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Music Media The Almighty Buck

PressPlay + Roxio? 196

Posted by Hemos from the we're-getting-the-band-back-together dept.
securitas writes "The NY Times and the LA Times (via SJ Mercury News) report that Roxio is close to a $30 million deal to buy Pressplay from Universal and Sony. The struggling joint-venture has less than 50,000 subscribers after three years. Roxio bought the Napster brand and assets at a bankruptcy auction last year and plans to resurrect Napster as a legal service."
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PressPlay + Roxio? More

PressPlay + Roxio?

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  • No login link: (Score:1, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward
    No login link [nytimes.com]
  • (in my opinion, that is)

    I honestly feel that the decline of music quality and the tiredness of the rock genre after nearly 50 years of three-chord songs has helped to contribute to the alarming rate at which people steal music from online sources.

    Who in their right mind would pay eighteen dollars for a CD that probably contains only one or two good songs?

    I'm not saying stealing is the right thing to do, and I certainly wouldn't teach my children how to steal music online, but I kind of feel like the musi

    • Re:The reason people steal music (Score:5, Funny)

      by telstar ( 236404 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:19AM (#5991535)
      "I honestly feel that the decline of music quality and the tiredness of the rock genre after nearly 50 years of three-chord songs has helped to contribute to the alarming rate at which people steal music from online sources."
      • Damnit! I finally felt that I'd accomplished something after learning a few chords on my new guitar and this guy has to open his mouth.

    • Bands played live, recorded music wasn't avaialble.

      Recordings are cheap, I wouldn't pay much for one.
      I would pay to see a band live.
      • "The reason people steal DIDN'T music"
        • words in Let's any mix order want we.


        • (turn monitor over for the answer to this scramble-word)

      • Did you 90% of all bands loose money when they tour? The only way they don't is if they sell loads of T-shirts and CD's at their shows.

        Imagine for example The Polyphonic Spree. I saw them last month, and it was one of the best shows I've ever seen. There are 26 people in the band. The all have instruments. They are from Dallas, TX. Imagine the cost it took to get them to seattle. Now imagine hotel bills and food bills for all those people. They play at a club that holds 1200 people if they are lu
        • I know quite a few people who make a living from.
          Playing in pubs,
          Busking etc......
        • they would if the labels did'nt rip them off for publicity costs....Why they don't use FREE sources like the web I don't know, instead they PAY HUGE sums to radio stations already in their pocket...It is a u scratch my scrotum, I'll scratch ur scrotum deal. Only the musicians loose out....and the consumer/cumstomer of course...
    • Why do these three chord songs continue to be popular? Is it a result of marketing or do they have a particular resonance within us as humans which makes us go, I'm no monkey but I know what I like? On another note, I've recently been exposed to music from the Baroque and classical periods to a large extent and find it very enjoyable, but most people my age find it boring. It could be a result of attention spans that have been consistently shortened. Good music might not necessarily result from a new b

    • Re:The reason people steal music (Score:2, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Why people steal music.
      (in my opinion that is)

      Because they can, and come up with all sorts of reasons to justify it to themselves.

      I don't buy your "we use KaZaa because all the music sucks!" argument.

      People dont go on kazaa and download stuff they dont want, they use the search feature to find songs that they DO want.

      The "one or two good songs" argument is another attempt to justify to themselves that what they're doing is just and right.

      MP3 ftps and irc fserves boast the number of full albums they hav
    • I disagree, why do people keep blaming crappy product on the producers? Consumers drive the market, if we're swallowing terrible music by the crapload it's because we're demanding it. If there's no demand there's no supply. Jerry Springer isn't responsible for cruddy TV and CNN isn't the cause of sensational reporting, they are delivering what people are demanding. Boatloads of crap. Classical music, blues, jazz all still exist. But no one buys them. There is no supply where there is no demand. And

      • Re:The reason people steal music (Score:4, Informative)

        by banzai51 ( 140396 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @01:02PM (#5992284) Journal
        ..And that is because the price is out of wack. Most people past thier twenties can't justify the price of music because they have more pressing needs. The only group with sufficient cash to pay a premium on CDs are teens and twentysomethings. The music industry sells to this narrow group at much high prices. It is classical preditory pricing from a monopoly or cartel. Remember, the RIAA members are Federally CONVICTED price fixers.
        • Righttt... I'm sure teens have far more money than older people with established careers. I thought it was the other way around, the teens and poor college kiddies steal all their music and then start buying it once they start making money in their career.
          • As a teen ALL your cash is disposable. No bills, no worring about rent, food, and other necessities that your parents are flipping the bill for. Plus, as a teen ALL music is new and fresh to you. You haven't been around long enough to see the cycles, develop your own taste, or become jaded like parents are. Plus as you get older the amound of time you want to devote to just listening to music falls because many other options are available to you.
            • So as not to confuse the teenies... Teens DO NOT have more disposable income on average than someone in their thirties. However they spend more of it on entertainment and small luxuries than do thirty-somethings. As a thirty-something I can say we spend more money on essentials than teenagers do, and more money on luxuries as well. Example: teenagers would tend to spend lots of money on beer and CDs. Thirty-somethings spend it on rent, a new Skil saw, and a boat. Don't listen to people who say teenage

