Napster hit the headlines again this week with the announcement that the music-download service will begin selling music solely in MP3 format, to commence later this year.
In the past, Napster has sold music downloads in Microsoft’s restricted WMA format, although these sales will continue for some subscription-based offerings.
The move to offer user-friendly MP3s is a great step for Napster and will likely help boost the image of the service.
Napster is based in LA and the music-download giant claims to have about 750,000 subscribers. Sony, Warner and EMI are all offering their music (or at least some of it) DRM-free.
This is great news for music fans who have been bugged by music downloads that come in protected format. 7Digital recently announced that 2008 will be the year that music downloads can finally say goodbye to restrictions on MP3s — for good.
The digital music industry is having to consistently evolve to meet the needs of consumers. If only the RIAA would do the same.
The Denver Post wrote a strange article about music downloads this week. We had to check the date to see if it was from 1998, but actually, it was January 13, 2008. The headline read, “Serious music downloaders ditch dial-up for faster connections.”
Sorry. Dial-up? Serious music downloaders? Does anybody serous about anything still use dial-up? Apparently, people who are serious about downloading music are “shifting to faster Wi-Fi, DSL and cable modem Internet connections.” Welcome to last year, Denver Post.
The Denver Post even goes into detail as to why dial-up sucks for music download. Well, duh, it’s ‘cos it’s really slow. You don’t need to produce a bunch of technical jargon to prove that. We’re starting to wonder what other newspapers are behind the times when it comes to music downloads.
We’ve decided to help the Denver Post and list are top five favorite ways to download music. These are what all the call kids are using, DP, check them out:
If you need any more help, DP, drop us a line!
The Center for Democracy and Technology has compiled a list of 30 websites that claim to offer legit music downloads, which are, in fact, not licensed distributors of the music they peddle.
These music download sites don’t offer legal music or any type of reliable service – they’re just there to take your money, like everyone else, really. Although these music download websites may resemble fully licensed services, they are not.
Here’s the list:
allcoolmusic.com
allmusicdownloads.com
e-mp3now.com
easymusicdownload.com
ezmp3s.com
free-music-downloads.cc
freeaccessmp3.com
freemusicnow.cc
howdoiwin.com/recommends/Movies
imp3download.com
imp3download.com/
imusicaccess.com
imusicsearch.com
klitetk.com
mimusicamp3.com
mp3-all-free.com
mp3-download-lyrics.com
mp3-freebie.com
mp3-freedom.com
mp3downloadhq.com/
mp3downloadnet.com
mp3downloadsnow.com
mp3favorites.com
mp3musichq.com
mp3rocket.com
musicjustfree.com
my-free-songs.com
my-music-now.com
myipodaccess.com
mymusicinc.com
netmusicaccess.com
netmusicsite.com
realmusicnow.com
unlimiteddownloadcenter.com
Sites on this list should be avoided at all costs. You are much better off using music download programs like Limewire or BitTorrent. If you’re into new gadgets, you might want to give Omemo, a new filesharing service, a quick once over. It’s one of the most interesting filesharing programs out there at the moment.
Take this news for what it’s worth, but a recent study by the NPD Group has revealed that 50% of Mac users pay for their music downloads, compared to just 16% of PC users. Mac users pay for music downloads from services such as iTunes. Mac users also came out as more likely to buy CDs than PC users.
Clearly, there is a difference between Mac users and PC users. As well as music downloads, 32% of Mac users questioned said they had bought a CD in the final quarter of 2007, compared with 28% of PC users.
Although Mac users are perhaps commendable for their online habits, these figures are still incredibly low. Only half of Mac users pay for music downloads, which means that half get their music for free from filesharing services like Ares and Limewire.
With such low figures for CD sales across the board, it will take more than an army of Mac users to revive the music industry. We say it a lot here, but the time are changing. 50 Cent recently spoke out about filesharing and said that the music industry now has to move with the times and replace the lost revenue from CD sales with income generated from touring and merchandising.
Mac users are a funny bunch, anyway.
2007 will forever be recognized as the year digital music took over the industry. Sales are set to grow 50% over the next 12 months, and with the digital music business becoming increasingly competitive, this can only increase.
At the moment, iTunes from Apple holds about 80% of the market, but this is all about to change. Amazon MP3 is looking to take a chunk out of Apple’s monopoly, while UK companies like Woolworths and HMV are also looking to get in on the action.
Then there’s Nokia, who will also be putting up their challenge. As more and more companies branch out into the digital music industry, the way we buy our songs and albums is going to change
Bands like Radiohead, Oasis, The Charlatans, Jamiroquai, Nine Inch Nails, and so on, are also joining in the fun and embracing digital downloads. The public is fed up of overpriced CDs and record labels are going to have to take note.
With CD sales plummeting, the digital music revolution is gaining strength.
One point of concern is how this will affect smaller bands. Radiohead can give away their music because they have enough fans to be able to do so, but newer bands don’t have this power. With fans now able to pick and choose songs at will, some analysts are speculating that people are actually spending less, despite the digital industry growing.
Only time will tell how this will shape the music business for us all.
Even bigger than the launch of Spiral Frog is the news that Amazon is due to launch a new music-download website, imaginatively named Amazon MP3. The service, which will offer tracks for as little as 89 cents, is the latest in a line of companies attempting to oust iTunes as the world’s premier music-download service.
Online-seller Amazon unveiled plans for Amazon MP3 this week, announcing a service with more than two million downloads available for users to buy, with albums going for between $5.99 and $9.99.
Users of Amazon MP3 will be able to play downloaded songs on any device, including Apple’s iPod, due to no copy protection being used on all files. This is likely to attract iPod users who currently pay $1.29 for each song from iTunes, which has a 70% share of the market at present.
Almost 20,000 record labels are behind Amazon MP3, and the world is waiting to see how Apple will respond to the launch of this and Spiral Frog. If it means cheaper music for all of us then it can’t be a bad thing. We’re excited about the launch of all these new services.
Whether or not another paid service can succeed when we all know how to download songs for free will be the real test for Amazon. The digital music market is worth some $2 billion, so people do still buy their music at least some of the time, although CD sales are at the lowest for years.
