked out the website, and found no way to look only for non-DRM music.

Wrong. Click the "MP3" link (4th item on the menu bar at the top of the page). Although I suppose I have to take into consideration that you may not be aware that MP3s contain no DRM.

Or, if that's too much work, click here: http://www.puretracks.com/content/viewer.aspx?cid= GlobalNav_MP3 [puretracks.com]

Re:Don't believe the hype

[Merlynnus]

Funny, this page: http://www.puretracks.com/catalog/details.aspx?pid =indy_624284002354_mp3&mod=1 [puretracks.com] lists 7 albums available as MP3, with one only available as MP3.

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[richlv]

there are a lot of other online stores that not only sell non-drm, music they also provide oggs, flacs, ability to re-download...

actually, one of them - magnatune - was recently integrated in amarok.
after that, there have been several interested parties in such integration, all of them providing unencumbered tracks in free formats.
an amarok developer is working on a generic music store interface, so it should be even easier to purchase such music and increase music available.
of course, this unified interface is still some time away, but until that everybody can go to magnatune or any other shop that is not only selling non-drm stuff, but also providing it in open an high-quality formats :)

Re:This isn't Slashdot's Fault

[Yer Mum]

CBC is a Canadian broadcaster. You are not Canadian. CBC sees the MP3 tracks on the site when they access it. You don't, you are redirected to the US shop where there are no MP3 tracks.

Re:Don't believe the hype

[$RANDOMLUSER]

And that one redirects me to "only available in Canada" [puretracks.com].

Re:Come off it

[despisethesun]

The RIAA specifically does not exist in Canada. That's a U.S.-only cartel for American-based record labels. In Canada, there's the CRIA, which is made up of the Canadian branches of those major labels, plus whatever Canadian-based indies have decided to join. So it's basically the same thing, but specific to each country.

Re:Not so fast

[saforrest]

Two clicks is too much to expect from the average Slashdot bandwagoner, I guess.

I followed your link, and got this error page [puretracks.com].

I suppose it might be the case that this system for auto-redirecting all Mac users to an error page dates from the time when all their songs were DRMed, and hasn't been updated. But it certainly doesn't convey the impression that they've changed anything.

I am in Canada, btw.

is not available for Mac OS.

[djupedal]

...and not only that, available only to canucs? Seems to limit who can claim to be honoring a promise to support non-DRM'ed content. Yep, this is really going to make a splash in the music world.

What's the point, other than some site smaller than Balmer's nuts trying to gain more exposure...?

Re:Don't believe the hype

[Methuseus]

Unfortunately the DRM-free tracks are only available in Canada. If you try to see them from a US IP address you get a page saying those albums are only available to Canadian residents.

There are two online shops, parent is not a troll

[Yer Mum]

The Canadian one, available only to people in Canada, sells WMAs and the new MP3s. The US one (which everyone else outside Canada gets, because I'm in Spain) sells only WMAs.

If you see a Mac error page it makes sense because you're not in Canada and can only download WMAs.

If you checked the links to MP3s that posters have given and you get told you're being sent to the US shop, now you know why.

Finally, it might be useful to bear in mind that the world doesn't revolve around the US. Not completely, anyway.

Re:Not True

[Methuseus]

As said earlier by myself and a few others, you can only buy DRM-free tracks if you live in Canada, or at the very least if you are not coming from a US IP address.

Canadians only, the story is NOT bogus

[Magorak]

After reading a lot of people from the USA claiming this was bullshit and making a big fuss about it (something you do a lot of) I went to the site myself, and sure enough, there's PLENTY of albums available in MP3 format.

I live in Canada and we're seeing the links. I suspect that since the RIAA rules your dominion, you guys are stuck living in a DRM world for Puretracks but for Canadians, we're finally seeing some MP3's on this site.

You guys gotta stop flaming other people and claiming the story is bullshit until you do a little research. Just because you live in the US doesn't mean that you can get to it. It's the same thing that pisses me off about American websites that advertise the ability to stream TV shows but the moment I try it, no luck because I live in Canada.

BTW, since I have bought stuff from Puretracks in the past, I received an email from them just prior to reading the post on Slashdot. Here's a copy of the letter.

