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Rhapsody Opens DRM-Free Music Store
Their strategy is designed to change digital music industry in three ways:
* Accelerating the move away from DRM by making music from all major labels available in the DRM-free and interoperable MP3 format.
* Allowing music fans to conveniently stream full-length songs, and buy MP3s, anywhere they want including popular music sites and social networks on the Web
* Integrating digital music directly with mobile phones through a deep partnership between Rhapsody and Verizon Wireless.
"Until now, legal digital music has suffered from severe limitations on where consumers could buy it and how they could use it," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of RealNetworks. "'Music Without Limits,' fixes those problems and will make digital music easier and more valuable for consumers. Rhapsody is proud...to connect consumers with digital music wherever they are and however they want it."
Visitors to the Rhapsody MP3 Store can now listen to full-length songs instead of the measly 30-second samples found on other sites. The Rhapsody MP3 catalogue will include more than 5 million songs from all four major music labels -- Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and EMI, and an extensive number of independent labels.
The Rhapsody MP3 Store also places a strong emphasis on the digital album with merchandising centers for "new album releases," "old favorites," and "who's on tour." Most albums will sell for $9.99 and tracks for $.99. with tracks encoded at a 256kbs bitrate.
As part of the new site launch Rhapsody is also giving away a free album to the first 100,000 people who sign up for the new store until July 4th.
"Rhapsody MP3 has made discovering and buying music risk free, with the freedom to listen to full-length songs before making a purchasing decision," said Neil Smith, vice president of marketing for Rhapsody. "To demonstrate what musical freedom is all about, we're giving an album to the first 100,000 people who sign up."
http://mp3.rhapsody.com/home.html Their strategy is designed to change digital music industry in three ways: ... more -
Rhapsody to challenge iTunes by embracing the iPod
Digital music seller Rhapsody is launching a $50 million marketing assault on Apple's iTunes, offering songs online and via partners including Yahoo Inc and Verizon Wireless, Rhapsody said on Monday.
The songs will be sold in MP3 format, which means users of the Rhapsody service will be able to play them on iPods.
Before now Rhapsody, jointly owned by Real Networks Inc and Viacom Inc's MTV Networks, had focused on a subscription service, allowing unlimited song streaming for $13 to $15 a month, rather than selling downloads.
But Rhapsody Vice President Neil Smith said the fact the service has not been compatible with Apple Inc's top-selling iPod digital player has limited Rhapsody's reach.
Rhapsody is the latest player to challenge iTunes's 70 percent-plus market share of U.S. digital music sales. Last month digital music service Napster Inc launched an MP3 store. Both Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Amazon.com Inc launched stores last year. Digital music seller Rhapsody is launching a $50 million marketing assault on Apple's iTunes, offering songs online and via partn... more -
Last Major Label Gives Up DRM
Back in December 2005, we announced the beginning of the end for DRM on music. Well, two years later, we're getting close to the end of the end, with Sony-BMG announcing that it, too, will be giving up on DRM for music downloads (at least for some of its catalog). Sony-BMG is the last of the four major labels to take this step.
It's about time. As online music retailers have been pointing out for years, DRM has only held back the authorized downloading services in their efforts to compete against the unauthorized world of P2P file sharing.
This isn't quite the end of DRM on digital music, however. The last hold out is DRM on subscription services like Rhapsody and Napster. Some have argued that DRM is necessary for the subscription business model, an argument that I think doesn't hold up under scrutiny. After all, anyone with any motivation can convert their Rhapsody "streams" into downloads, DRM notwithstanding. So it's not the DRM that keeps people paying their monthly subscription bills -- it's convenience, inventory, and other features that add value to the experience (DRM, on the other hand, is about subtracting value from the fan's experience).
But there is also evidence suggesting that DRM on streams may be dying, as well. Leading next-generation streaming music services, like iMeem, are using FLV (a streaming format with no DRM) for their music offerings. And iMeem is licensed by all of the major labels, so it appears that DRM is no longer a requirement for authorized music streaming, either.
Next step (and I hear that at least one major label is considering it) will be a blanket license for music fans -- pay a small monthly fee, and download whatever you like, from wherever you like, in whatever format you like. This is the inevitable end-game in a world where file sharing remains hugely popular and the labels want to prevent new retailers (like iTunes) from controlling distribution. Back in December 2005, we announced the beginning of the end for DRM on music. Well, two years later, we're getting close to the ... more -
Rotary Downs
The rebirth of the New Orleans music scene has lifted the spirits of a city that has fallen on hard times. Leading the charge, bands like Rotary Downs have been touring to packed houses in Louisiana and around the country. Their sound is a good mix of soulful NOLA jazz rhythms, modern guitar and inspired lyrics. The rebirth of the New Orleans music scene has lifted the spirits of a city that has fallen on hard times. Leading the charge, bands l... more
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