No doubt you've all heard of the new MP3 service from Amazon, which is selling DRM-free MP3s at 256 kbps.
Does this signal an end of popular DRM? Will record labels try to shut down the service? Will the service last? Whatever happened to Trusted Computing?
]]>DRM will continue as long as Apple continues to sell iPods. And I am guessing record labels have agreed with Amazon to launch the service to compete against Apple (in fact, all albums are cheaper in Amazon than in iTunes).
]]>DRM will never go away until the copyright holders believe that it is not effective. So strong sales from Amazon's DRM free service could help eliminate DRM, but I don't think it's that simple.
]]>selling DRM-free MP3s at 256 kbps
Hmm, I give my music away DRM-free, but only at 128/160 kbps. (My latest album I encoded in the higher quality.) Do most people really care about the bitrate? I figure that 128kbps is still good enough for just about everyone. Unless the MP3 format is degrading over time...
DRM will never go away until the copyright holders believe that it is not effective.
Being the copyright holder on my music, I figure DRM would be highly ineffective at getting people to listen to it. However, those who make money from music could care less who listens to it, all that matters is that it sells. And I don't think that most people care if music is DRMed or not. "Will it play on my iPod? Good, that's all I need to know." As long as DRM sells it won't go away.
(Note that I don't have an iPod, I prefer to interact with the people around me. "Can I download it with Linux? Oh, I guess I'll listen to free music instead...")
]]>Do most people really care about the bitrate? I figure that 128kbps is still good enough for just about everyone.
High bitrate = fewer songs on the portable player. With large hard drive based players, it's not much of an issue. But if you have a 1GB player (like me), 256kbps is not worth it. I don't go higher than 128kbps.
And to be honest, I cannot really tell the difference between 128 and 256 if I'm just passively listening to a song in a typical environment.
But there are a lot of people who swear by huge bitrates.
]]>Since the very beginning (Napster's days, I mean) it was known that 128 was good for walkman-like players but not for speakers. Also, 128 gives the typical "1mb per minute" ratio. 192 has always been the minimum for me (and since a few years, VBR instead of constant bitrate). Ogg is always a better choice, but very few players support it.
However, those who make money from music could care less who listens to it, all that matters is that it sells.
And that is why companies feel cheated by Apple's strategy and hadn't been good at creating their own alternatives. The old industry paradigm is that you pay the recording company the full CD price, even if you only like one song. With iTunes, you buy the song you want, which directly impacts in the discographies.
]]>Here's an interesting article on the evilness apple has become:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7002612.stm
Die Apple, die!
My friend has a Mac and I don't like that. For a couple reasons. Number one is that Apple is the company I hold the most disdain for. That, and he got a $1,500 laptop while I don’t even get a $700 desktop (which my parents could afford...they won’t even let me chip in money!) and runs jack shit on it. The only thing he has is C&C3 which he got 2(ish) days ago. But C&C3 is really really fun so I forgive him. (I built a nice-ish computer on IBuyPower for $682 with 2.33x2 CPU, 1x2 Gig Ram, NoIdea on Video card (I have a 9550), 200Gig 7200RPM HD, standard sound card. No moniter. Does this seem like a good deal for an ok computer? I could probably upgrade to 2.66x2 GHz for ~$80. Then I could run C&C3!)
Ummm...topic...ummm...
The DMR on Apple pisses me off. Why? My sister uses the same desktop as I do and we sometimes trade songs from the store. Usually she jacks my songs. But sometimes when I try to play the songs, it will be like [Enter Password: ****...2/5 Computers Unlocked] and I need to do that ~1/2 times. ANNOYING. And it takes forever to verify.