    • Who in their right mind would pay eighteen dollars for a CD that probably contains only one or two good songs?

      I hear this arguement time and time again, but never with any direct evidence linked with it.. The last three albums I bought (Avalanches, White Stripes, Red Hot Chili Peppers, which span about 10 years) go in the CD player and are played, only being stopped at the end or if loudness needs to halt.. Looking at my collection there has to be less than 10% that I have done any 'Rip/Mix/Burning' wit

    • Re:The reason people steal music (Score:4, Interesting)

      by los furtive ( 232491 ) <ChrisLamothe@NOSPam.gmail.com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @12:46PM (#5992159) Homepage
      I agree with you entirely and I find it interesting to read your comment since last evening myself and a few friends were discussing how the rock genre is in the process of dying and that an inevitable void that will occur when bands such as the Rolling Stones finally disapear for good.

      We came to the agreement that a market would exist for bands to emulate the stones, led zepp and others and be quite successful at it since current 'original' bands just don't cut it and fail to properly carry the legacy. Already existing examples we could thing of included The Back Doors [tinet.ie] and Bjorn Again [bjornagain.com] both of whom are able to draw a crowd of 2,000 at almost any given moment.

      So, how long will it be until officially sanctioned cover bands step in to replace the Stones once they get too old to tour, but are still a profitable commodity?

      • ... last evening myself and a few friends were discussing how the rock genre is in the process of dying and that an inevitable void that will occur when bands such as the Rolling Stones finally disapear for good.

        I don't have the answers, but I wonder if this is just evolution of entertainment.

        Before transistor radios in the 1950s, there was a much smaller 'bandwitdh', if you will, for music and other aural entertainment to reach people. Since then there's been a phenomenon of the technology creating more
        • Well, looking at strickly the rock'n'roll genre, I'd have to agree, G can turn to D only so many times until you've heard it all before. But like the Sloan lyrics go:

          It's another song in this key
          Yeah but this one's about me

          So like it or not people will keep pumping out the same stuff over and over, but it will sound 'new' to them. But I am sure there will always be a percentage of people who think they are in the 'know' and will only appreciate renditions of the originals. I'm sure there were other co

  • Speaking of Napster (Score:5, Interesting)

    by First_In_Hell ( 549585 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:19AM (#5991531) Homepage
    I saw the bankruptcy assets of Naptser last year. They had more data storage up for grabs than I had ever seen. We are talking hundreds of Terabytes!

    Wasn't the whole legal arguement of Napster being that it was somewhat peer to peer? If Napster was not actually storing the data on their site, why did they need all of that storage?

  • It won't work... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mschoolbus ( 627182 ) <{travisriley} {at} {gmail.com}> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:19AM (#5991538)
    Just like the previous how many attempts to make a legal way of handling this. Just stick to an open p2p network, its up to your morals on what music you download.

    • I'll mention that to Steve Jobs ... (Score:5, Informative)

      by burgburgburg ( 574866 ) <splisken06NO@SPAMemail.com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:32AM (#5991610)
      and the folks at Apple Music Store. They'll be glad to know that their efforts [slashdot.org] won't work.
      • I'll mention that to Steve Jobs ... and the folks at Apple Music Store. They'll be glad to know that their efforts won't work.

        The only thing that Apple has EVER proven is the ol' saying "there's a sucker born every minute"... remember the good ol' Performa machines? You had to be a sucker to buy one.

        Out of 275 million americans, some 30,000 people bought songs? That's .01% of the american public... not to impressive in my book. These people are probably people who *buy* CDs in the first place- they a

        • The only thing that Apple has EVER proven is the ol' saying "there's a sucker born every minute"... remember the good ol' Performa machines? You had to be a sucker to buy one.

          Damn our reality knocks! You definitely sound like you believe that people shouldn't have to pay for music. Not everyone believes the same, however. That doesn't make us suckers.

          Out of 275 million americans, some 30,000 people bought songs? That's .01% of the american public... not to impressive in my book.

