MP3 Insider

The Sony S-series Walkman wants to be your AAC-friendly iPod rebound.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CBS Interactive)

Apple's iTunes store is offering more and more of its music catalog in the DRM-free iTunes Plus music format (256Kbps AAC). There's no question that DRM-free music purchases are better for consumers than the aggravations of FairPlay and computer authorizations. Still, it also doesn't hurt Apple that its unique allegiance to the AAC music format leaves people with few non-iPod choices when it comes to compatible MP3 players for their iTunes Plus music collections.

You do have options, though. In fact, most of Apple's iPod competition has at least one AAC-compatible model for sale (I think someone forgot to give SanDisk the memo). To see our favorites, check out our list of AAC-compatible iPod alternatives.

Last night, Microsoft upgraded its Zune Pass music subscription service, allowing users to pick 10 songs each month that get permanently added to their music collection. Along with significant price drops across its Flash-capacity line of Zune MP3 players, it looks as if Microsoft is making a serious push to compete with the iPod this holiday season.

Will Zune's 'Keep 10' program force the hand of Napster and Rhapsody?

Apple isn't the only one who should be looking at Zune with some trepidation. Subscription music providers such as Rhapsody and Napster will now be expected to match Microsoft's value proposition by giving their users a mixture of purchased and subscription tracks for a comparable monthly fee. The move toward an allotment of monthly DRM-free music downloads (Zune's download catalog is about 90 percent MP3) shouldn't come as a surprise to the subscription music industry, who've tossed the idea around before. While Napster and Rhapsody needn't worry too much about losing customers to Microsoft's Zune-only music subscription service, I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar program rolled out from them before the year is out, if for no other reason than to curb the wave of criticism they are likely to hear from their user base.

The larger question collectively faced by Microsoft, Rhapsody, and Napster, is whether or not the increased value of hybrid subscription services will finally pave the way to widespread adoption of the subscription music model. The math seems to check out from the consumer perspective, considering that when you subtract $10 worth of DRM-free music downloads from the Zune's $15 monthly subscription, you end up paying just $5 a month for unlimited downloads of DRM content and on-demand streaming of full songs.

Folding "permanent" music downloads into a subscription music service also helps chip away at consumer fears of watching their music collections brick upon missing a monthly payment. If subscription providers can successfully convince people they're paying $5 each month for their subscription and $10 for 10 permanent song downloads, the proposition sounds less risky. If users ever decide to opt-out of their subscription, at least they get to walk away with some of their favorite songs.

Online music retailer eMusic may also be feeling some pressure from Microsoft's infringement on its monthly MP3 download subscription model. eMusic's indie-heavy catalog offers substantially better prices (as low as $0.33 per track) for its monthly download allotments; however, it still doesn't have the major label content and full song streams of Napster, Rhapsody, and Zune. If the hybrid model offered by the Zune Pass finds traction, it may force MP3 retailers such as eMusic to retool their plans, as well.

What do you think? Does an unlimited subscription music plan with 10 DRM-free monthly downloads hit the sweet spot? Will this finally give Zune the advantage it has been looking for?

Jasmine's back and Donald wrangles her away from vacation reflection and back into a digital music frame of mind. Discussion topics include a new Philips GoGear review, why you should never trust a headphone review, and what would happen if Apple stopped supporting FairPlay.
Listen now: Download today's podcast

Episode 108

Philips GoGear SA5245 review

Yamaha Pocketrak 2G Voice Recorder

Never trust a headphone review

What if Apple stopped issuing DRM keys?

Band-themed MP3 players: Yay or Nay?

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/07/finally-a-journ.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9922729-1.html

Now that nearly every popular online music store is selling a la carte tracks in the unprotected MP3 format, it's high time to clean house and convert those legally-acquired-yet-unfortunately-DRM-saddled WMAs. Maybe you don't want to depend on the parent company continuing to back up the licenses going forward, or perhaps you shunned the iPod years ago but the appeal of the 3G iPhone is far more alluring...or maybe you just want all your music in one, universally-supported format. No matter what the reasons, conversion from a protected format to an unprotected one takes some effort. There are two ways to go about the process, and while neither is particularly complicated, it's always helpful to have some steps to follow. You'll find both methods outlined below.

One note before we begin: This tip is made to keep additional costs to you as low as possible, but if you have more than $50 worth of tracks to convert, I highly recommend investing in Replay Music. This software costs $40, but it'll be worth every penny if you have a large number of tracks to convert because it automatically splits and tags the songs as you record. It can save you countless hours; plus, you can use it to record audio streams from other sources as well. Incidentally, all scenarios mentioned can be used for converting protected AACs, just use iTunes rather than Windows Media Player.

