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Music Media Microsoft The Internet

Microsoft, OD2 Start European Music Service 236

Posted by michael from the cash-cow dept.
useosx writes "Reuters is reporting that 'Microsoft Corp. announced on Thursday a pact with Europe's biggest digital music outfit, OD2, to form the continent's first major a la carte online download service. ... The move marks the first time European consumers can purchase song downloads off the Internet for under one euro ($1.13), and without requiring a monthly subscription, bringing the fee in line with the popular Apple Computer iTunes service, which is not yet available in Europe.'" Other stories: the Guardian, BBC.
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Microsoft, OD2 Start European Music Service More

Microsoft, OD2 Start European Music Service

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  • The song I want.. (Score:4, Funny)

    by heironymouscoward ( 683461 ) <heironymouscowar ... m ['oo.' in gap]> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:39AM (#6694973) Journal
    Is RMS singing the "Free Software Song". Please, Microsoft, make this available ASAP!

  • Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by tds67 ( 670584 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:39AM (#6694975)
    Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason", he added.

    And what, pray tell, would be "unreasonable"?

    • That'll almost certainly mean "for personal use", ie no making lots of copies and giving them to your friends.
    • Since when do "Reason" and "Microsoft" go together? ;-)

    • Re:Huh? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by gerf ( 532474 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:45AM (#6695049) Journal

      Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason", he added.

      Obviosly, "within reason" is as little as they can get you to agree to, without damaging sales a heckuva lot.

      They really don't specify about restrictions in these articles. Which is unfortunate, because that's what people really need to look at. Isn't it the big companies (MS, *AAs, SCO) that are telling us more and more to watch what we're doing with copywrights, to stay 'legal?' More info needed please!

      Oh, and i hope this doesn't work, as i don't seeing Media Player having some property that implies to the general populace that it is better in some proprietary way.

    • Re:Huh? (Score:5, Funny)

      by WPIDalamar ( 122110 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:47AM (#6695071) Homepage
      Here's my guess at unreasonable:

      1) Trying to copy them to any other device except those running MS operating systems.

      2) Trying to copy directly to a non drm format.

      3) Copying to more than X number of cd's, where x >=0 and x = 1

      4) Trying to use any software to burn to a cd not expressely approved.

      5) Trying to use any hardware to burn to a cd not expressely approved.

      6) Copying after attempting to get any tech support for any failed uses.
    • > > Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and
      > > transfer them to other devices as much as they
      > > want "within reason", he added.
      > And what, pray tell, would be "unreasonable"?

      Doesn't really matter, does it? Once you burn it (I assume they mean to a plain old audio cd) there's not much they can do to stop you from doing whatever you like with the data.

  • Christmas (Score:2, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Let the exploits begin. MS gives through thier ignorance. Free music anyone?

  • I hate to say it.. (Score:5, Insightful)

    by grub ( 11606 ) <slashdot@grub.net> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:40AM (#6694989) Homepage Journal

    I think they'll make buckets of money; it requires Windows Media Player 9 which has a much larger user base than that of the Mac and the Apple player which is getting half a million song downloads a week.

    • Re:I hate to say it.. (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Alkarismi ( 48631 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:45AM (#6695046) Homepage
      I think the customer service will even poorer over here than it appears to be in the states (from what I've read).
      The consolation is that it will finally start bringing home to *normal* users what a piece of cr*p the brave new DRM world is. When it starts *really* inconveniencing home users they're going to be PISSED OFF!

    • Re:I hate to say it.. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Hawthorne01 ( 575586 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:48AM (#6695083)
      Sure, they'll use it, just like Buy Music [buymusic.com] does. And more than likely, they'll re-create Buymusic's spectacular LACK of success, too.

      It's not enough to beat consumers into legal downloads with a stick. Unless there are positive reasons to switch to legal downloads, people won't do it.

    • But I don't think they'll have the same success... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:05AM (#6695237) Homepage
      I think they'll make buckets of money; it requires Windows Media Player 9 which has a much larger user base than that of the Mac and the Apple player which is getting half a million song downloads a week.

      Apple has good karma when it comes to music, like their "Rip, Mix, Burn" slogan, and people in some sense trust them not to be unreasonable. With Windows, I don't know of anyone that has the same attitude.

