You and me both. Hell with the cd's I do purchase, I rip the cd, put the cd in my case and put the cd case in a cardboard box that goes in the garage. All I want is the music. Nothing more nothing less.
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Music Labels to Offer Enhanced Album Format to Compete With Apple's 'Cocktail'?
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You and me both. Hell with the cd's I do purchase, I rip the cd, put the cd in my case and put the cd case in a cardboard box that goes in the garage. All I want is the music. Nothing more nothing less.
I listen to Music playlist over and over again. I can't imagine I would look at Album art/lyrics/notes more than once. I'm old enough to have bought records, tapes, and CD's. I didn't even look at whatever those were packaged with more than once either. This whole enhanced album format offering business is something that will not bolster my purchasing interest. Fresh quality music will do that. I don't even watch the same movies/special features (DVD's) more than once every 2 years, let alone look at the boxes they came in. I can't be the only one who treats his media this way.
If increasing the price is justified by adding this "extra stuff," it'll backfire. I will not buy music for much more than I already am.
If the Labels/Apple want to make an extra $2 per album, they should give you an empty jewel case with whatever else inside. They can email you a printable coupon (good where ever music is sold) to take to the store and pick up your "Media-not-included" copy.
If increasing the price is justified by adding this "extra stuff," it'll backfire. I will not buy music for much more than I already am.
If the Labels/Apple want to make an extra $2 per album, they should give you an empty jewel case with whatever else inside. They can email you a printable coupon (good where ever music is sold) to take to the store and pick up your "Media-not-included" copy.
annoying
I see the use of linear notes, I like them but why the hell do we need a closed source, proprietary format to store video, and text? What an utter waste.
Why not standardize it all within an XML format? Use whatever additional resources as needed, AVI's, flash etc. and call it up in a browser. I really hate companies that re-invent the wheel all the time to push stupid formats that add nothing but duplication. I don't see what functionality CMX or Cocktail offers that your basic website can't. Besides when CMX dies (and it will), so do your linear notes (compare that to 30 year old Unix ASCII files that are still accessible today).
From folders of XML files, it'd be easy to grab all albums recorded in say, Tarpan Studios, or all albums where Andy Jackson was the recording engineer. It would also allow individuals to use the information more creatively and freely without being shackled by CMX or Cocktail.
That said, I wouldn't pay for it. I MIGHT be compelled to buy a whole album though if it meant I got linear notes too, but not if it's in some crappy proprietary format.
I see the use of linear notes, I like them but why the hell do we need a closed source, proprietary format to store video, and text? What an utter waste.
Why not standardize it all within an XML format? Use whatever additional resources as needed, AVI's, flash etc. and call it up in a browser. I really hate companies that re-invent the wheel all the time to push stupid formats that add nothing but duplication. I don't see what functionality CMX or Cocktail offers that your basic website can't. Besides when CMX dies (and it will), so do your linear notes (compare that to 30 year old Unix ASCII files that are still accessible today).
From folders of XML files, it'd be easy to grab all albums recorded in say, Tarpan Studios, or all albums where Andy Jackson was the recording engineer. It would also allow individuals to use the information more creatively and freely without being shackled by CMX or Cocktail.
That said, I wouldn't pay for it. I MIGHT be compelled to buy a whole album though if it meant I got linear notes too, but not if it's in some crappy proprietary format.
this is exactly what's happening. noone really cares for these extras and apple might only be putting this in to add extra interactivity when looking at album art while riding in the subway.
what's more important, why is the big four developing this without having proven it's acceptance in the marketplace?
Yes, Apple will take care of them. No need to have any ideas of their own. Just like us.
People keep posting things like:
-I used to look at photos, lyrics, etc, but now all this material is now available for free on the web.
-I just want the songs I want. I don't want to get the whole album with all the junk songs.
-Great, another proprietary format.
-I hate drm.
etc.
So what? What does any of that have to do with this?
You will still be able to access the material for free on the web. But you can also get it FREE with an album download. And if you don't care about entire albums, you will STILL be able to buy individual songs.