Option 1: Burn CDs and rerip

Necessary equipment:

• Windows Media Player
• CD-RW drive
• Blank CD-Rs

1. Open Windows Media Player
2. Right-click anywhere on the frame of the WMP window and select Options, then select Rip Music
3. Select MP3 from the drop down menu, deselect all the boxes below that, adjust the bit rate to your liking, and click OK
4. Click the Burn tab at the top of the screen
5. Insert blank CD-R into CD-RW drive
6. Select the files you want to convert from the library and drag them to the burn list pane
7. Click start burn
8. When the disc has finished burning, reinsert it into the drive
9. Click the Rip tab in WMP
10. Click Start Rip
11. Repeat steps 4 through 10 until all necessary files have been converted
    (Note: later versions of WMP will automatically split long track listing into discs based on length, eliminating the need to repeat step 6.)

Option 2: Stream and record

Necessary equipment:

• Windows Media Player
• Audacity
• LAME encoder (saved to your desktop)
• Patience

1. Open WMP and Audacity, but completely close out all other programs and disable any audio alerts on your computer
2. Create a playlist in WMP of all the files you wish to convert
3. In Audacity, go to Edit, then Preferences, then Audio/IO, select 2 (Stereo) from the Channels drop-down menu, and click OK
4. Then, click the Record (red circle) button on the top tool bar
5. In WMP, start playback for the playlist
6. Once the tracks have all played, click the Stop (beige square) button in Audacity and close WMP
7. Under View, play with the Zoom In/Zoom Out/Fit in Window until you find a view where you can clearly see the points of silence, indicated by flat lines for both channels
8. Using the Select tool, indicated by an "I" in the upper left corner of the toolbar, select the the first track, dragging from one point of silence to the next
9. Click Edit, then click Copy
10. Open a new file (File, New) and click Edit, then click Paste
11. In the new window, select File, then click Export as MP3 and then name the file (selecting the LAME encoder from the desktop when prompted)
12. In the next window that pops up, fill in as much of the ID3 tag info (Artist, Album, and so on) as you can and click OK
13. Repeat steps 8 through 12 until each file has been saved separately
    (Note: An alternative method is to start and stop recording for each individual track, saving after each one. This requires less skill in finding track silences, but is much more time consuming.)

Rhapsody's MP3 store isn't the largest or the cheapest, but full-length track previews make it an appealing destination for music discovery.

(Credit: Rhapsody)

A correction was made to this story. See details below.

RealNetworks on Sunday announced several improvements to its Rhapsody music service, including a new online music store and integration with Verizon's V Cast mobile phone music service.

Taking a cue from competitors such as Amazon and Napster, Rhapsody's new Web-based music store sells a catalog of universally compatible (DRM-free) MP3 files from all four major music labels (Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner, and EMI), as well as a selection of independents.

The new Rhapsody store represents a departure from the strictly software-based music subscription model on which the company was founded.

Rhapsody's Web-based MP3 music store offers the majority of its catalog at $.99 cents per song and $9.99 per album. While Rhapsody's MP3 pricing is competitive with the industry-leading iTunes music store, it's slightly more expensive than Amazon and considerably more expensive than eMusic.

As a competitive advantage, the new Rhapsody's store allows users to preview entire songs prior to purchase--a stark contrast to the 30-second song previews shoppers have come to expect.

Rhapsody's innovative song preview pane allows users to play, pause, and scan through an entire song prior to purchase. Users are limited to 25 full-length plays per month, however, after which a standard 30-second preview restriction is put in place. Song plays are not counted against your monthly allotment if they are stopped before 30 seconds of playback have elapsed.

(Credit: Rhapsody)

To promote the launch of its new MP3 store, Rhapsody is giving away a free album to the first 100,000 people who create an account on their Web site. But Rhapsody isn't depending solely on direct MP3 sales in its quest to compete against iTunes and Amazon.

Taking advantage of last year's announced partnership with Viacom and newly announced partnerships with online destinations such as Yahoo and iLike, Rhapsody's full-length track preview technology and MP3 store will be integrated into several music sites across the Web.

Initially, users can expect to see Rhapsody-powered music playback and MP3 purchasing options from Viacom-owned Web properties such as MTV, CMT, and VH1. In addition, Rhapsody's MP3 store will be added as a purchase option for users of iLike, a popular music-focused social network and Facebook application.