      Another point is that Apple users very often have the Apple Ipod, while Windows users have pretty much everything, much of which probably doesn't support the DRM too well, if WMA at all.

      I'll definately consider the Apple iTMS when it comes to Windows. But this service? Sorry, but I don't feel like having Microsoft control my digital rights (after the purchase, oh wait, the licencing), I don't trust them to. Isn't that what this "Trusted computing" is all about? Trust them? Ain't going to happen.

      Kjella
      • Sure Apple zealots won't use anything from Microsoft. As for the rest 95% of PC users - I don't see any of them share your attitude.

        As for iTMS on Windows, why Apple would do it?

        As for iTMS database, where did they found such content? I need same music as in the next CD store, not something I can find through Google in MP3 format for free.

    • Re:I hate to say it.. (Score:3, Redundant)

      by sporty ( 27564 )
      Big difference compared to apple is, the support and qa needed to manage such a beast. The only reason that say, Linux or FreeBSD doesn't work as well as OSX on a Mac, is because the Mac architecture is closer to homogenous.

      Granetd, Linux more than FreeBSD has better hardware support, there are fewer macs that will run OS X and fewer taht will run OS X. When there is a rift, it's usually pretty big. I can't say the newest of G5's will run OS9 and I certainly know ALL G3's can't run OS X.

      But I can name
    • Sadly if Apple/Real wanted to really take on MS, they would port the client to the open source world WHILE they are ahead of MS. Unfortunatly, both will wait until after MS is really in the lead and then they will start supporting the OSS world. At that point, I suspect the OSS world will have moved over to supporting just wmp.
      Yes, I know that they have kinda of given the formats out, but it is not the same as supporting it. Real use to offer the free player on Linux with kinda support. But never their goo

  • Still nothing for non-MS Europeans then... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Alkarismi ( 48631 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:41AM (#6694992) Homepage
    British FreeBSD & Linux user here.
    Even though we Europeans seem to be pulling ahead in Open Source deployments we still can't get a music store that doesn't lock people further into Windows... shame!
    • You Brits don't even use the Euro. Calling yourself a member of the EU is a bit of a stretch... "here join this... and use the common currency... us? no way man. GBP rule!"

      Do you really think any music industry person, or MS person, really cares that 2% of the x86 crowd can't use their service? I highly doubt it.

      If you want it so bad... head over to wine and help out.
      • Hey! So we don't use the Euro yet, big deal - we do plenty of business in Europe, we've even started liking the French (Joke - honestly!)

        Of course I don't think the 'Music' Industry or MS care - however their 'consumers' don't care too much either - they've been voting for MP3s with their downloads and I'd be surprised if this latest anti-consumer scam is going to convince them otherwise.

        Just my 0.02 Euros^h^h^h^h^hGBPs
    • Weblisten.com [weblisten.com]. Legal, MP3, Europe.

  • DRM? (Score:5, Informative)

    by kneecarrot ( 646291 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:41AM (#6694993)
    Anyone heard anything about the DRM on this service?

    The one article only states:

    'Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason"'

    That leaves a lot of wiggle room, and truthfully, given Microsoft's recent warming to DRM in general, I wouldn't be surprised if the service leaves customers with only partially usable music.

  • ..."within reason" (Score:4, Funny)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06&email,com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:42AM (#6695000)
    From the BBC article: Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason", he added.

    Well, I feel comforted.

    • From the BBC article: Fans can copy tracks, burn them to CDs and transfer them to other devices as much as they want "within reason", he added. Well, I feel comforted.

      Whee. I can transfer them to my MP3 player and do what with them exactly? I can burn them to CDs, but can I burn them to AUDIO CDs? And this is all better than what I currently do with MP3s how?

  • windows media 9 (Score:3, Insightful)

    by mansoft ( 371174 ) <{zouave} {at} {telefonica.net}> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:42AM (#6695003) Homepage
    It will be a good business for them only if they have half the benefits Apple had with its music store.

    However, according to Reuters, it is for "music fans with Microsoft's Windows Media Player version 9", which I personally find restrictive. Maybe a more popular format such as MP3 would have been better.

    Mr. Jobs! Where's my music store here in Europe, please?
  • I hope Bill makes a lot of money and get out of the OS business.