          How many of those

          • Damn our reality knocks! You definitely sound like you believe that people shouldn't have to pay for music. Not everyone believes the same, however. That doesn't make us suckers.

            It's not that I don't think people should pay. But I've met many, many more people that think there's absolutely nothing wrong with downloading music through P2P. I've met more people who vehemently state they'll never buy CDs again (as long as there's a way to get it free) than I have people willing to pay for music. Yes, it's

    • It will work (Score:5, Insightful)

      by SweetAndSourJesus ( 555410 ) <.moc.oohay. .ta. .toboRehTdnAsuseJ.> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:34AM (#5991618)
      Apple has proven that it can.

      Leave it up to morals? I think the outrageous success of Kazaa and gnutella are testament to the effectiveness of this strategy. You can't rely on people being honest when there's money involved. Sad as it is, we're all thieves when we get the chance.
      • Leave it up to morals? I think the outrageous success of Kazaa and gnutella are testament to the effectiveness of this strategy. You can't rely on people being honest when there's money involved. Sad as it is, we're all thieves when we get the chance.

        I'm not sure how the above post got moderated insightful. The success of Kazaa and gnutella have nothing to do with the collapse of morals, and everything to do with a new concept admirably executed and easy to use.

        All the songs were already available on the

  • Legal service.... heh (Score:5, Funny)

    by HowlinMad ( 220943 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:21AM (#5991545) Homepage Journal
    Roxio bought the Napster brand and assets at a bankruptcy auction last year and plans to resurrect Napster as a legal service.

    Yea, I am going to let Napster represent me in a court of law!!
  • finally got the suits at Universal and Sony to recognize that it wasn't that people weren't willing to pay for music, it was that they weren't willing to subscribe to a bad service with ridiculous restrictions that offered very little value. Of course this raises the question: how well positioned is Roxio to create a for-money "Napster" that would have the ease of AMS?
    • I think everyone who has seen the iTunes Music Store immediately began wondering who would lead the pack in bringing this model to the unwashed masses of Windows users...Apple? Someone else? Multiple companies simultaneously? Would there be a clear leader with marketplace domination?

      These questions are still unanswered, but at least we know Roxio is among those entering the race with Apple.

      • Re:Perhaps the success of the Apple Music Store .. (Score:5, Interesting)

        by JudgeFurious ( 455868 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @12:04PM (#5991803)
        I'm hoping Apple gets this Windows version out there asap. It would be nice to see them be the first to do something right and then actually get to capitalize on it's acceptance by those unwashed masses. Hopefully the record labels in their paranoid glory will be slow to try anyone else in this and Apple will get the time it needs to get the other 90 some odd percent of the world connected to their budding money machine

        I'm still at a loss to explain why they didn't get that Windows version ready to go from day one though. That would have been amazing. If the Mac users pulled down a million songs in a week (and even then it was only the OSX users) and were able to get that much positive buzz about their numbers then can you picture what it would have been like if a Windows client had been available from the outset? What would people have been saying if they had cranked out ten million songs in the first week?
        • I'm still at a loss to explain why they didn't get that Windows version ready to go from day one though.

          Simple. The record companies wanted to test this boat in a small pond before letting it out in the open ocean. It was they who decided that they would be willing to do a Mac-only service before comitting to a larger audience. Hopefully it's success means that Windows versions will be forthcoming from a number of players, Apple included.
      • Microsoft?

        Do you really expect Microsoft to sit idly by while Apple makes $$$$ hand over fist, winning over converts in the process?

        Microsoft may not be the most ethical of companies, and they may not be the producer of the most stable or the most secure software in the world, but one thing they're not is stupid. If there's any money to be made in the software and Internet content businesses, you better believe Microsoft will be standing there making it. And the delivery system will be centered around the fully-DRM-enabled Windows Media Player and .Net technologies. Count on it.

        • Windows Media Player/.Net system since it so drastically limits what they can do with the purchased music.

          Users are willing to go with the AMS DRM because of it's flexibility. While stopping the most casual piracy, it allows users the freedom to listen to the music in the ways that they want to.

          Microsoft will push the WMP system because they assume that end-users don't have any other choice than to go through them. My guess: People will hold off until AMS comes to Windows, or some equivalent service appe

          • With Trusted Computing on the way, all M$ has to do is refuse to provide Apple with the proper signatures so that AMS will run on Windows. An old Microsoft saying goes 'DOS [Windows] isn't done until Lotus [Apple] won't run.'