As reported earlier on News.com, mobile carrier Verizon is also working with Rhapsody to provide their V Cast Music customers over-the-air music downloads. Using the new system, V Cast Music customers will be able to download low bit-rate versions of purchased songs directly to their handset, and access higher resolution 256kbps MP3 versions which are downloaded to their computer. Users can later replace their phone's low-quality file with the higher quality version, once the phone is connected to their computer.

[Note: the New models of Verizon phones will also be capable of working with Rhapsody's preexisting DRM-restricted music subscription service, which allows unlimited music downloads at a flat, monthly fee. Verizon customers who choose to pay for a Rhapsody music subscription have the option of adding Rhapsody's monthly fee to their existing mobile phone bill.

The new V Cast Rhapsody mobile music download service will be available tomorrow for all V Cast-enabled phones, however, carrier fees associated with the service have yet to be announced.

Correction: The story originally stated that Verizon's over-the-air music service downloaded DRM-free MP3 files directly to the user's handset. It was later learned that Verizon's direct-to-phone music download is not in the MP3 format. The copy delivered to the user's computer, however, is in the MP3 format.

(Credit: Amazon)

Thirty-nine. That's the number of PR-related pitches I've received in the past 24 hours. Out of those, just one fulfilled my write-up requirements of being a topic that is both interesting and related to digital music. That's a 2.5 percent pass rate...and today's a good day. So perhaps I am just caught up in the excitement of having a new item to talk about, but I think Amazon.com's new "Daily Deal" promotion is pretty sweet. Each day, the MP3 store will feature a different album offered at a deep discount. The price varies by album, but you can expect to pay as little as $1.99. Even the high-end of the spectrum is still very affordable at $4.99. Any way you slice it, you're getting a deal akin to what you might find in a brick-and-mortar record store's used-CD bin--and without even leaving your couch. Call me lazy, but I'm thinking this is quite the cool (and wise) move on Amazon's part.

In addition to the 'Daily Deal' and the 'Friday Five', Amazon offers a selection of free MP3s each day. Check back often to add to your own music catalog without lightening your wallet. What's not to like about free (and legal) music?

Amazon is also running a promotion dubbed "Friday Five," which offers five albums for $5 each every Friday. The chosen albums will also continue the reduced pricing through the weekend. This week, the five albums include the Rolling Stone's Let It Bleed, Frank Sinatra's The Essential Frank Sinatra, Robert Plant & Alison Krauss' Raising Sand, Linkin Park's Minutes to Midnight, and Andrea Bocelli's Vivere - The Best Of. This week's Daily Deals stem from a recent Coldplay release and thus will be offered on some of the band's earlier albums. You can get all of the band's previous album releases throughout the week for $1.99. Friday, the EP Brothers & Sisters will be available for 99 cents. Amazon currently offers a catalog of 5.4 million DRM-free MP3s, most encoded at 256kbps.

EPISODE 94

Topic: Our top 5 online music stores (in no particular order)

Amazon MP3: http://www.amazon.com/MP3-Music-Download/b/ref=sa_menu_dmusic2?ie=UTF8&node=163856011&pf_rd_p=328655101&pf_rd_s=left-nav-1&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_i=507846&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=042ED91AXJKXBZP8TDB3

eMusic: http://www.emusic.com/

Music.download: http://music.download.com/

Daytrotter: http://www.daytrotter.com/

Rhapsody: http://www.rhapsody.com/home.html

Listening to Rhapsody channels on the Haier Ibiza Wi-Fi MP3 player lets you explore and download an all-you-can-eat buffet of music without ever connecting to a computer. The Ibiza won't outsell the iPod anytime soon, but it proves that subscription music discovery and downloads can work on portable, wireless device.

(Credit: Jasmine France)

Yesterday, I spoke about the history of the subscription music model, its roadblocks, and the major players committed to its success. In part 2 of this feature, I'm going to outline some areas of growth for subscription music, share some comments from Rob Williams of Rhapsody, and take a closer look at Microsoft's approach with their Zune Marketplace.

So far, we're seeing three music device trends that will shape digital music in coming months and years: digital audio on more device types (cell phones, MP3 players, UMPCs, in-car GPS, car stereos, home stereos, laptops, Squeezeboxes, boomboxes, Chumbys, and even sneakers); greater adoption of wireless technologies including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth; and cheaper, high-capacity flash memory replacing hard drives. Services such as Napster and Rhapsody are betting that while Apple may dominate the MP3 player space for a while, there's plenty of room for subscription music on all the many connected devices in your life that aren't iPods.