  • Interesting points in article... (Score:4, Informative)

    by fruey ( 563914 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:43AM (#6695012) Homepage Journal

    Beginning today, music fans with Microsoft's Windows Media Player version 9 can purchase individual music tracks for 0.99 euros or 75 pence from OD2's library of over 200,000 songs, representing a 25 percent discount from most other European subscription services, the companies said.

    Maybe I can preempt the lot who will say "sniff it doesn't run on Linux" etc by saying that it's quite natural that Apple's iTunes is for MacOSX only...

    OD2's Grimsdale though said he viewed iTunes as a potential competitor and that the two firms would not be working together should Apple enter the market here by early next year as some industry observers expect.

    That's not surprising given that both are services on competing platforms, and will not want to repackage essentially the same catalogue just with WMP and iTunes formats (and Apple eyecandy) to separate them.

    This online music thing is interesting, I think I'll be sticking to mutella though.

    • sniff - it doesn't run on anything else either ;)

      Seriously, the point is that with a little bit of thought and a commitment to open standards it would be possible to build a music stor that worked for *any* platform.

      Yes, the Apple solution causes platform lock-in too - this is hardly justification for a 'Windows lock-in' (again!) service, is it?

      Hopefully, users or potential users will vote with their feet once they experience the godawfull mess that is DRM.

      I have successfully evangelised Free Software O

  • No more albums only singles (Score:4, Insightful)

    by capt.Hij ( 318203 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:43AM (#6695014) Homepage Journal
    With this new emphasis on singles I wonder if artists will be motivated to put together whole albums. Many of my favorite songs are the the ones that did not get much air play but were found on albums that had a hit or two on them. I hope that artists do not become driven to work on "hits" and ignore the practice of making the songs that they themselves enjoy. The practice of producing collections may become rare which would be bad for music.

    • Re:No more albums only singles (Score:4, Insightful)

      by hackstraw ( 262471 ) * on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:01AM (#6695206)
      This is a reaction to the market. I havn't really seen singles for sale since the early 80s or so, the only way to recently get singles was in mp3 format. Look at ppls mp3 collections (that they download, not rip from their own collections), I doubt that they have more than 1 complete album.

      Also, I'm pleased that you used the word "album". Many people (read marketing ppl) mistake the word "album" for "CD". A CD is a piece of plastic and aluminum, an album is a collection of songs, much like a photo album is a collection of pictures.

    • Look at the iTMS experience (Score:4, Informative)

      by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06&email,com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:09AM (#6695277)
      It has been a consistent part of the iTMS that about half of all songs sold are purchased as albums. You are not the only one who wants the whole artists experience. And for those who don't (or don't care), there is the a la carte option.
    • For the Clearchannel slave bands, I don't see any change. They are already incredibly hit-driven. Without a hit, they don't get Clearchannel airtime, they don't get an MTV TRL video, and they don't go double-plus-platinum with their CD sales. I would argue that for these mass market pop groups, one of the chief reasons they actually bother to make an entire album is because no one would pay $18 for a CD with four tracks. Even if the other ten tracks are filler, it makes it an easier sell.

      By-track sales may

    • Re:No more albums only singles (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      With this new emphasis on singles I wonder if artists will be motivated to put together whole albums.

      The days of the epic, themed rock and roll album are pretty much over. All anyone's interested in these days is a CD of about a dozen tracks with maybe 3 or 4 of them being decent and radio-friendly so they'll get airplay and sucker people into buying them along with the other 9 shit songs on the disc.

      I won't really miss the idea of the album, I'm hoping for singles that are consistently good-- I currentl

    • Re:No more albums only singles (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:17AM (#6695365) Homepage
      I've been using Apples ITMS for a bit - and I'm actually surprised that when I go to buy some music (like BB King or a classical CD or Live), I will often make sure it's in an album.

      At first, it was just the opposite - I just wanted one song. But now that I've got those "one songs off the CD I really wanted" out of my system, more often than not I'll say "You know, I've never really listened to Bjork, though I remember liking that one song on MTV a kabillion years ago with the bear - maybe I'll just pay the $10 for the whole CD - because if I pay $1 and pick the wrong song, then I'll wind up paying over $10 to get the others".

      I'm not sure if it makes much sense, but I'm finding I'm buying the album to save money (especially if said album, like the BB King album I picked up has 18 tracks to it - at $9.99, that turned out to be a bargain).

