Yahoo! Buys Musicmatch 194
coyotegestalt writes "According to PC World, Yahoo! has just finalized a deal to buy Musicmatch (both its On Demand and download services) for $160 million. More details at IBD. This is a major narrowing of the online music market."
Second rate! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Second rate! (Score:2, Interesting)
I've seen a couple of products that offer Tags from filenames, but nothing that does tags from file names and directory struture as well as the reverse.
(WinAmp 5 did actually win me over from MMJB, btw. So the question asked in this post is not rhet
Re:Second rate! (Score:2)
Musicmatch has had that for years and I am very suprised that none of the other major players have picked it up. That was THE reason that I had musicmatch installed on my machine. I used it to tag downloaded mp3s then winamp to play them.
The "Tag from internet" (or something like that) was also incredibly useful for getting missing album information such as (album name and date
Re:Second rate! (Score:3, Interesting)
You aren't alone actually. I switched over completely to WinAmp just because I was tired of MMJB's bloat and speed issues and I miss its great tagging abilities. I haven't found any replacement software that does it as nicely as MMJB did.
Re:Second rate! (Score:2)
Re:Second rate! (Score:4, Informative)
It has excellent tagging capabilities, and more than a few useful plug-ins [mbnet.fi].
Their forum's [hydrogenaudio.org] quite useful as well.
Re:Second rate! (Score:4, Informative)
Personally, due to the *ahem* huge amount of mp3's I deal with, I personally tag and rename all my mine manually with Tag & Rename [softpointer.com].
It connects to CDDB or FreeDB or Allmusic. It takes a little longer than the close-your-eyes and hope MusicMatch is correct, but then I know it's tagged correctly.
Re:Second rate! (Score:2)
Yes, it is called "foobar2000"
The tagging capabilities in foobar are really second to none!
And it's an opensourced player too!
Re:Second rate! (Score:5, Informative)
But Yahoo! doesn't definitely mean just the search engine.
They do have other good services like mail and messenger. While gmail might have stolen have a big chunk of their email base, their messenger is definitely not sub-par (not that it'd matter much for users of gaim)
Add things like launch, games, news, groups, geocities, mobile
Re:Second rate! - Borg! (Score:2)
The objective is to control a slice of many pies that adds up to a tutti-frutti whole (poor taste?) The secondary objective is to be in on the game not through in
Re:Second rate! (Score:5, Insightful)
A little bit late to the game but the Yahoo! Search interface at http://search.yahoo.com/ is almost as clean as Google's.
Yahoo's search results, supplied by algorithms combined from the once-superior Yahoo, Altavista, and Inktomi, is in my opinion (and many search engine watchers too) just as good as Google's too.
As for their music acqusition, personaly I use iTunes. I look forward to see what Google does next. Picasa/Hello are pretty good acquisitions.
Re:Second rate! (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:3 words (Score:2)
News at 11 (Score:3, Funny)
Knock knock?
Who's there?
Goo
Goo who?
GOOOOOOOOOOOGLE
But seriously....
Re:Second rate! (Score:5, Insightful)
I wouldn't agree about Musicmatch though, their player isn't bad - and I've used it for encoding and playback of much of my collection. My only complaint is that launching is a touch too resource intensive - almost as bad as WMP.
Re:Second rate! (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Second rate! (Score:2)
Re:Second rate! (Score:2)
Re:Second rate! (Score:2, Offtopic)
I should have originally written:
"second rate geek news agency reports
Money (Score:3, Interesting)
Internet Conglomerations? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm surprised it took you this long to notice. The only way you become a mega-corporation is by diversifying across your product lines. The search engines have been in a unique position to do this in the technology world.
How long till Google follows suit, or will the even?
You mean they're not? Between the search engine, Froogle, Google Blogs, GMail, Google Groups, Google News, and other features, I'd have thought they'd be on the top of the list for "digital empires".
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:2)
Yahoo still trumps Google (Score:5, Interesting)
I also wish Google news was customizeable like my.yahoo.com - while Google news is more timely and more relevant, many of the topics have no interest to me, and I'd like to be able to insert stock tickers and whatnot. My Yahoo! even lets you plug your own RSS feeds in now.