And what indication is there that Apple's solution will contain DRM or be proprietary? As I understand it, Cocktail is a codename, not a file-type. Right now, iTunes bundles some songs with PDF files and videos. I always thought the pdf was limited, but if iTunes and iPods/iPhones could open these files natively, it would be of some use. AND if it offered links within the text to start playing songs/videos, then that would be pretty cool.
There are always a lot of naysayers, but the fact of the matter is that we have almost no information about this. How can you complain when you don't know? And even when it eventually surfaces, if it isn't appealing to you, don't worry about it. The people that do like it can buy it.
-I used to look at photos, lyrics, etc, but now all this material is now available for free on the web.
-I just want the songs I want. I don't want to get the whole album with all the junk songs.
-Great, another proprietary format.
-I hate drm.
etc.
So what? What does any of that have to do with this?
You will still be able to access the material for free on the web. But you can also get it FREE with an album download. And if you don't care about entire albums, you will STILL be able to buy individual songs.
And what indication is there that Apple's solution will contain DRM or be proprietary? As I understand it, Cocktail is a codename, not a file-type. Right now, iTunes bundles some songs with PDF files and videos. I always thought the pdf was limited, but if iTunes and iPods/iPhones could open these files natively, it would be of some use. AND if it offered links within the text to start playing songs/videos, then that would be pretty cool.
There are always a lot of naysayers, but the fact of the matter is that we have almost no information about this. How can you complain when you don't know? And even when it eventually surfaces, if it isn't appealing to you, don't worry about it. The people that do like it can buy it.
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This is another lame attempt by the music industry to milk consumers dry! The music industry will throw away hundreds of millions of dollars on CMX, then whine about how much money they're losing.
This is another lame attempt by the music industry to milk consumers dry! The music industry will throw away hundreds of millions of dollars on CMX, then whine about how much money they're losing.
I know HD space is cheap these days but the extra files are one more thing that's just going to add bloat to my drive. We already have coverflow if we want to look at the album artwork and lyrics seem to be easy enough to look up on the web for free if/when we want to read them. I'm not sure what compelling content they think they're going to deliver?!? Videos, really not that interested. Possibly the only thing of interest to me personally is maybe some behind the scenes stuff, like "the making of" videos or artist commentary on how the song was written / their inspiration. I guess I'm personally intrigued by the creative process...
Why would this need to be bundled with an album? Lyrics shoudol be wrapped with every itunes file. And an enhanced Genius could handle the above features for each song. It shouldn't require an album purchase.
How do you know that Apple rejected the labels 'offer'? Perhaps it was the other way around, and it is the labels modifying an Apple idea. We don't really know, but I would not take anything a music label guy said at face value.
You could just imagine it:
itunes enhanced features>Apple cocktail proposal>labels get worried Apple has come up with another way to increase its hold over them>cook up CMX.
Is that more feasible than:
Itunes enhanced features>Labels cook up CMX proposal>Apple gets worried the CMX proposal won't help sell ipods>Apple cooks up cocktail.
The only way we will know for sure is when both products are released. The more half baked one is more likely to be the imitator (actually, not even then if the labels try to cripple cocktail in favour of their own product).
Not that I am a likely buyer of either product.
I like the idea of being able to view liner notes and lyrics from directly within iTunes. Imagine listening to a song and being able to see the lyrics at the same time. That could be really cool. What the record industry is proposing, however, sounds cumbersome and awful.
This is what I would like (and hope is what Apple is developing): A liner notes file included with every full album download. Each song file in the album is the same as it is now. You can view the song files in list view, coverflow, grouped, etc.. You can manage the individual song files however you want (just like you can do now). However, the extra liner notes file allows an additional view....a "full view" which shows the lyrics of the currently playing song in addition to the typical song information. This view would also feature notes, pictures and other tidbits about the song. Think of it as an extra layer of song information. Again, if you don't want this, you can always view the songs in any of the other views that iTunes currently allows.
I don't want a separate, single "album file" with the songs imbedded in it...which is what the music industry's plan sounds like. What I said above would be perfect for a lot of people.
