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MS's DRM method sucks like a massive black hole. It'll bomb as soon as the word spreads. People are already pissed at MS for MS Reader on the Pocket PC and having to activate it. People already know that MS holds the keys to the castle, so to speak, when it comes to DRM on windows. Bring on WMA. It’ll go down in flames. The price of cheaper songs may be temping but as soon as you start dealing with MS software and their draconian methods 70 cents isn’t going to seem like such a great deal.
 
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Steve Jobs is "a visionary", but he's on the wrong platform."

Originally posted by arn
anyhow... I wonder if the international readers noticed that the rocket has "USA" on it. Not that it really matters I guess cause I doubt Mac users can use the service.

arn

Yep, I noticed, and I also think that it won't be Mac-compatible. Wait and see I guess, but I don't have much hope. iTMS isn't available over here until February :(
 
Windows Media Support

Originally posted by Snowy_River
Are there any personal music players that even support WMF?

Actually, a great number of portable players support the Windows Media format (WMA). I think you'd find that there's greater support for WMA in the industry than AAC (today).

But, AAC is supported on the BEST SELLING portable (the iPod). Also, many of the WMA portables out there don't support the DRM features of WMA, so I don't know how you could copy these things to a portable (other than Pocket PC).

If more devices supported AAC (other than iPod), I think iTMS would be an even bigger success.

We also don't know what bitrate the WMA files are...
 
I am just blatently in SHOCK!!! They totally ripped off Apple's commercials! People holding iPod-like portable music players, singing and dancing to music. And then the catch phrase, "Music for the rest of us." Isn't (wasn't?) Apple's slogan "Computing for the rest of us?" UGGGGHHH what a rip off!!

In the commercial with Tommy Lee, they stage it like he's going onto the Apple photo shoot, where they were taking pictures of the guitar that's in all the ITMS ads. Ad the end of the photo shoot, he takes the guitar and smashes it!
 
I still can't even see the server. I see no link from their main site either...lame and stupid. They suck.

-mark
 
Ah, so this is why...

...Microsoft is releasing an update for Windows Media Player for MacOS X.
 
OMG

I hope Apple sues over these adverts. They make out that BuyMusic.com is better! Hello. Don't think so. Frankly I suppose it's indicative that as Mac users we have access to more innovative software, and all the music we want.

I think BuyMusic, especially the slutty "Get Loaded" at the end just makes it sound cheap. Isn't that just appealing to the kind of people who will download for free anyway?
 
Re: Re: Re: Steve Jobs is "a visionary", but he's on the wrong platform."

Originally posted by arn
Buy actually does have all 5 Labels on board.... and we're not guarenteed that Apple won't run into the same roadblocks as buy.com... in terms of more restrictive licesnsing issues.

I'm not sure if Apple could launch iTunes on Windows w/ the same restrictions... let's hope Steve's RDF is still strong.

This is an example of what's wrong with the recording industry. ITMS for Mac has _proven_ that this pricing model will work.

Now the big labels will say "oh, since Windows has more users, we need to be more restrictive." Then ITMS for Windows will fail for the same reason buymusic is going to fail-- people who only want to listen to music on their computers are simply going to get it for free via p2p.

Then the industry will say "we were right, the pricing model doesn't work" and we'll be back to the same crap we had before ITMS.
 
has anyone actually looked at the pricing. Most popular songs are higher than .79. With varying restrictions from 3 to 10 burns which in my opinion is unacceptable. I'm one of those people who burns a new cd every week for the car, and then tosses it for the next weeks mix. The iTunes music store makes it easy for me, with unlimited burns. Look at these sample prices from buymusic.com with the restrictions. If this is the best another company can come up with then they deserve to fail and rot. Sure seems to me like I'm getting the better deal with the itunes music store.


Rock Your Body
Larger image
Artist: Justin Timberlake
Release Date: 11/5/2002
Label: Jive
Track Price: $0.99
Content Usage Rules for Album and Tracks
Downloads - 3 Transfers - unlimited Burns - 10


Dangerously In Love
Larger image
Artist: Beyoncé featuring Jay-Z,
Release Date: 6/24/2003
Label: Columbia
Album Price: $12.69
Content Usage Rules for Album and Tracks
Downloads - 3 Transfers - 5 Burns - 5
 
Originally posted by stingerman
Apple has a music ecology, that is what makes them so successful. Because of this Apple has made a ton of money off of iTunes Music Store. Do you really think there is any money to be made selling songs for 99 cents. So they keep .35 cents and who knows how much after their costs (CC charges, bandwidth, servers, support personnel, developers, advertising). Maybe when the Windows version comes out it will actually mean anything on its own. But look at all those iPods it sold. My goodness, was it 350,000 at an average of 400 a pop. And who knows how many ibooks and powerbooks it help sell as well.

I would venture that $0.35 per song is more than the average brick & mortar store gets per song when they sell a CD.
 
#3 -- Approved Electronic Devices. The Digital Downloads are sublicensed for play only upon Approved Electronic Devices. Approved Electronic Devices are subject to the Content Use Rules above and include the following: (i) personal computers registered with this Site, and (ii) Portable Devices that receive and store digital music files, and play them back in analog form, but which are incapable of transferring Digital Downloads to other Electronic Devices. Portable Devices must support the Windows Media Audio (“WMA”) format and meet “Class 1000” standards. WMAs are not compatible with any Macintosh Operating Systems. All computers and portable devices purchased through the Site are Approved Electronic Devices, unless specifically stated otherwise.