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:2)
There's not much flexibility on 49-cent and 99-cent items - the business model of Dollar Tree and more.
The competition might get interesting if one of the online stores decided to specialize in quality indie music - to the extent of introducing a convenient interface that allowed people/indie bands to upload music for free and listeners to listen/purchase/rate music and thereby drive attention
Re:Internet Conglomerations? (Score:3, Interesting)
AOL, MSN, Yahoo Google, all want to control how yuo view content. That whole WWW thing just got in the way. Think about it, if anyone could access everything what would happen??? Free speach, na just no money for the providers.
got to battle the G man (Score:2)
Will they merge Launchcast and MM..... (Score:3, Interesting)
Narrows? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Narrows? (Score:2)
Major Narrowing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yahoo didn't have any sort of pay music service that I can think of. Their "Launch" thing is basically just a radio station kind of deal. And MusicMatch doesn't say "online music" to me. They're a late comer in the game. Yahoo probably figures they can enter the game buy snapping up the newest (cheapest) player.
Re:Major Narrowing? (Score:2)
Re:Major Narrowing? (Score:2)
Cheers,
Doug
shocking (Score:4, Interesting)
why is this in any way important (Score:4, Insightful)
This means little to most slashdotters. We dont use Yahoo, we all switched to google ages ago. We dont use Musicmatch Jukebox, thats what cdex, winamp, xmms, mplayer, etc is for. Didnt we just go through this a few hours ago with Real's player. We bitch, moan, but we dont even use the services / software anyway. This headline is just about exciting as popular desktop wallpaper site merges with popular desktop icon site.
I'm wearing slashdot green today.
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:5, Insightful)
Why do people still consider Yahoo! a search engine when it's clearly a web portal and a popular one at that. Can you play Fantasy Football at Google.com? Can you play chess online? Can you watch trailers, listen to music, shop, check your calendar...etc. etc. Google is a great search engine but that's all it is. Yahoo! is a web portal that features a search engine. They're not even in the same game as Google.
I can do all of those things (Score:2)
http://gameknot.com/
http://www.apple.com/trai
http://www.suprnova.org/
http://www.froogl
http://www.mozilla.org/
http://www.horde.
And...uh...fantasy football? This is *slashdot*....
Duh (Score:2)
Aardwolf204 points out that there are services that beat the snot out of all of yahoo's offerings, and most
Chess_the_cat replies with the rather deranged notion that simply because yahoo does a very large number of things, it's somehow unfair to compare it to google.
I replied that portals are not compelling because there exists a large number of specialized sites th
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
Only on Slashdot would that be a reason to support a portal. :)
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:3, Funny)
We've got to have tabbed browsing, odd codec playing, grass roots protocol speaking, vi and emacs running, happy little apps with
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
Man, you're hardcore. Even your spelling doesn't conform!
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
www.gmail.com [gmail.com]
local.google.com [google.com]
news.google.com [google.com]
And labs.google.com [google.com] if your curious
And always remember to, run linux, switch friends to firefox, read slashdot, hate the DMCA, support the EFF, drink the GNU koolaid, and profit.
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
I have found Musicmatch to be a great little MP3 player with some nice features (Auto-DJ, stay on top, etc.). While I do not use the online portions of the software, I have not found another MP3 player that I like better (iTunes came close but it didn't work with my keyboard buttons). A little while back, I remember Musicmatch was recommended by PC Magazine, and it has a fairly substantial user base. Just because you don't use a
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
You must be new here.
(Yeah, I see the UID)
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
Please don't generalize. Please don't think that Slashdot isn't a varied community of people with different needs and different choices. If you want to be a Linux isolationist then go hang out in #linux on irc and just say "RTFM" to any newbie that comes in with a problem.
I count 8 digits (Score:2)
Re:I count 8 digits (Score:2)
For instance, you are the 625325th person to register on Slashdot. That number will remain constant on every post you write. The post you made above was the 10,250,236th post made. The next time you post that number will be larger
Did you really think there were 10.25 million users on Slashdot??
