Musicmatch says its new Musicmatch Downloads is the first PC service that allows consumers to buy and download music from a broad catalog of music from all five major labels and more than 30 independents, "with no complex, restrictive usage rules" at $1 (99 cents) a pop for singles, and/or $10 (9.95) for 'most' albums.

PC is, naturally, the operative phrase.

Customers can play tracks on up to three PCs simultaneously and transfer them to Windows Media-supported music players. "Tracks can be burned to CDs, but the same playlist may only be burned up to five times," states MusicMatch.

Pretty soon, you'll see announcements such as this about every ten minutes or so.

This is BS, why the restrictions, what is this 5 times burning rule, let the consumer decide what he wants to do with the product and stop telling us what we want.

Also, pretty much every music file that comes out from the RIAA will be IMMEDIATLY available on kazaa, if they don't see that, let me understand this in more sales drops.

Problem here ...

MP3, by far, is the most common (and the only patented) compression technology. Every digital music player will play MP3 files. You can not play any of these new formats (such as Microsoft WMA) on older portable players. I'm not willing to dish out another $300 for a new player that supports WMA.

The message loud and clear: Regular MP3 Please

First off, Mediaplayer does not reside on this computer. It was removed when phone home became part of it. Therefore wma files are of no use to me.

Why on earth would I want to buy a lossy compression file? If I am going to pay for a song, I want the real McCoy, especially at full cost. There is no bargain here in price alone. Someone has death ears when it comes to the fact that a dollar a song is too high a price, especially considering the quality of lossy.

To add insult to injury, they still have not dropped the restrictions on copy. Hello!

My money is a vote for what I believe in and I don't believe in this...

Wet1:

You're absolutely right. I too would not pay a buck for a compressed song. I much rather have the original so I can rip it at whatever format and bitrate I choose.

I'd like MPC.

Windows Media is ass. Here's what I want:

Something you can buy that you can keep and collect and listen to on your stereo whenever you want. On top of this, the music on this thing would be pure, raw and unecrypted so that you could make your own MP3s, Oggs or whatever you wanted out of it for your car, your computer, whatever you wanted! Total freedom to listen to it however, whenever and on whatever you pleased.

Ironically, this is what we already have and what is now in danger of being taken away. At the same time, all these idiots are taking our choices, taking or rights and having the balls to say that it's what we want.

I would give almost anything to just bitchslap a few of these dimbulbs.

I'd like FLAC (lossless compression) and high resolution artwork. Then I would be willing to pay $10 for it. Maybe I'd pay $5 for an album of lossy compressed unrestricted music and $3 (at most) for their restricted CRAP.

Of course I'm not gonna buy anything anyway now that I know the money will only be used to sue others and not given to the artists who deserve it.

Of course I'm not gonna buy anything anyway now that I know the money will only be used to sue others and not given to the artists who deserve it.

sorry for double post

Additionally, $10 for an album's worth of inferior-to-CD compressed computer files is just plain dumb. You're always one virus, one power surge, one missed keystroke, one bit of bad luck away from having wasted all that money.

However, I'd be happy to pay $10 for an album on a rippable CD. That's a fair price to me.

The only way I am paying for MP3's is if they are dirt cheap. I'm talking 25 cents a song or less. Maybe even 10 bucks a month. There is no way people are willing to pay a dollar a song. I am reminded of a quote on this site earlier...forgot who it was but it made a good point. "If you had coke coming out of your faucet, how much would you pay for a bottle?" People aren't going to pay much for this stuff anymore after we've tasted it for free for so long. $1 a song is a ripoff...

Wow! A whole 30 independents out of 90,000?

Thats a great idea. We can all then take a lossy file and convert it into a second generation lossy MP3 for our players that dont suport WMF.

I guess this trend just goes to show that nobody selling this stuff understands the diff between starting with a true file and recompressing files. Or perhaps they fail to understand that the public knows the diff and dosn't want to pay the same price for something that costs truly nothing to make. Selling files is 100% profit.

Sounds like a ripoff to me.

Okay? So you can burn it five times. What is stopping someone from burning and then ripping those songs into mp3s? Then you can do what you want with it. Nice idea guys...

Sorry MusicMatch, I don't believe in wma. I avoid using Media Player like the plague, so you'll have to try a better idea (and that's even before factoring the boycott in). $1 per lossy file to fund lawsuits against pre-teens, college students and the elderly? Actually, I'd be happier with the money.

Found the catch (from Microsoft) ...

"Not all music on these services is offered with the right to be transferred to a device; please check with your music service provider for details."

So it seems, most music could only be played on your PC using Windows Media player. (The Microsoft money machine)

Bite my ass musicmatch, it is STILL DRM and it is STILL a "licence" for inferior crap at way way too high a cost! Some CEO at MM said to the board (or vice verca) .."ooh, look at all the press i-tunes gets. We gotta do that too, but we can do better cause we can reach out to pc users..."