----
Thank you for being a Puretracks customer. We are very excited to announce that as of today Puretracks will be offering MP3 files for sale on our site at Puretracks.com: http://www.puretracks.com/content/viewer.aspx?cid= GlobalNav_MP3 [puretracks.com].
And as the first North American digital service provider to launch 'a la carte' MP3 music downloads, we're happy to offer you a free MP3 track from the popular Canadian band The Barenaked Ladies.
The track, called 'The Sound of Your Voice,' will be delivered along with the February 27th Puretracks newsletter. You will need to be a registered newsletter subscriber to be eligible to download this track.
If you don't currently receive our newsletter (filled with weekly free tracks and exclusive content), click here to register.
MP3s at Puretracks
MP3 tracks are easy to download (no licenses required) and can be played on all digital audio devices. Puretracks currently offers over 50,000 tracks in French and English from popular artists such as: Sarah McLachlan, Broken Social Scene, Feist, The Barenaked Ladies, Jean Leloup and Richard Seguin. Track prices starting at $ 0.79 each.
Be sure to register now for the Puretracks newsletter to get your free MP3 track from The Barenaked Ladies! Click here to register. If you are already registered, watch for your February 27th Puretracks newsletter to get your free track.
Regards,

Alistair Mitchell,
CEO

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[straterpatrick]

I just did! I bought my first mp3 album online! (Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked Ladies Are Men)

It was less than $8 bucks Canadian and sounds great. And I can put it only any mp3 player I want legally and without any worries about compatibility!

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[SatanicPuppy]

I assume you mean, "Even more strained analogy"

If I copied everything about the Ferrari except the actual emblem, that would be okay, because it's legal to reverse engineer engines and shocks and transmissions...Just not software. and if I copied the emblem, it still wouldn't be a copyright issue. It'd be a trademark violation.

Downloading music isn't theft. It's not a trademark violation. It's not a patent infringement. It's copyright violation. Very simple.

Not the Only One

[phyjcowl]

Though puretracks may have just dropped DRM, they're not the only company in Canada to offer that. Another company called Zunior (zunior.com [zunior.com]) is doing the same but they take it a step further and offer downloads in FLAC format. They also include album images and such in the download. That's the way to do it. I wish every company would treat their music downloads this way. People have high-speed connections now, why not offer high-quality audio? I don't want to pay $8-10 for MP3s when I can get the CD for nearly the same price but I'll pay it for a guarantee of high audio quality and liner notes, with the ease of an immediate download.

Re:There are two online shops, parent is not a tro

[Fancia]

I'm in Canada, and I get the Mac error page.

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[diggum]

Nope. Historically, they have used third-party payment processors who have been well-regarded and trusted. I've spent probably $150 there and never had a weird charge or problem.

Re:Time to put your money where your mouth is

[dlim]

First of all, the CEO of eMusic during the Napster Hearings was Gene Hoffman, and yes, he did agree with the court ordered injuction against Napster. [wired.com] Before he made that statement, he asked Napster to remove eMusic files from their index. He also asked that users who shared the songs be unbanned from Napster. Frankly, if I were selling unprotected music, I wouldn't call it "short-sighted" to ask another company not to let people give it away.

But eMusic wasn't just his company. Hoffman cofounded the company with Bob Kohn [wikipedia.org]. Before that, both of them served on the board for Pretty Good Privacy [wikipedia.org]. I know. Total "asshats".

Either way, the current CEO [emusic.com] is David Pakman who has been speaking out against DRM [typepad.com] since long before Steve Jobs did.

While I agree with boycotting companies for their beliefs and behavior (I don't buy major label music or anything Sony), I have to call bullshit in this case. eMusic provides distribution for many small record labels in a way that lets their users play the music whenever, and on whatever digital music player they want. They are priced fairly (I pay ~ $.18 a song). They have a good business model, and they're legal.

I'm sure it is possible to rationalize not paying for music no matter how it is provided to you. And if the option to obtain it for free exists, you certainly can take advantage of it. But criticizing a good company in a public forum based on outdated information to justify your refusal to pay for music only makes you look like an asshat.

oh Canada

[rakerman]

1. At this moment (17:45 EST Thursday Feb 22 2007) in Canada, PureTracks.com still gives the "so sorry, you're on a Mac, go away" notice page 2. If you go to PureTracks in Canada on a PC, there is MP3 music you can buy 3. But you might as well buy most of it from Nettwerk Music, which works on a Mac and has most of the big names you may be looking for, and which has been selling MP3s for years

http://www.werkshop.com/ [werkshop.com]. I just wrote about this today: DRM and legal music in Canada [typepad.com]

Re:PureTracks MP3 FAQ

[The Cisco Kid]

Yeah, but apparently they attempt (with some success) to check if your are in Canada, and dont sell MP3 if they think you are in the US. The labels arent going to pay much attention, really, until its available at least in the US and/or Worldwide.

"We apologize, but www.puretracks.com is only available to Canadian residents"