I guess that means we mac users can't use it. But who cares when we have the best services that's out.:D
By the way that's from the TERMS OF SALE page
 
I sent Buy.com a comment on how unprofessional their web site is. As soon as I did, I got an auto reply of:

Thank you for contacting BuyMusic.com.

We have received your email. A BuyMusic Agent will respond to your
message as soon as possible -- most customers receive an email response
within one business day.

Thank you for your patience.

We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,

BuyMusic.com -- "Get Loaded!"

**Please do not reply to this email, this email address is a non-working
mailbox.**

Then, 20 minutes later, I got:

You previously sent BuyMusic.com an email. Due to the nature of your
request, we have escalated your email to an expert queue, where it will
be answered as soon as possible by a specialist in the subject you asked
about.

We are committed to respond to your email as soon as possible.

We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,

BuyMusic.com -- "Get Loaded!"

**Please do not reply to this email, this email address is a non-working
mailbox.**

I wonder if someone's actually going to respond...
 
Originally posted by Iceman06
#3 -- Approved Electronic Devices. The Digital Downloads are sublicensed for play only upon Approved Electronic Devices. Approved Electronic Devices are subject to the Content Use Rules above and include the following: (i) personal computers registered with this Site, and (ii) Portable Devices that receive and store digital music files, and play them back in analog form, but which are incapable of transferring Digital Downloads to other Electronic Devices. Portable Devices must support the Windows Media Audio (“WMA”) format and meet “Class 1000” standards. WMAs are not compatible with any Macintosh Operating Systems. All computers and portable devices purchased through the Site are Approved Electronic Devices, unless specifically stated otherwise.

I guess that means we mac users can't use it. But who cares when we have the best services that's out.:D
By the way that's from the TERMS OF SALE page

They go out of their way in several sections of the web site to mention that Mac users are SOL.
 
Windows Media Player Version 9 is required to download music on BuyMusic.com. - Or is it really only required to play music downloaded at BuyMusic.com? Who cares anyway... Windows Media Player suck eggs...
Will BuyMusic.com be able to handle the traffic like Apple can?
 
From the BuyMusic site:

There are two types of licenses: Primary and Secondary. The primary license is downloaded to the machine you used to buy your music (for example your home computer). Your primary license enables you to copy your music from your primary computer to your digital media players and to burn it to your CDs as many times as the record label allows.

If you download a secondary license, you do so onto a secondary computer (for example your work computer). Your secondary license enables you ONLY to listen to your music on your secondary computer. A secondary license does NOT allow you to copy your music from your secondary computer to your digital media players or to burn it to your CDs.

Make sure you mean to buy your music from your primary computer so that it contains your primary license. The licenses are non-transferable. You cannot buy your music on your work machine and then transfer your primary license to your home machine. The computer you buy from becomes the primary computer with the primary license for that song.

So here are the questions. What if I get a new computer and get rid of my old one? My primary license is now gone? Even if I had full rights from both computers, what if I am out of "download" credit for a track but I get a new machine?

And since you have to use the site to get the secondary license, what if they go under? My music is now trapped on my PC forever?

I don't know much about SDMI, but how do they limit the number of burns? It seems they would also have to use the website for that (or can the music actually store how many burns are remaining? If so, I imagine someone would find a way to hack the file to increase the count). So if they went under, you couldn't even burn to CD...

My opinion: doomed from the start.
 
Originally posted by Lord Bodak
From the BuyMusic site:



So here are the questions. What if I get a new computer and get rid of my old one? My primary license is now gone? Even if I had full rights from both computers, what if I am out of "download" credit for a track but I get a new machine?

And since you have to use the site to get the secondary license, what if they go under? My music is now trapped on my PC forever?

I don't know much about SDMI, but how do they limit the number of burns? It seems they would also have to use the website for that (or can the music actually store how many burns are remaining? If so, I imagine someone would find a way to hack the file to increase the count). So if they went under, you couldn't even burn to CD...

My opinion: doomed from the start.

Mind if I copy and paste that into the email i'm going to send them along with some other stuff I want to ask and say?
 
As a current Windows user, here are three reasons why I won't be purchasing ANY music from buymusic.com...

1. It requires the download of Windows Media Player 9. I refuse to download this app and I refuse to install Microsoft Passport. I like my privacy, thanks....

2. It doesn't work with my ipod. I don't burn CDs. I use my ipod. If it doesn't work with that, oh well for them.

3. Non-transferable rights! I have to download from my primary pc?! I can't transfer the music to another machine?! That's so lame... the songs that even allow more than one download won't let you burn from those machines or transfer to digital devices from those machines. The amount of downloads they are going to lose just from people who would download from work, but won't because they can't transfer them will be staggering.

No thanks!

Also, from what I've seen so far... their selection isn't all that... I think maybe that 300k songs is an exaggeration.

Alia
 
This is good

Has anybody thought that this is a good thing. If this fails, with all the restrictions applied, then maybe the big 5 will give Apple the same rights as they have on our side.
 
Truly Pathetic

Have you seen the commercials? Two of them are a complete rip off of Apple's original iTunes Music Store commercials, complete with white background and headphoned people singing to a song. They even ripped off one of Apple's favorite marketing phrases ... music downloads "for the rest of us".

Well, we can see Steve Blum's "vision" extends from at least his couch to his TV. Why hire expensive ad companies, when you can copy the work other's have done.

The web site is poorly constructed and does not hold a candle to the ITMS' interface. Also, the songs aren't all 79 cents, they only "start at 79 cents". Most of the songs I looked at were 99 cents.
 
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