]]>re: bitrates
I prefer at least 192 for listening with half decent equipment. If I'm using a cheap portable player, it won't matter if its 64kbs Though for many things, I have 320kbps mp3s. and a ton of them. My Music folder is 45GB in size, with more that I haven't sorted through yet and put in there. 320kbps takes up a lot of space
]]>Geez, mine is just 5gb (not counting Do As Infinity, which is in another disk, and the latest CDs from Epica, Within Temptation and Nightwish, which I hadn't yet received):
1 | /* |
2 | 76M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Infinite |
3 | 80M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Elements Part One |
4 | 71M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Elements |
5 | 66M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Destiny |
6 | 83M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Visions |
7 | 7.4M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1988 - Future Shock (EP) |
8 | 7.9M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1989 - Black Night (EP) |
9 | 47M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1989 - Fright Night |
10 | 9.7M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1992 - Break the Ice (EP) |
11 | 50M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1992 - Twilight Time |
12 | 74M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1994 - Dreamspace |
13 | 55M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1995 - Fourth Dimension |
14 | 21M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1995 - Wings of Tomorrow (EP) |
15 | 59M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1996 - Episode |
16 | 28M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1996 - Father Time (EP) |
17 | 43M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1996 - Will The Sun Rise (EP) |
18 | 43M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1997 - Black Diamond (EP) |
19 | 41M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1997 - The Kiss Of Judas (EP) |
20 | 86M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1997 - The Past And Now |
21 | 71M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1997 - Visions |
22 | 56M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1998 - Destiny |
23 | 17M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1998 - S.O.S. (EP) |
24 | 41M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1998 - Visions Of Europe 2 CD/Stratovarius - Visions of Europe [CD2] |
25 | 40M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1998 - Visions Of Europe 2 CD/Stratovarius - Visions of Europe [CD1] |
26 | 81M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1998 - Visions Of Europe 2 CD |
27 | 73M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 1999 - The Chosen Ones |
28 | 30M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2000 - Hunting High and Low (EP) |
29 | 83M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2000 - Infinite |
30 | 31M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2000 - Million Light Years Away (EP) |
31 | 94M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2001 - Intermission |
32 | 17M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2002 - Eagleheart (EP) |
33 | 66M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - Elements Pt.1 |
34 | 47M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - Elements Pt.2 |
35 | 24M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - I Walk to My Own Song (EP) |
36 | 84M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - Singles B-Sides (2CD)/Stratovarius - 2003 - Singles B-Sides [CD2] |
37 | 93M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - Singles B-Sides (2CD)/Stratovarius - 2003 - Singles B-Sides [CD1] |
38 | 177M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2003 - Singles B-Sides (2CD) |
39 | 104M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2005 - Destiny - Remastered |
40 | 59M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius/Stratovarius - 2005 - Stratovarius |
41 | 2.0G /mnt/hdb1/Music/Stratovarius |
42 | 68M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/2005-Wishsides (CD-1) |
43 | 68M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/2005-Wishsides (CD-2) |
44 | 87M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Highest Hopes: The Best of Nightwish |
45 | 58M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/End of an Era (disc 1) |
46 | 55M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/End Of An Era (Disco 2) |
47 | 65M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Once |
48 | 60M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Wishmaster |
49 | 76M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Tales From The Elvenpath |
50 | 57M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Over the Hills and Far Away |
51 | 57M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Century Child |
52 | 54M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish/Oceanborn |
53 | 699M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Nightwish |
54 | 44M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Visions of Atlantis/Cast Away |
55 | 53M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Visions of Atlantis/Eternal Endless Infinity |
56 | 97M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Visions of Atlantis |
57 | 15M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Tarja/One Angel's Dream |
58 | 13M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Tarja/You Would Have Loved This |
59 | 27M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Tarja |
60 | 71M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Epica/The Score ~An Epic Journey~ |
61 | 60M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Epica/EPICA - We Will Take You With Us - 2 Meter Sessies |
62 | 83M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Epica/Epica - 2006 - The Road To Paradiso [VBR HQ] |
63 | 213M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Epica |
64 | 62M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Tarja Turunen/Henkäys ikuisuudesta |
65 | 62M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Tarja Turunen |
66 | 59M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Leaves' Eyes/Lovelorn |
67 | 64M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Leaves' Eyes/Vinland Saga |
68 | 122M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Leaves' Eyes |
69 | 60M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Midnattsol/Where Twilight Dwells |
70 | 60M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Midnattsol |
71 | 83M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/4 FORCE |
72 | 85M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Acoustic Latte |
73 | 70M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Commonplace |
74 | 92M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Cyber TRANCE presents ELT TRANCE |
75 | 80M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Eternity |
76 | 65M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Everlasting |
77 | 79M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Every Ballad Songs |
78 | 101M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Every Best Single 2 |
79 | 87M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Every Best Single+3 |
80 | 28M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Every Little Thing - HI-FI MESSAGE [2006.06.14] |
81 | 38M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Every Little Thing - azure moon [320kbps.2006.03.15] |
82 | 106M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Many Pieces |
83 | 107M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/SUPER EUROBEAT presents Euro Every Little Thing |
84 | 102M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/The Remixes |
85 | 99M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/The Remixes II |
86 | 93M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/The Remixes III |
87 | 65M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing/Time to Destination |
88 | 1.4G /mnt/hdb1/Music/Every Little Thing |
89 | 64M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Leaves Eyes |
90 | 62M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/Enter |
91 | 90M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/Live Tilburg 13-03-02 |
92 | 99M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/Mother Earth |
93 | 66M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/Mother Earth Tour Live |
94 | 27M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/Running up that Hill |
95 | 36M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/The Dance EP |
96 | 194M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation/The Silent Force |
97 | 572M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Within Temptation |
98 | 96M /mnt/hdb1/Music/Theatre of Tragedy |
99 | 5.3G /mnt/hdb1/Music/ |
100 | */ |
Most are 192kbps MP3s, although I have oggs in a new directory. And use vux to play them. I need to sort them, but since vux does do that directly, I just throw the albums there.