Re:why is this in any way important (Score:2)
Anyway, like I said, I'm wearing my slashdot green today, take what I said with a grain of salt. Consider it an over generalization. The feel around slashdot seems to be about choic
Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:5, Insightful)
MusicMatch has been a lean, mean app that has worked on systems that WinAmp couldn't. If Yahoo mucks this one up, I'll be really pissed.
Re:Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:1)
Let me guess. You weigh 468 pounds?
Re:Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:4, Informative)
not in the paid email anymore (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:2)
"Dammit, I paid for the software, and if you change it I'm gonna quit using it!"
Hmmm... Sounds like you just cut off your nose...
I bucked up and bought winamp "Pro" version... I too have MM Jukebox lifetime... I like the Winamp much better and haven't felt bad about the extra $$$ for a decent mp3 player... But as a previous poster stated, the MMJB Smart tagging is awsome...
Old version 6 of MMJB too, as somewhere along the line,
Re:Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:2)
Since you mentioned it
As a DSL subscriber, I get Yahoo! email accounts but thankfully, I've had to use their web-based interface only twice. The "home page" they've set up for subscribers like me is so bad that I cringe having to go there to make an account settings change.
As for Yahoo! Groups, my opinion is that if similar content isn't available directly from my usenet server (or
Re:Fine, as long as they dontt "Yahoo!" it! (Score:2)
Narrowing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Branching out (Score:4, Interesting)
This might re-invigorate Musicmatch if Yahoo decides to roll out the Marketing Machine.
Re:Branching out (Score:3, Informative)
It's Google who always stayed as a search engine only and is making newsworthy branch out efforts in the form of GMail and such.
Re:Branching out (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdot summary wrong yet again... (Score:5, Insightful)
Excuse me? I don't see any "Yahoo! Music Download" service folding up. "Launch Music on Yahoo" is a music news site, now likely to see its brand image tied closer to the MusicMatch music delivery service.
Yahoo!'s favorite music delivery service at this point according to the launch.yahoo.com page appears to be going out and buying the CD the old fashioned way at Target.
Pre-installed crap (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Pre-installed crap (Score:2)
One thing to note, however, is that you should REALLY get the $20 Dell floppy add on. They don't come with a standard floppy mount or faceplate, and I had to fabricate 20 ugly metal kluges while simultaneously defacing my pricewatch special FDD's.
-theGreater nSeries Fan.
Re:Pre-installed crap (Score:2)
Besides, no one is forcing you to use a floppy disk anyway.
Re:Pre-installed crap (Score:2)
Every time I tried that I ended up with mystereous lockups, screen-streaking deaths, random failures to power on properly and so on. I suspect parts from different vendors are just slightly out of spec and PC makers know not to use a particular memory chip with a particular motherboard. Also, they might run some kind of test on assembled PCs and if you discover a problem you can just return the whole thing in one place.
With a homemade PC, the source of the trouble may
Funny (Score:5, Funny)
Comment removed (Score:4, Interesting)
Not Dell.... (Score:3, Interesting)
been a while since I tried musicmatch (Score:3, Interesting)
Yahoo: the place for everything (Score:1)
blah (Score:5, Insightful)
Not really. For all practical intents and purposes, Apple has the online music market under its thumb. Barring some very unYahoo-like innovation, the consequences of this sale will likely be nothing more than surface ripples.
Re:blah (Score:2)
Earlier on in the article with Real's CEO's interview, he compared Real's policies with Microsoft - and a poster commented [slashdot.org] that comparing something with turd does not make it smell like roses. Comparing Apple with MS does not make it any better. Ofcourse they're better. But t
does this mean... (Score:3, Funny)
trendsetters (Score:4, Interesting)
The new deal for MusicMatch should provide a new calculus for the "market price per song". How many performances has Yahoo purchased, for how much money? After the math dust has settled, what's the price per listen?
Not sure the summary makes sense... (Score:3, Insightful)
God Bless (Score:3, Insightful)
Integrating with instant messenger? (Score:2)
Re:Integrating with instant messenger? (Score:4, Informative)
It also lets you put what song you're listening to in your online status, so your friends can appreciate how hip you are, or something.
As a bonus, if a friend clicks on your status, he gets to hear a bit of the song you're hearing.