    • Good Artists (Score:2, Insightful)

      by phloydphreak ( 691922 )
      Good artists are not motivated by album sales but by some internalization of the music they are creating. Great artists will never stop making the music they desire to have heard (and hear themselves). The real question is whether they will ever be heard (or worse; have the motivation to share the music with others).

      The major problem posed to the artist in this situation is his/her inability to be included on whatever listings that are distributed (which is similar to any major recording industry). The

    • Re:No more albums only singles (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Pendersempai ( 625351 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:44AM (#6695664)

      I hope that artists do not become driven to work on "hits" and ignore the practice of making the songs that they themselves enjoy.

      One alternate view: With the rise of singles and the fall of the album, I can be completely sure that I enjoy every single track I purchase. I couldn't give two hoots what the artist likes; it's my money.

      I'd say this is the more egalitarian, meritocratic method of economic survival of the fittest.

    • I hope that artists do not become driven to work on "hits" and ignore the practice of making the songs that they themselves enjoy.

      Umm... that happened over 20 years ago. A good song that brings this out is The Entertainer by Billy Joel: "It was a beautiful song/but it ran to long/if you're going to have a hit/ya gotta make it fit/so they cut it down to 3:05". (I think he was referring to The Pianoman; the 45 was missing at least one verse.) Or a good biography of Pink Floyd will cover they're fights w
    • I hope that artists do not become driven to work on "hits" and ignore the practice of making the songs that they themselves enjoy.

      I wonder if the exact opposite is possible.

      Let's say the artist has 20 songs, and only 12 "fit" on the CD, it would be kinda of cool for them to release the other 8 to iTMS.

      Since I'm not in the music business, I don't know how likely this is, but it would be interesting none-the-less.

      - Tony
  • but why pay for something when you can download it for free?

    Especially when the money is going to Microsoft. No thank you.
    • You laugh, but that very handily sums up the prevailing sentiment.

  • No word on... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    ...what kind of onerous usage restrictions will be imposed on purchased tracks.

    Then again, since it uses Windows Media Player 9, I guess they figure we'll all just assume they'll be ridiculously limiting and intrusive, the way BuyMusic's are.

    Next question, who will be their Tommy Lee-esque badboy-rocker pitchman? I vote for Bertrand Cantat, who just beat his actress girlfriend to death [bbc.co.uk] a few weeks ago.

  • Three point singles pricing (Score:4, Interesting)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06&email,com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:46AM (#6695059)
    From the BBC article:Many tunes are priced at 75p, with more popular songs at 99p and "gold" singles at 1.19.

    Gold tracks are new singles, available as soon as they are sent to radio stations - up to six weeks before the CDs reach shops.

    I guess the whole "one price for all singles, including pre-release and exclusives" was a bit too complicated for them to try and replicate.

    • "I guess the whole "one price for all singles, including pre-release and exclusives" was a bit too complicated for them to try and replicate."

      No, they just want to milk people for more money. They start with the price high and give it early, and only the trendsetters buy it, albeit at the inflated price, then they bring it down to the regular price, and the masses buy it. Thats what many companies do.

      • Thats what many companies do.

        That was sort of my point. iTMS has a consistent price for singles: $0.99. Hot new, golden oldies, prerelease, iTMS exclusives. Seems a bit more user friendly to me.

  • Whoa Microsoft is copying Apple... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by chrisgeleven ( 514645 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:47AM (#6695064) Homepage
    ...oh whoops, the DRM is only 100 times more restrictive and whoops, the WMA quality is worse then AAC. Kind of reminds me of the difference between OS X and Windows XP.
    • My personal opinion -

      The terms will be quite reasonable until Microsoft gains a large user base. Remember an article a little while back about the WMP9 EULA? The one that says you agree to download any new updates? I believe they will use this to create strict DRM. I believe every 5th time the song would be played it contacts Microsoft.com. Every time it burns it would contact Mircosoft.com. Yeah, I think that's what will happen. Or something like that.

  • Once again - good enough (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Dark Paladin ( 116525 ) * <jhummel&johnhummel,net> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:48AM (#6695080) Homepage
    Let's not kid ourselves: for all of Microsoft's talk of "innovation", the one thing they're really good at is seeing another idea that works, making their own version of it, then making it "good enough" that their desktop monopoly can make money off of it.

    So, let's take a look at their new music service:

    Media Type: Windows Media Audio 9.

