Speakeasy: Digital Rights Divide
So iTunes sales appear healthy, fueled by sales of new iPods. However, once that growth slows, Apple will need to do a better job of selling more songs to existing iPod owners. The inability to play those songs on non-iPod devices in the future and the fear of losing your music collection once you exceed the five authorized computers you can share your iTunes songs on might have something to do with the lack of enthusiasm once the initial novelty wears off.
- iTunes Sales are Just Fine, Thank You by Erik Schonfeld, The.next.net, 12.14.06
I've gone back on my claim last year that I was switching to strictly digital music and am now purchasing CDs again (as well as downloading un-DRMed music from services like eMusic, subscription stuff from URGE and the freebies from napster and iTunes). There are several reasons, vox being one of them. I music blog here pretty consistently and want my tracks to be tagged the way I want them and to have the artwork included and to be playable. Apple's m4p files are out of the question and their m4a recommended file import format doesn't tag in the smart ways that mp3 files do. I want to share my music and I want it portable, neither of which is something I can get out of the iTunes store.
Also, I miss album inserts and going to the record store. I used to be at Amoeba or other record joints at least once a month, now it's like once a season. That's not right. It means I don't catch music out of the corner of my eye. I've been driven by internet zeitgeist all year and that isn't enough.
So, back to CDs for me.
I'm so old school.
Comments
Thanks again.
I agree. But I have not totally bought music online anyway. Once in a blue moon will I buy online. After reading Blind WIllow, Sleeping Woman, Haruki Murakami reminded me that there really is nothing like going into a record store and looking through all the bins for a record or cd. I think the browsing aspect is lost with buying music online. I need to get music through eMusic still.
Hum, I guess, there will be Amoeba runs in the future!
There is probably an argument that the jewel boxes aren't all that bad (as plastics go, they get pulverized pretty solidly in the landfill and probably would break down faster than paper produced packing materials while not killing massive amounts of trees in the creation of said packing materials) but, yikes, I don't need the jewel case at all. I'm not sure if there's a better packing solution, though, and my music OCD is getting the better of my green mind in this battle.
Good for yoU!
Same thing here, man. I'm missing liner notes and the luxury of a non-DRM life. I had to bring my laptop and iPod to work with me just to make a CD. That's not right.