Stupid idiots...

We are STILL not gonna support DRM in any shape, form, nor fashion.

GIVE UP RIAA

Microsofts WMA format ...
Sorry MusicMatch not everyone is going along.

"Philips, which globally ranks No. 3 behind Japan's Sony and Matsushita, has chosen not to support Microsoft's Windows Media Player in its consumer electronics products, a company spokesman said separately. "We need a technology that works, that is available to everyone, managed in a fair way and not constrained to any particular group," Blanford said."

Go Philips, I hope Sony takes the hint... Also, I will kill somebody from Apple if Ipod supports this crap.

FLAC, I like.

I would prefer that it's ripped with something good like EAC though. www.exactaudiocopy.de

Apple's iPod doesn't support WMA, it uses ACC the Advanced Audio Codec portion of the open standard MPEG4.

iTunes music can be used on 3 computers, unlimited iPods, and each playlist can be burned 10 times. (change the order of the play list, burn it 10 more times.

Not perfect, but so much better than other services out there.
\
Big downside, Apple profit =.15 per song, RIAA profit = .84 per song, artist profit = probably nothing.

Bigger downside (same as all services) not a big selection, no indies

That said, I own and love 2 iPods, need 2 more for family members who won't leave minbe alone

Also, iTunes will rip from any CD (except maybe Madonna's new one, haven't tried, don't care) to MP3 or ACC/MPEG4 at your choice of compression and bit rate

Another example of the RIAA saying LOOKY LOOKY we are now providing everything the public wants! Now we can either sue P2P out of exsistance or bribe our congress with soft money to make it illegal.

Get a grip, this idea ain't it!!!!

This entire thing is a null issue for me. I don't want their crappy music recordings....

at $1 a song it'll still be the same price as a regular cd, and its lossy. so whats the point... and you can only burn it 5 times, what a waste of a $1, you could have a 20 minute phone call instead

They couldn't pay me to use windows media...and no way will I buy crappy songs from them...they can stick em where the sun don't shine

I wouldn't pay $1 per song...even if they had all the selection in the world!!

It's a damn RIP-OFF!!

I'm SICK & DAMNED TIRED of the damned RIAA deciding how, where, and when we will listen to music!!

It's time the Congress GET THE FREAKING MESSAGE!! We want MP3, and we want it DIRT CHEAP!!!

DeanSB2000

I agree with all others before me regarding wma...

READ MY CAPS MUSICMATCH / RIAA / MICROSOFT!

WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER SUCKS!!!

So switch to plan B...

Microsuck's NEW slogan "Where will we let you go today?" or "Where did you hope to go today?"

eMusic?

Just curious. I know eMusic is owned by Vivendi or however you spell it. In looking around their catalog they seem to offer independent music on top of indy music. Their restrictions seem to be nill, and the files in mp3 format. Are they still evil for this?

Would like to hear what others think. I've been shacked up in a military hospital for over a week and could use some interaction here.

It's a step in the right direction, but I agree with a lot of the posts here, it should be on the consumer's terms, by offering a variety of formats. We'll only offer WMA files, ...by the way, here's this new WMA player you have to buy to play it. My closet contains enough obsolete technology. I like my MP3 player.

The thing that really gets me is the cost per song. They are charging about the same as a CD. Let's see, use your technology to create the actual product (Sans the cover art, lyrics, ...). Use your internet connection to download it. Cut out the prices of CD production, distribution, storage overhead and sales personnel. Charge about the same amount. Nice scam.

The only thing I will say, is that they have bent only the slightest fraction towards the way we want them to. Ignore the cost, ignore the format, and look for the difference. Something they haven't done before.

Ok, we will sell songs on the internet without the middleman. (Of course they are doing no one favors but themselves along the way) This strikes me as being in character for the music industry as a whole. What is that you say? Well, there was mention in an article that the music industry forced the record to disappear and refused distrbution in favor of other formats. Each time forcing the customer to buy again. Now this appears to be another well hidden scheme. If they could just do away with media and force you to pay when you listen, without any hope for saving, what a landslide that would be. Anyone but me seeing a pattern here???

f-the-riaa wrote:
Microsuck's NEW slogan "Where will we let you go today?" or "Where did you hope to go today?"

How about "Where do you want to crash today?" lol

Bogatabeav wrote:
The thing that really gets me is the cost per song. 8< Snip >8 Nice scam.

Exactly! There's been numerous discussions here on this site about this same issue. Breath deep, can you smell the bullsh*t yet?

wet1 wrote:
Ok, we will sell songs on the internet without the middleman. 8< Snip >8 Anyone but me seeing a pattern here???

This as well has come up numerous times. Streaming and downloading on their terms. Scary thought isn't it???

Not exactly the trustworthy sort are they, considering past experiences I wouldn't want them in my computer any more than I would invite a horrible malicious virus...