If you needed any further confirmation that DRM copy protection on digital music is on its way out, Rhapsody just provided it. The download service just opened the doors on its MP3 store, selling copy-protection-free songs — encoded at a close-to-CD-quality 256 kbps bit rate — that you can copy over and over to iPods, PCs, CDs or any other nutty music-playing contraption or media you can think of. The first 100,000 people who sign up before July 4th will get a free album, and you can even download to your phone if you have Verizon service.
Great to see Rhapsody follow Amazon in dissing DRM. We certainly welcome a future where we can finally do what we want with the music we buy. Why does anyone still buy from iTunes again?
Rhapsody MP3, via Gizmodo
editor@dvice.com
By beto at 7:40 PM ON 06/30/08
Nooooooo, don't let physical dieeee you geeks!
:'(
Cool, but, you know, I still have a little itty bitty hope & faith on physical albums. I love them, I love browsing a (physical) music store, getting something, pay for it, go to my house, pop my brand new CD on my computer (somehow I lost my stereo while moving from house) listening to it while reading liner notes and checking booklet art... and then ripping and upping it to my iPod.
Who's with me?
TEAM PHYSICAL! LET'S GET PHYSICAL! :D
By Stanium at 3:16 AM ON 07/01/08
Beto, there's something for me in what you say, too. While getting music should be easy as 1-2-3 (i'm talking about downloading it without moving your ass), the very process of shopping for and discovering a new CD is something I'll be missing if it's gone.
By Sohel at 9:37 AM ON 07/01/08
I don't buy as many CDs as I used to, but whenever I find the time, I love to browse through Borders or HMV stores to see whats new and if anything else catches my attention... buying cds are getting less n less popular simply coz artists have gotten too commercialized and they often focus on only one or two songs...and we consumers/music lovers under the current economic condition just can justify to buy a whole album for 1 or 2 songs only... but like stanium said...if they ever decide to get rid of physical CDs, I'll miss browsing through those isles...
By nomore at 9:37 AM ON 07/01/08
Rhapsody didn't provide the proof, get your facts in line. Apple, more than any other company, started this ball rolling, then certain labels have been throwing a hissy fit ever since. There is ample proof around of this, misleading articles like this one just perpetuate stupidity. The labels set the DRM policy. If Apple goes down, we'll all be paying more for downloads, because no other service has the clout or the desire to stand up to them. We will likely also be back in a DRM mess. I don't love iTunes, but its clear where the problem lies in this situation. Also, iTunes works - I tried out this Rhapsody thing yesterday, 5 attempts at downloads, 3 problems. Useless technical support. For now I still buy CDs.
By King Pigeon at 9:55 AM ON 07/01/08
An awful lot of iTunes music is DRM-free as well; not sure why this doesn't get reported more often (several recent articles suggest via exclusion of this info that iTunes offers no DRM-free material). However, as your hyperlinked article does explain, iTunes offers fewer DRM-free tracks than other services--though at a "mere" two million it seems they would have enough to nonetheless satisfy most of their regular customers.
By cgallatin at 10:04 AM ON 07/01/08
Amazon.com has been this way for a good while now AND charges less.
By RIAA Exec at 10:11 AM ON 07/01/08
Yeah geeks, just wait till we sue the pants off Rhapsody and bring in an injunction to stop this violation of our "racket"...I mean artistic creation! LOL!
By jungleland2 at 10:15 AM ON 07/01/08
The labels are encouraging DRM free mp3s for Itunes competitors. They want to see Apple's monopoly crumble. Apple OWNS them right now (#1 player and #1 music store) they have no power unless the ZUNE and WALKMAN folks show some strength.
Amazon's system is by far the best. Let's see what Rhapsody can do
By dowopper at 10:16 AM ON 07/01/08
If you are buying copy protected music, then YOU are part of the problem! The marketplace can dictate how this all plays out, but why would they do anything different if all the sheep on the ranch march along right wherever the shepherd leads them.
By captainjack at 10:24 AM ON 07/01/08
if you want to see big changes then vote for the colored guy...barack o'bama.
By Seryan at 10:25 AM ON 07/01/08
My problem with albums are:
There are many songs that I do not like.
I have to spend more money to get just the song I want.
You read the cover text and say "OK, I'll buy it."
Then when you get home, you don't like any of it. Can you take it back? NO! They've got your money and you're screwed. That's what I absolutely hate about the record industry. They will screw you and there is nothing you can do about it.
So, downloading one tune that you like, is the way to go. It is the smart way to go.
By StopTheStupidity at 10:28 AM ON 07/01/08
See, right there is the problem: you don't own the music you buy, you license it. If you -- for instance -- believe that you own the copyright to your POS blog, why don't you extend intellectual property rights to music owners?
By phaggood at 10:28 AM ON 07/01/08
> stanium: miss browsing physical media
You should try the online radio station Pandora - this has done more for my recent music purchases than the last 5yrs of browsing physical stores.
By offroadone at 10:35 AM ON 07/01/08
Wouldn't it be funny if the RIAA EXEC's actually paid attention to what the public wants? They would be making boat loads of money. ha ha ha ha
By jaapaap at 10:39 AM ON 07/01/08
Why does anyone still buy from iTunes again?
Rhapsody is US only
By StopTheStupidity66 at 10:41 AM ON 07/01/08
captainjack....black people don't like to be called colored, the proper word is negroe. these people tend to be super sensitive. so from now on please refer to them as negroes and not colored. and by the way barack o'bama is only half colored, the other half is white, thank goodness.
By original at 11:05 AM ON 07/01/08
emusic.com has been bucking the trend for a long time, as far as DRM-free goes. I've been on there for several years now, and they sell a lot of good indie/underground stuff. The big labels might not play ball (yet), but with the overproduced crap that's popular now, who cares?
By commonsense at 11:08 AM ON 07/01/08
"STOPTHESTUPIDIY66" you should listen to you own advice instead of exposing your obvious inferiority complex, "thank goodness" most intelligent people here are focused on the topic at hand.
By mr.chance at 11:43 AM ON 07/01/08
it was great back in the 60's when you could download your favorite beatles or stones song for about 25 cents...now its gone up to 99 cents. also the web was a much cleaner place back then...now there is naked ladies on the computer machine.
By aisha at 1:07 AM ON 07/19/08
download,download,download, lol...Do you think the download system is better for the consumer or for the artist... ? There is a lot more that can get out there now with the new way music is moving also!!! And there is such unlimited exposure to artist now.
By DAVIIDROCKZYOURWORLD at 8:41 PM ON 10/16/08
how do you put songs in your mp3 CAN SOMEBODY HELP ME PLEASE