    The Good: No big surprise, and depending on who you ask, it sounds better than MP3's at the same format. Anybody with either a new computer or someone who upgrades to Windows Media Player 9 should have it work just fine.

    The Bad: Nobody but a Windows user can use it. But since the other big competitor Apple only lets it work with Macs, that means that a 4% user base is now hitting against a 90% user base - so it's all balanced in the end, I guess. Apple should have their service in Windows at the end of this year, and Windows Media Player 9 should be available "someday" for OS X, so then we can compare apples to apples (no pun intended).

    Depending on who you ask, Apple's use of AAC isn't really a full open standard, since they've got the security hooks inside - but it's a far more open standard than WMA (Windows Media Audio). Any chance we'll see either one on Linux? Anyone? Guys?

    The License:

    The Good: No subscription fee, which I think is the #1 draw of the new music formats. Most of the songs are around 0.99 euros, which comes out to be $1.15 or so per track. And you can copy some to your portable players or burn CD tracks with them.

    The Bad: So far, this is where Apple's service is kicking the other two's services right in the Jimmy. Apple's system is cut and dried: Every song, up to 3 computers, unlimited iPods, unlimited CD burns.

    With Buymusic.com and Microsoft's service - it depends on the song. Maybe you can put it in a portable, maybe not. Maybe you can burn it, maybe not. So that means before you buy each song you'll have to either say "Well, I will only play these songs on this computer forever!", or say "Hm - let's see what the license is before I make my Ultimate Dance Track for the Anime Pool Party this Saturday.".

    It's something the "average joe" won't care about - until one day, they go to do something, and don't understand why Song A can be copied/burned, but Song B can not. Will Apple use this in their marketing? Who knows - and odds are, people won't think enough to care.

    The Selection:

    The Good: 200,000 songs to start off with.

    The Bad: No clue - I haven't seen the line up.

    Final score:

    Undecided. Microsoft's new music service looks more like BuyMusic.com's, only it's in Europe. Same media format, same licensing structure - only it's going to be inside the Windows Media Player and not just a web page for downloading.

    Odds are, Apple's service will still be better with the "one license for every track" rule. But as history has shown, Micorosoft does not necessarily have to be "better" than the competition - usually "good enough" will do to make them money.

    Either way, if Apple wants to get the bucks before competitor #1 eats the market, it needs to get its ass moving on its Windows service and those deals in Europe.

  • One company to rule them all... (Score:5, Funny)

    by picz ( 264520 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:49AM (#6695088)
    All they want is:
    The Server OS market
    The Database market
    The Office market
    The Home PC market
    The Handheld market
    The Mobile market
    The Game market
    The TV market
    The Instant messaging market
    The E-mail market

    And the hearts of men are easily corrupted.

  • Download (Score:4, Informative)

    by Neophytus ( 642863 ) * on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:52AM (#6695114)
    Try the sample download [msn.com] in moz/opera etc - even spoofing user agent it doesn't work. That is until you copy the download url [akamai.net] from the source.

  • European investigation into Media Player (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Lochin Rabbar ( 577821 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:53AM (#6695124)

    Anyone still wondering why MS is under investigation in Europe for using Media Player to extend their monopoly now has their answer. The recording cartel and the OS monopolists have got together to tie up the market for downloadable singles. The result overpriced tracks, low quality, DRM and no choice.

  • Piracy in Europe (Score:4, Interesting)

    by TrippTDF ( 513419 ) <hiland@g m a i l.com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:53AM (#6695128)
    I've got a question-

    I'm under the impression that piracy of music/software is worse is Europe than in the US. Does Microsoft stand a chance on this front, given their terrible reputation in Europe as it is?

    Any Europeans out there care to enlighten me?
    • I work in the games industry, and am fairly active in the warez scene (I like to see when games I work on make it to IRC/ftp servers). I also live in Europe...

      Almost all of the biggest and best warez groups are from Europe, but most of the sources for downloads are in the USA. This has been the case for many years, and doesn't really seem to have changed much since the widespread availability of broadband in Europe.

      For what its worth, the quickest a game I've worked on has been released was about 4 weeks

    • Re:Piracy in Europe (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Alkarismi ( 48631 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:16AM (#6695349) Homepage
      I'm British - does that count? - already had one poster cast doubts on my European Credentials :)

      Truth is, as Andrew Orlowski points out on the Reg [theregister.co.uk]
      "Europeans have learned that the law and its social instruments are best ignored"

      When it's a 'bad' law of course ;)

      You could also say that we're naturally anti-gov and anti-bigBiz.