The Sony Ericsson 580 is proof that someone other than Apple can create a good music phone. Built-in Napster Mobile software lets users preview and purchase tracks on the go.

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

In a conversation I had with Rob Williams, senior vice president of music software for Rhapsody, Williams agreed that while wireless internet penetration needs to improve to fulfill the potential of the "celestial jukebox" concept, there are still plenty of opportunities for wireless music delivery. In our conversation, Williams said, "We want to assist people in getting music on devices, on their phone, at home, in their car, and across the Internet. We think that's something users actually want." At the moment, using Rhapsody to discover music while on the subway or in the car is a tricky proposition. A new partnership with Verizon could speed acceptance of on-demand music downloads and streaming radio (presumably using Bluetooth to broadcast to your car). However, despite the popularity of the iPhone, it remains to be seen whether consumers will broadly embrace music phones.

Putting subscription music everywhere the iPod isn't sounds like a tidy divide-and-conquer recipe for long-term success, but will it be enough? Are there other, more human factors contributing to the slow adoption of subscription music services?

Without a doubt--I think Steve Jobs was right on with this--there is an instinctual resistance to subscription music pounded into us by decades of consuming music as a physical medium. Rhapsody's Williams agrees: "There's definitely a hurdle with subscription because it's not an exact replica of the model people are used to in the physical world."

However, as a generation grows up trusting the Internet's infinite shelf space, we may become less concerned about owning an MP3 file. As a former record store employee, I can't tell you how revolutionary it still feels to know that music will never again go "out of print." Just five years ago, I played grief counselor to customers who optimistically walked into my record store asking for the long-out-of-print Travelling Wilburys album, only to walk out empty handed (the album finally saw a revival in 2007). As a reaction to repeat disappointments, many of us still stockpile MP3 files as we do CDs or LPs. It make take a while for the new reality of the Web's infinitely deep catalog to sink in, but when it does, purchasing music files a la carte may seem as quaint as buying VHS movies at Blockbuster--especially for casual music listeners who would enjoy a passive stream of music and risk-free on-demand downloads of whatever Top 40 music they might be enjoying on the radio.

But how does a Rhapsody hook these customers? Attempts to lure them with Rhapsody-branded MP3 players have met with mixed success, but nothing on the scale of the iPod and iTunes. In-home streaming jukeboxes such as the Sonos music system and Logitech Squeezebox, both preconfigured for use with Rhapsody and bundled with a trial subscription, have made some inroads. As Rob Williams stated in my interview, "Anything that has an IP address is a natural place for a subscription service."

Are home-based music systems such as Sonos the next battlefront for subscription music services?

(Credit: Sonos)

The other, perhaps more promising hook for Napster and Rhapsody is subscription music content on mobile phones. Personally, I can't stomach the idea of using my phone as an MP3 player, but there's a little gadget out there called the iPhone which is apparently doing quite well, and from a business point of view, an on-demand music service on a mobile phone makes sense. After all, not everybody will buy an MP3 player and even fewer will buy a product such as the Squeezebox, but nearly everyone has a cell phone. With more than 3 billion mobile phone service subscribers worldwide, the market is so huge that luring a mere fraction of customers to Rhapsody or Napster on their handsets could make a real difference for these music providers. If subscription services could tack their charges on the already skillfully obscure cell phone billing statements, their customer base would probably hardly blink. It's a crazy world in which we pay $80 a month in phone charges, but would rather steal a song than pay 99 cents for it, but I think Rhapsody and Napster are smart to take advantage of that particular market quirk.

Microsoft's Zune Marketplace doesn't cast a wide net for users, but instead chases a younger, more savvy demographic.

(Credit: Microsoft)

But there's an interesting third approach to the future of subscription music, too. Unlike Rhapsody and Napster, which strive work with a wide swath of consumer electronics, the Microsoft Zune Marketplace subscription music service is a vertical solution intended only for the Zune MP3 player. In an attempt to position the Zune as a hip, more youthful alternative to Apple's now mainstream iPod and iTunes universe, Microsoft has positioned the Zune and its integrated $14.99/mo Zune Marketplace subscription music service toward a smaller, younger, more musically devout demographic. Judging from their well-funded marketing campaign complete with 20-year-olds making deep psychedelic connections to The Shins while riding the subway--they just might get away with it, too.