]]>Not enough Weird Al. I took full advantage of Ruckus and got all of his albums.
]]>Ah, you have a lot of anime stuff. I deleted all that time ago, only left Every Little Thing and Do As Infinity in japanese. And Ayumi Hamasaki? I thought she sold to little girls only I can understand Utada Hikaru, she has talent. And I like one theme from L'Arc~en~Ciel, but can't remember its name right now.
]]>Die Apple, die!
My friend has a Mac and I don't like that. For a couple reasons. Number one is that Apple is the company I hold the most disdain for. That, and he got a $1,500 laptop while I don’t even get a $700 desktop (which my parents could afford...they won’t even let me chip in money!) and runs jack shit on it. The only thing he has is C&C3 which he got 2(ish) days ago. But C&C3 is really really fun so I forgive him. (I built a nice-ish computer on IBuyPower for $682 with 2.33x2 CPU, 1x2 Gig Ram, NoIdea on Video card (I have a 9550), 200Gig 7200RPM HD, standard sound card. No moniter. Does this seem like a good deal for an ok computer? I could probably upgrade to 2.66x2 GHz for ~$80. Then I could run C&C3!)
Apple isn't bad. Just too expensive. My friend has a macbook pro, and it's fairly nice.
And $633, IMO, is way overpriced for that computer. You could build your own with better specs for around that. Anyway, thats a topic of its own.
]]>Not enough Weird Al. I took full advantage of Ruckus and got all of his albums.
I have at least one more (the new one), and might have more hiding somewhere.
]]>Ruckus is nice, cause it's free. I forgot about it until just now. Thanks for reminding me!
]]>Bastards. I can't sign up
]]>I wish one day all (most) music selling would be like on Magnatune: low quality MP3 full length previews of all songs and you can download songs in most formats (mp3, ogg, FLAC, wav). Naturally there is no DRM at all. Also you can choose how much you pay for the music. You can buy one album for $5 to $18. Whatever you buy half of it will go to the artist and other half to the store. If you buy through Amarok then 50% goes to artist, 40% to store and 10% to Amarok
]]>Will anybody pay more than the minimum for music?
]]>I would pay the artist directly.
]]>Where's the .ruckusdownload to .mp3 converter? Then maybe Ruckus might be nice...
]]>Will anybody pay more than the minimum for music?
If one believes what they say on their page then yes, many people do
I would pay the artist directly.
Well, for that you'd need to get the information from the artist and I don't think he could just sell the song directly to you, at least not if (s)he has any kind of contracts with someone.
]]>Ruckus downloads to DRM'ed WMA. Get FairUse4WM to strip the DRM, and ffmpeg to convert to MP3. If you want, I can give you a program that will batch run these two programs on your entire Ruckus collection.
]]>Well, for that you'd need to get the information from the artist and I don't think he could just sell the song directly to you, at least not if (s)he has any kind of contracts with someone.
Yeah, I know. But I guess more would support musicians going independent. However, they will always prefer getting 1 cent per song sold via a discography than 99 cents per song if they sold directly to the mass market, to prevent having to spend money in promotion, videos, etc. And don't forget, artists are just as money whores as anyone else.
]]>I have most of my collection in FLAC because much of it really is noticeable. This also meant that my entire collection was approaching 160gigs before I lost most of it to a bad external drive.
]]>Fortunately you still have the original CDs and can re-rip them...
Took me forever to rip my 500+ CD collection. I ran out of disk space and caved in and wrote a script to convert them all to Oggs.
]]>This is exactly how digital distribution should be (according to an Argentine newspaper):
"In the rainbows" podrá descargarse en formato digital a partir del 10 de octubre desde la página web del grupo británico. Lo más curioso: los compradores eligen cuánto desean pagar.
"In the rainbows" can be downloaded in digital format starting from October 10 from the british group's web page. Shoppers will be able to choose how much they want to pay.
]]>