      I think the key, though, is that we simply haven't been hit by the DMCA/DRM/PIRACY/TERRORISTS hysteria yet - unfortunately it appears to be coming RSN :(
      I don't look forward to getting caught up in the nightmare my USA brethren appear to have got themselves in - just wish enough of my fellow Europeans knew enough, or cared enough, to head it off *before* it arrives - chances of that fading fast...

      Just my 0.02

      • just wish enough of my fellow Europeans knew enough, or cared enough, to head it off *before* it arrives - chances of that fading fast...

        I don't see thats happening anytime soon.
        Mainstream media coverage of for example the EU IP Enforcement directive [slashdot.org] is slim and most people don't seem to care right now. At the same time lobbying pro this seems to be something the big conglomerats invests much money into.

        If you look at the speed the Infosoc directive went through the EU system the prospects look grim.


  • DOWN WITH ALBUMS!

    UP WITH ONE HIT WONDERS!

    Maybe after a few years this will cause the kind folks at VH1 to make "Where are they now" a weekly series...

  • The EU might make this difficult (Score:5, Informative)

    by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06&email,com> on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:55AM (#6695147)
    Considering that WMP 9 is the core of this service and is also (coincidentally) the focus of the recent EU complaint against monopolistic Microsoft, I see potential for the EU to cause this venture major problems.

  • Well, I don't think it'll work (Score:3, Informative)

    by martinthebrit ( 565913 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:56AM (#6695159)
    I was quite pleased when I read about it on the beeb this morning, so I visited the site to see if was workable. I'd quite like to be able to legally buy music since the security loopholes enabling my Kazaa usage have been closed down at work recently, and the piece of wet string that connects me to the internet from my home in the English countryside isn't up to the job of downloading music.

    Could I find any music I wanted to buy. No. And when I did a search for a song I'd heard on the radio this morning - typical impulse buy mentality, I was told I couldn't buy it because of my location. WTF!

  • A Slashdotter's delima (Score:5, Funny)

    by Lord_Slepnir ( 585350 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @09:57AM (#6695166) Journal
    (Anti-Microsoft Troll): We Hatesss the Microsoft

    (Anti-RIAA Troll): But we loves the online music, especially.

    (Anti-Microsoft Troll): But it's Microsoft. They load it down with DRM

    (Anti-RIAA Troll): But we can hacks the DRM, yes we can.

    (Anti-Microsoft Troll): But you're paying money to the evils Microsoft.

    (Anti-RIAA Troll): But we're only paying for one songs at a time! We saves money from not buying whole albums at a times...

  • They Dont Give Up (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Bruha ( 412869 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:04AM (#6695232) Homepage Journal
    So what next? MicroSoft cant stand to have a business model they dont incorporate into their OS. I suppose they might go ahead and make a music service built directly into Media Player 10 thus shutting out other music services.

    Of course the RIAA could contend that with restrictions.
    • Windows media player already has windowsmedia.com built into the player , in fact it has 8 major control buttons and 3 of those point straight at windowsmedia.com (using the IE activeX control (r-click is also conviently disabled), it also has a built in GUID that is enabled by default so they can identify you regardless of cookie settings, in fact the only way not to make WMP contact microsoft is to firewall it off

      im waiting for more Euro Antitrust complaints , obviously a 10billion dollar fine isnt going

  • Some snags with the service... (Score:3, Informative)

    by rklrkl ( 554527 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:08AM (#6695270) Homepage
    I can think of some drawbacks to the service:
    • You require a Windows machine with Windows Media Player 9. That presumably rules out all Mac and Linux users ?
    • Compression is used so it won't be as good quality as a CD.
    • You need a broadband connection really to make regular use of the service.
    • It sounds like there is some form of DRM (press release is vague about it).
    • You don't get any artwork/booklet save for a small JPEG screenshot of the front cover.
    • Albums cost 7.99 pounds to download, whereas I can buy a CD (higher quality, artwork, no DRM) for 8.99 pounds from CD WOW! [cd-wow.com].
    • I like solo female singer-songerwriters - good luck on finding Nanci Griffith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sam Brown or Shawn Colvin on there. And no sign of The Beatles (unless you count a covers band !) on there of course.
    Just about the only good thing I could see about the service is the availability of non-album tracks that only previously appeared on now-deleted CD singles (e.g. "Humpty Dumpty" by Aimee Mann came out in January 2003 - I never saw the CD single in the stores I go to - and it has a non-album track on it). Apart from that, you're better every single time buying the CD album or single (the latter can be 1.99 pounds or 2.99 pounds in most cases for 3 tracks).