This is what I would like (and hope is what Apple is developing): A liner notes file included with every full album download. Each song file in the album is the same as it is now. You can view the song files in list view, coverflow, grouped, etc.. You can manage the individual song files however you want (just like you can do now). However, the extra liner notes file allows an additional view....a "full view" which shows the lyrics of the currently playing song in addition to the typical song information. This view would also feature notes, pictures and other tidbits about the song. Think of it as an extra layer of song information. Again, if you don't want this, you can always view the songs in any of the other views that iTunes currently allows.
I don't want a separate, single "album file" with the songs imbedded in it...which is what the music industry's plan sounds like. What I said above would be perfect for a lot of people.
I guess. I mean, you're probably right. But if it was the other way around (Apple making the first offer to the labels), I kind of doubt the labels would say flat-out no. Instead I'd imagine them to try to achieve a compromise at which point we would again be at the scenario that I had in mind, where Apple wouldn't want to get behind the labels' flawed vision. But yeah, I guess the labels would kind of like to separate themselves from Apple a bit...
I agree with that completely. I remember when they added the lyrics field to iTunes (and the iPod) I hoped that some purchases would utilize it. So far, I don't think there have been any.
The thing about the online lyric databases is that they suck. Not just a littlethey are really bad. They are so full of ads, and the lyrics may or may not be correct.
A positive reply, thank you. God, I can't believe everyone is already trashing this... I pretty much think companies already know DRM is not the way to go (at least I hope so)... and it's not like they are gonna stop selling individual tracks, I think it'll just be an added bonus FOR THOSE who do decide on buying complete albums.
I'll wait for it to be announced before trashing it, if they charge or I don't like the final product THEN I won't buy and be happy for those who like it...
I think Apples response may have been similar to thier early iPhone Developers.
"Use HTML 5 it can do every thing you want and work with iPods and iTunes and anyone else"
Record labels "but we want DRM"
Possibly, but they better hope there wasn't...
1.5 Apple develops and patents the sh*t out of some new concepts.
Well, actually I would love to see the service successful. The reason I keep buying CDs instead of downloading them is because of the booklet inside. Cocktail could be the reason for me to switch to downloads instead of CDs.
I buy songs to listen to the music. If I wanted a booklet, I would buy the CD's. I could careless and I doubt I would ever pay any "extra" money to buy cocktail or anything like it. Plus, I don't buy songs via iTunes, I buy them from Amazon.
They probably should but it was the music industries idea, not Apples. If the article is accurate, Apple ripped it off. Could be a problem for Apple in the future, knowing that meetings and info exist of the idea.
No one is 100% sure of this will be part of an album or a song or wrapped around the files themselves and I never mentioned wrapping with a file, I just said the data could be useful to those that want it. I mentioned it is all on the implementation. A preference in iTunes or even a question at purchase "Do you want a cocktail with this purchase?" Yes/No.
Yes, Genius can handle parts of this, but if you are listening to a song and never knew it was on 3 different movie sound tracks and you choose to hear more songs from one of those movies, there is not an intuitive way other than this for Genius to handle such a feature.
I just love to see the haters complain but offer no ideas back to help find a solution.
It's sad to realize so many people seem to have forgotten, or never knew, the pleasures of the album concept. It seems that a majority of the respondants "don't wanna buy the crap songs." In practice, most songs "people wanna buy" are formulaic with steady beats, simplistic hooks and the same old chord changes. In other words, "singing in the shower" songs. However, a lot of musicians are in fact artists, and for me it's a pleasure to get into what the artist is providing in a deeper way. The "A side" single (as it used to be known) was from an artist's standpoint just the hook to pull an audience in. The album might include more complex and richer songs that grow on the listener with repeated listenings. Too bad digital downloads are killing this, and dumbing down popular music as a result. Any attempt to revitalize the album is, from my standpoint, a good thing, even if a bunch of greedy commercial publishers manage to make some money off it in the process.
Just give me...
I just want personnel for each song (musicians, producer, engineer, etc) and that can easily be added to the "info" for the song. I don't know why that information is not included now.
I just want personnel for each song (musicians, producer, engineer, etc) and that can easily be added to the "info" for the song. I don't know why that information is not included now.