Universal Offers iPod-Resistant Music

dprovine writes "Universal is now offering music through Spiral Frog as free downloads supported by advertising revenue. But according to Daily Tech, the files being offered won't work on iPods. 'The move to not allow its content to be played on iPod's appears to be a clear snub by the Universal Music Group, similar to NBC's recent move of its television content from iTunes to Amazon.com. Apple has not commented on this development. For many, though, SpiralFrog.com presents an intriguing new business model that may present a legal alternative to file sharing or spending large amounts of money on CDs or paid download services, such as iTunes.'"

not mp3!

[douthat]

The reason their "MP3"s don't work on iPods is because they're not MP3s. They're PlaysForSure DRMed WMAs. This is high quality journalism at work. Slashdot editors should be proud.

not MP3 - WMA

[Animaether]

as noted in the comments to the DailyTech article itself. Slashdot editors ftw.

Re:not mp3!

[douthat]

It should be noted that the Slashdot editors changed the title of the article from "Universal Offers iPod-Resistant MP3s" to "Universal Offers iPod-Resistant Music"

Re:How can it not work?

[Coopjust]

Not really an MP3, the Slashdot summary (and the line in the article) are misleading. Quote the SpiralFrog website:

Can I transfer the music I download to a portable device?
SpiralFrog is compatible with portable music players and music phones that support Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM). Look out for devices that prominently display the "PlaysForSure" logo.

So, they're not MP3s; they are WMA files with DRM. This is a nonstory.

From the Spiral Frog FAQ

[Ydna]

Q: When will SpiralFrog be compatible with the Mac, so that I can download songs and video?

A: Unfortunately, those running the Apple operating system on their computers will not be able to play preview clips, stream videos, or download songs and videos at SpiralFrog. We require you to be running Windows XP or Vista at SpiralFrog for the simple reason that Windows Digital Rights Management is the only standard available for independent music stores like us to protect the songs and videos as required by the record labels' licenses. Windows Digital Rights Management is not supported by Apple Macintosh computers. Macintosh supports the AAC Digital Rights Management, but it is closed to Apple's own use only. At this time, we're sorry to say that all you can do is browse our site, but it's a very good site, and you'll lots of information about all your favorite artists. So, please... enjoy!

Ha Ha. So take that, Apple. We'll show you.

(Yes, I'm being sarcastic. Anyone who believes the Windows DRM will make life easier for anyone is a damn fool.)

Re:The whole thing smells of an exclusivity contra

[prockcore]

Why would NBC no longer distribute video via iTunes?

Because Apple dropped them. NBC didn't pull their video from iTunes.. Apple did.

no Zune support

[ksheff]

looks like the million or so Zune owners won't be able to use these files.

Q: Are files downloaded from SpiralFrog compatible with the iPod or Zune?

A: Songs and video files that you download from SpiralFrog are not compatible with Apple's range of iPods or Microsoft's Zune.

Re:News Flash

[EMB Numbers]

How is Apple different: Because every song downloaded from the iTunes Store can be burned to CD and played on any CD player. They can also be re-read from CD in any desired format including MP3 or non-DRM AAC.

Further, Apple has publicly committed to DRM free music sales whenever the publisher will permit it. Apple claims they don't want DRM and it can't work anyway. "Apple Unveils Higher Quality DRM-Free Music on the iTunes Store".

http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2007/04/02itunes.html [apple.com]
http://www.apple.com/hotnews/thoughtsonmusic/ [apple.com]

Re:The whole thing smells of an exclusivity contra

[Anonymous Coward]

It was a two-phase divorce: First NBC said they would not renew their contract to provide videos to the iTunes Store, as of its expiration in December. Then Apple said they would not sell any new content, effective immediately, because that would mean they would sell partial seasons of many shows (ie you could buy in October but not in January, so your collection would be partial at best).

Re:Ears alone would be good enough

[gumbright]

Add to this the fact that their heads are firmly planted in their rectal cavities and the whole picture is complete.

Re:Great for all 10 Zune users!

[kasek]

actually, the songs wont play on a zune either.

Re:NBC Universal are both the same company

[wooden pickle]

Not quite. After skimming some Wikipedia articles, Universal Music Group is wholly owned by Vivendi, who also owns Blizzard and Sierra. NBC-Universal, on the other hand, is owned 80% by GE and 20% by Vivendi. Not the same company. Not sure if that's enough ownership for them to influence each other's policy.

Re:Great for all 10 Zune users!

[compro01]

not great for zune users. it doesn't work on those either.

Re:Which begs the question...

[larry bagina]

(non DRM) AAC is supported by:

• iPod
• Zune
• Zen
• SanDisk
• PSP
• Walkman
• XBox 360
• PS 3
• Blackberry
• Nokia
• Sony Ericsson
• Motorola
• Samsung
• Palm
• Anything running windows mobile
• ...

Re:How can it not work?

[QuietLagoon]

Look out for devices that prominently display the "PlaysForSure" logo.

Isn't "Plays for Sure" the code phrase that means "won't play on Zune"?

Re:How can it not work?

[Bassman59]

what if I took a stereo mini to mini and plugged the output from my computer to the audio input, then used an audio recording software (audacity, its free)
to record it. Simple analog hack defeats complicated DRM encryption thingy.

Better than the analog hack, use a digital hack: don't go out the analog out and back in through analog in. Instead, get a sound card with S/PDIF ins and outs. Loop from the out to the in with the appropriate cable, press record on the recording program and play on the other, and off you go. Digital copies!

It's probably best to choose a sound card that uses its own drivers and does NOT use the Windows mixer.

Also note that modern Macs have TOSLINK (basically S/PDIF over an optical connection) capability built into the 1/8" analog in and out jacks, so get an optical fiber and connect them together and go. (Or use Audio Hijack and be done with it.) Oh, yeah, I realize that whatever the original subject here was doesn't support Macs, but whatever.

Re:not MP3 - WMA

[QRDeNameland]

Excellent post...but I'd like to point out that The Tipping Point was written by Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm McDowell is this guy [lazydork.com].

It doesn't beg anything

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, it doesn't "beg the question"... it raises the question, but it doesn't beg it.

""Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which an argument is assumed to be true without evidence other than the argument itself. When one begs the question, the initial assumption of a statement is treated as already proven without any logic to show why the statement is true in the first place.

A simple example would be "I think he is unattractive because he is ugly." The adjective "ugly" does not explain why the subject is "unattractive" -- they virtually amount to the same subjective meaning, and the proof is merely a restatement of the premise. The sentence has begged the question."

I'm only pointing it out because I made the same mistake in a paper recently and my teacher called me on it... not trying to troll! It's a common mistake!

Re:Which begs the question...

[Rebelgecko]

AAC doesn't work on the Xbox360 without installing some additional stuff on it. Also, I don't think the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3 are really considered iPod wannabes, which is what the GP was talking about. They're not really the kind of thing I'd want to carry around in my pocket all day.

Re:Now music comes with a ball and chain! Yay!

[tppublic]

iTunes Plus is not DRMed. That is all I use.

Re:How can it not work?

[SpinyManiac]

I use Creative Recorder 2, which allows you to record anything processed by the sound card. I doubt it would work without a Creative sound card though.

Re:Simple DVDs good

[Corporate Troll]

because i put a disc in and rarely switch the TV over to the DVD player right away

SCART [wikipedia.org] does this autmatically for you... Insert DVD, TV gets notified and switches to the TV-IN channel.