Musicmatch.com history (Score:3, Interesting)
Back in the day, my company (Creative Multimedia Corporation, long since gone the way of the dodo), created MusicMatch.com, MovieMatch.com, HealthExplorer.com, the original Dr. Ruth's website. Among others. I was webmaster for most of these. Oh, the glory days.
When CMC started to fold, we sold off MusicMatch.com and the logo to a little company then called Brava software. I remember transferring and renaming their entire library (20 songs or so) with a shell script. It didn't seem like a good business model, because who would buy these huge music files from them?
But I guess they made it work well enough to get bought.
Narrowing? (Score:2)
So how in the world is this a "narrowing?"
Almost as bad as RealPlayer (Score:2)
They seem to update the software every other week with it reminding you to upgrade to the latest version(not pro, just the latest free version).
Linux Port? (Score:3, Interesting)
During the two years I was a subscriber, my only complaint was that there was no Linux option. I filled out surveys and finally even complained to customer support. The response I recieved from customer support was that codec licensing agreements prevented them from releasing a Linux port.
Even so I continued to subscribe until I switched to my current job where they do not allow me to listen to online music at work (the main place I use windows as an OS.)
If Yahoo is able to bring out a Linux port of the online service, I will immediately become a subscriber again.
The blind continue to lead the blind (Score:4, Interesting)
But anyway, Yahoo, who has no track record in this regard is buying MusicMatch who has no substantial track record to really speak of. Here's my predictions:
Netscape will by this then they will be bought out by Real who will be bought out by SCO who will be bought out by Wal-Mart who will then dump the whole music thing because the RIAA won't sell tracks for 38 cents.
Re:The blind continue to lead the blind (Score:2)
People always crow when it looks like MS or a Linux developer does something that Apple implemented f
Re:The blind continue to lead the blind (Score:2)
They've been around, but what they've managed to do compared to iTunes/iPod has really been nothing to brag about, especially when you consider the lead they had (similar in a sense to Real which is why Real's recent attempt to gang-hump iTunes is sort of embarrassing for them, IMO.) That was what I was getting at.
Yahoo deserves (more than some) cred (Score:2)
w/r/t Yahoo, they've always considered themselves more "directory" than search engine. They're a portal play, and a good one at that. Perhaps they're no longer as in favor with the slashdot crowd as they might have been, but - through Fantasy Football, a great spam account, and other
So does this mean that.... (Score:2, Interesting)
media distribution (Score:3, Insightful)
Musicmatch may not be a big player on the lines of iTunes, but they certainly have an established brand name that Yahoo could take advantage of. and their jukebox player is quite popular, so if they can figure out how to lure more users into the integrated store, that's only a click away in the jukebox player, it could be a success.
What a waste.. (Score:4, Interesting)
I really think Yahoo should concentrate on what they have now instead of trying to expend effort into YET more areas.
Lets see what 'good' yahoo has.
-yahoo auctions? who cares?
-yahoo mail? with gmail now?
-yahoo groups? well, that's good to some extent..
-yahoo's search engine? bleigh, that sucks without google's backend.
-yahoo's portal? you really like that shebang?
Maybe 160mil is spare change to yahoo now, but if they don't establish a core competency, they will probably become irrelevant very soon!
Re:What a waste.. (Score:2)
But you forgot yahoo games.
Literati! Euchre! and all sort of other fun games... and it is all linked to your yahoo profile.
Also, Yahoo IM and Yahoo Chat are nice, and all linked up.
Re:What a waste.. (Score:2)
Well, google has no more than what they have, I don't see google selling music?
Nor do I see googlebay.com?
Yet google is da-bomb today. Like, who cares about yahoo mail, google just mentions gmail and people actually sell invites on ebay.
I'd say they should know how to do things properly before expanding into yet other ar
Re:crappy engine, crappy player (Score:1)
Re:crappy engine, crappy player (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:crappy engine, crappy player (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Musicmatch was good (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Musicmatch was good (Score:2)
Besides, to all those people that want Winamp 2 back because it was "less bloated": Winamp 2 also had things like the minibrowser, and video player. Maybe you want Winamp 1?
Re:Musicmatch was good (Score:2)