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News You Could Do Without

by Mike Masnick

Mon, Nov 17th 2003 7:38pm





Microsoft Admits Plans For Music Download Service

from the no-surprise-there dept

Well, this should be a surprise to absolutely no one, but Microsoft has now officially confirmed their plans to offer a me-too music download service as part of their MSN properties. I'm almost surprised it's getting any news coverage at all - but when you mention Microsoft you get press. The thing that's interesting to me is that very few people are asking questions about how these hundred or so music download services are going to fit together. If I buy a CD from Tower Records, it's the same CD that I buy from a little independent music shop down the street or that I order online from Amazon. That's not the case with all these download stores. Each one has different formats and different restrictions - making the whole space one big mess. Why should I bother wading in when I have no idea if the music I buy will actually be useful to me in a year?

2 Comments | Leave a Comment..


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  1.  

    Music Download Column 11/18

    identicon
    Thomas Brown, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 4:43am

    An unexpected (?) turn in making the RIAA a happy camper; you can only buy CDs if you want longevity for your music collection.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]

  2.  

    Universal media player

    identicon
    Chip Venters, Nov 18th, 2003 @ 6:39am

    Even though MS has a dominate position in media player penetration, as you point out, there is still a serious problem with lack of compatibility between proprietary media players, restricting the total market for a given song or video. Our company responded to this need by creating a patent pending system where the user’s media player treats the content delivered from a Digital Container like a free media stream from the Internet, making the system agnostic to the media player type. This effectively alleviates concerns about proprietary file types, allows for frictionless, unfettered distribution and is the core driver of Superdistribution. Our system works with the MS Media Player, but also with Win Amp, Real Media, and others.

    [ reply to this | link to this | view in thread ]


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