    • good luck on finding Nanci Griffith, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Sam Brown or Shawn Colvin on there. And no sign of The Beatles (unless you count a covers band !) on there of course.

      I was curious to see how the iTunes Music Store stacked up on your list of artists, so I just took a look and here's what I found:
      Nanci Griffith: 14 complete albums
      Mary Chapin Carpenter: 7 partial albums
      Sam Brown: none
      Shawn Colvin: 2 complet albums, 3 partial albums
      The Beatles: 1 partial album

  • But will it have Worm Support? (Score:5, Funny)

    by Slur ( 61510 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:10AM (#6695296) Homepage Journal
    It won't be up to Microsoft's usual standards unless it's mondo exploitable. Let's hope they deploy it on .NET servers for years of good yuks.

  • Catalog? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Lord_Dweomer ( 648696 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:11AM (#6695305) Homepage
    So, is this just going to be the RIAA's latest hits? Or is Microsoft going to do something innovative for a change and sign on indies? And I'll bet there's watermarking in the files to catch people who circumvent the DRM. Microsoft will have the advantage that they can bundle it with computers and they have huge marketshare, but something tells me Apple will destroy them when it comes out with its music service. Wonder which one will come out first.

  • you can buy "temporary" downloads (~10 credits) or "permanent" downloads (~99 credits).

    temporary can be listened to but not transfered to another device like permanent can.

    you can also "stream" for 1 credit - one listen only.

    the cost of credits and their value seems to be variable, but starts at about 1p/credit with discounts for buying lots:

    http://sib1.od2.com/common/frameset/frames.asp

  • 2 remarks (Score:3, Interesting)

    by selderrr ( 523988 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @10:32AM (#6695530) Journal
    1. the press release is a .Doc file... wtf ! Since when is Word the de facto standard for distributing press releases ? If Word is as good as it claims, do a simple save-as-html goddamit !

    2. No screenshots, no release date, no nuthin... After reading half of ad2.com, I still have no idea whatshowever how this service is going to look like. Sounds like vapourware to me.

  • the shame (Score:2, Funny)

    by zpok ( 604055 )
    They can't get a deal with the sweet, existing, proven service from Apple, but they bend over for MS?

    Long live the European Music Industry.
  • Can't the RIAA, or who ever is better tied in, do this?

    What exactly is it that Apple and MS are needed and not just cut out of the deal with reduced cost to the customers?

  • Misinformation? (Score:3, Informative)

    by RAMMS+EIN ( 578166 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @11:46AM (#6696226) Homepage Journal
    ``the continent's first major a la carte online download service. ... The move marks the first time European consumers can purchase song downloads off the Internet for under one euro ($1.13)''

    What about Weblisten.com [weblisten.com]? They were there before, sell songs at less than a euro a piece, provide the songs in the standard MP3 format. 'nuff said.

  • DRM Details for this New Service (Score:4, Funny)

    by jetkust ( 596906 ) on Thursday August 14, 2003 @12:01PM (#6696390)

    1. You purchase the song for .99 euros.
    2. You get access to download the song for 3 days.
    3. At the 3rd day, a team of Microsoft employees comes to your house to remove all the songs from your computer and electronic devices. They destroy all cdrs, Pen drives, flash cards or anything else you could have used to pirate music.
    4. The microsoft team reformats your hard drive, and reinstalls windows at a discounted cost of $129.
    5. A private detective who has been following you over the past 3 days, visits everyone you've come in contact with and performs the same process on them.
    * This process is repeated once for each additional song purchased.
  • I don't see a big delay before somebody cracks the DRM which wil p-off the media companies.

    Plus, M$'s harware dependents don't have iPod...

    What's selling iTunes is iPod.
  • Where can you access this music service? [newsfactor.com]

    Why else is MS involved?

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