Historically, the niche interests and voracious appetites of young, money-strapped, die-hard music fans could only be met by the deep, free, and unrestricted catalog of music available illegally through peer-to-peer services. Today, however, as labels of all sizes and genres are increasingly opting for inclusion on subscription music sites (often motivated by marketing and exposure, rather than direct financial gain), the all-you-can-eat buffet of subscription music is considerably better than it was only a few years ago. If properly dressed and curated, there's no reason the more than 3.5 million tracks available on a service such as the Zune Marketplace couldn't satisfy (or at least compliment) the appetites of highly demanding users. However, it's a tough audience to cater to, but Microsoft holds an advantage not shared by Napster or Rhapsody (aside from deep pockets), which is owning a closed vertical system of both the software and the hardware. It may come as no surprise that the Zune MP3 player is not compatible with any other subscription music service beyond the Zune Marketplace, nor is the Zune Marketplace compatible with any other MP3 player (with some rare exceptions).

So what's it all mean? Well the one-sentence conclusion for those of you smart enough to skip to the very end of my rant, is that subscription music service providers are likely to grow stronger over the next five years because of the consolidation of providers, the increasing amount of portable, networked devices, the breakthrough of the mobile music phone, and the generational shift of young music consumers with huge appetites and no hang-ups about owning music because of fears of scarcity. Apple's iPod and iTunes store have stood as the biggest roadblocks to the adoption of subscription music these past 5 years, but they have unwittingly set the stage for subscription music's increased viability as consumer's expectations for deep catalogs of affordable, on-demand music spill over into the areas of mobile phones, home stereos, and worthy iPod alternatives.

Will Apple ever adopt a subscription music model for iTunes?

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET Networks)

Rhapsody launched the first high-profile subscription music service in December 2001, in the middle of a revolution. The first iPod had just hit the shelves, streaming Web radio sites like Live365.com were in full bloom, and the masses were just warming to the idea that they could preview and discover music online. A service like Rhapsody, which promised subscribers unlimited access to its growing music catalog, made music junkies salivate. It also pointed the way to a brave new world where people no longer needed physical or virtual media.

The future didn't go quite as planned, however. Because the illegal-but-free P2P world offered the most music, when Apple finally added an online store to their iTunes music software, Rhapsody's subscription music revolution--which has since included Yahoo Music Unlimited, MTV's Urge, Napster, Zune Marketplace--had started to lose momentum.

Rhapsody is the current king of the hill for subscription music, but without iPod support, where can it thrive?

(Credit: Real Networks)

Today, the only remaining outlets for subscription music are Rhapsody, Napster, and the Zune Marketplace. iTunes, in contrast, is now the No. 2 music retailer in the nation. Many factors contributed to the subscription music stall, not the least of which is the fact that the most popular MP3 player in the world is deliberately incompatible. Can the model survive?

At the 2008 Macworld expo in January, Steve Jobs quieted iTunes subscription service rumors by proclaiming that people don't want to rent music, they want to own it (unlike movies, which they should rent through iTunes, of course). Jobs' logic is that because people listen to a favorite song hundreds of times throughout their life, a file that might expire doesn't make sense. For companies like Rhapsody and Napster, the million dollar question is, "Is he right?" The answer is more complicated than you'd think. I would never be so bold as to call Mr. Jobs a liar, but I think his Macworld statement is misleading.

The subscription vs. purchased music debate presents a false choice--a black and white view of a world without accounting for all the mess in between. While it's true that most music consumers do just fine purchasing music a la carte through iTunes, Amazon, or eMusic, the idea of a coexisting "celestial jukebox" isn't any less potent. It's like saying the iPod and FM radio can't coexist. The concept of DRM protection for purchased music is clearly dumb (and still practiced by iTunes, by the way), but the real reason iTunes will be the last service to adopt a subscription music model is because it doesn't have to. Apple's existing music retail store is already enjoying a charmed existence without a subscription music option rocking the boat. Why the hell would Apple open up an all-you-can-eat buffet in a restaurant already raking it in on overpriced entrees?

What will the playing field of digital music look like five, 10, or 20 years down the line? The only predictive statement I'm willing to make is that the people of tomorrow, like the people of today, will want choice--choice about what music they want to hear, where they want to hear it, what devices they want to hear it from, and how much they want to pay for it.

So now you know my position. In the second part of Subscription Music's Future, I'll outline areas for subscription music's growth, talk with Rob Williams, SVP of music software for Rhapsody, and go under the hood of Microsoft's marketing logic for Zune Marketplace.

Continue to part 2 of Subscription music's future.