Today is full of news about new digital-music stores, one of which is launching today, while the others are set to launch later this year. All three offerings will sell DRM-free MP3s from major-label artists, although that fact seems a bit less newsworthy today than it would have even six months ago.
• Rhapsody has launched a digital download store that sells MP3s from all four major labels. Its twist: You can sample entire songs before buying them, instead of those 30-second clips that don’t tip you off to, say, the epic coda in “November Rain.” [Silicon Alley Insider]
• This September, Project (RED) is launching a subscription digital-music service that will feature new and exclusive tracks from U2, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, and Death Cab For Cutie, among others. For $5/month, half of which will go to (RED)’s charitable efforts, users will get three digital files a week: One song by a big-name artist, one track from an up-and-comer, and one “crackerjack surprise” which could be a video, a short story, or a song. [(RED) / NYT]
• Hot Topic will launch the digital-music store/online community ShockHound in August. So far, the service has agreements with three of the four major labels and a handful of indies. [NYT]http://blogs.gawker.com/mt.cgi?__mode=view&_type=entry&blog_id=33
Entire song sampling sounds like on-demand radio. Alas for me: “We’re sorry. We have detected that you are outside of the United States. This service is currently only available to residents within the United States.”
Hmmm…this is great & all, but I still choose ….free downloading. Next.
I hope Don MacKinnon (late of Starbucks) has better luck heading up the Project (RED) music service than he did with Hear Music. It’s weird, I’ve noticed recently that the prevailing opinion has gone from blaming Starbucks Entertainment president Ken Lombard (I mean, he was mocked from the moment he came on the job, practically!) for the failure of Hear Music, to pointing fingers at MacKinnon.
@owenmeany: Wow. You’re such an outlaw. I am impressed. Truly.
@halfwit*: and means that most of the money you’re donating is probably going to overhead and marketing anyway. don’t forget that part!
(*where’d the reply arrows go?)