            • I don't think, in today's post-antitrust verdict world, that Microsoft can afford to be so blatant. They can't simply "make it so that iTunes won't run." They would be forced to be far more subtle than that, I can assure you. Not that they aren't unscrupulous enough to do it - they are. Just that they do have to pay lip serivce to playing nice and that means no in-your-face antitrust violations like you're describing.
        • Do you really expect Microsoft to sit idly by while Apple makes $$$$ hand over fist, winning over converts in the process?
          They haven't say idly by. Google for 'Microsoft Three Degrees'. Seems to me like the Aimster concept applied to MSN Messenger, but targeted solely at ten year olds. Dunno.

    • All they see is money (Score:5, Interesting)

      by SuperKendall ( 25149 ) * on Monday May 19, 2003 @12:10PM (#5991851)
      All the companies involved see is that people are buying music from Apple. So, they figure that selling music the same way they've been trying to only with an established brand name (Napster) will sell even more music than Apple - after all, people must be buying now because it's from Apple, and will buy even more from a trusted name like Napster! It's just an attempt to leverage a brand into selling music. It's the same stuff underneath with a shiny coating, if you will... they don't seem to have learned to "think different" (or even examine how much the Napster brand is worth at this point).

      That's how they think, anyway... and so the service will just be a repeat of Pressplay.
    • It looks to me like they are going to rebrand PressPlay as the new legal Napster and hope that people buy it because of name recognition

  • a company that wants people to burn music (Score:3, Insightful)

    by the_2nd_coming ( 444906 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:21AM (#5991555) Homepage
    and they buy a music serive...hmmm..sounds a lot like what apple is doing with music store...perhaps roxio will set up a similar system?

  • Go Roxio! (Score:4, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:24AM (#5991574)
    I was wondering what was next for Roxio. They made EZ-CD creator the most reliable, bug-free piece of software I ever used. I wondered where they were going to redirect their efforts since EZ-CD is so perfect it will never need updates or support ever again. I was worried their staff would be fired or have to sit around bored because their wonderful perfect EZ-CD creator has no bugs to fix and generates no support calls to return. Now their very bored staff will have something to do. Moving resources into new effort might challenge companies lesser than Roxio, but when you write perfect software like they do, you'll have plenty of time left over to make all your new plans successful. Go roxio!
    • Don't forget how they desiged the perfect interface! I mean, of course it's always running, but that's good, it's just a click away, and it hardly eats any resources!

  • Well (Score:1)

    by vasqzr ( 619165 )

    They own the old Napster rights and they own Easy CD Creator?

  • The real reason is... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    First, Roxio's plan was as follows:

    1) Buy Napster
    2) ?
    3) Profit!

    which did not work out. Apparently, they think that step 2 is "Buy PressPlay".
    Napster did not make money. PressPlay (AFAIK) did not make any money worth mentioning. The Apple Music Store has set the bar now, and Roxio's attempt to become "the tech savvy player in the digital music business" has - if not failed - become more difficult.

    Forgive my ranting, Roxio just canned me recently...
    A.C.

  • Deal is closed, Roxio now owns Pressplay (Score:5, Informative)

    by wo1verin3 ( 473094 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:26AM (#5991587) Homepage
    Here is a snippet of the Press Release:

    Roxio acquires Pressplay as the foundation for the re-launch of Napster®

    The Global Leader in CD and DVD Recording Software Adds Premier Legal Online Music Service to its Digital Media Assets

    Universal Music and Sony Music Entertainment now Minority Stockholders in Roxio

    SANTA CLARA, CA, May 19, 2003 - Roxio (NASDAQ:ROXI), The Digital Media Company®, provider of the best selling digital media software in the world, today announced that it acquired Pressplay, the nation's premier online music service. As a result of this transaction, Roxio has acquired a legal digital music distribution infrastructure and catalog rights with all five major music labels. Pressplay will serve as the foundation for the launch of Roxio's new legal on line music service under the Napster brand.

    "Roxio's acquisition of Pressplay significantly accelerates the development of our online music business which is central to the strategic development of our company," said Chris Gorog, Roxio's Chairman and CEO. "With our acquisition of Napster we obtained the most powerful brand in the online music space. Now, with our acquisition of Pressplay, we have the most complete and scaleable legal technology infrastructure to use as a platform to re-launch Napster. After taking the necessary time to add features, enhance functionality and improve usability we will launch a new service with an extremely compelling consumer experience that builds on the qualities of the Napster brand."

    Full details available here [roxio.com].
    • Napster was part of Internet history; now they're going to tarnish the name by slapping it on a DRM-encrusted, non-P2P music service.

  • Napster brand (Score:5, Insightful)

    by benjiboo ( 640195 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:31AM (#5991606)
    "... plans to resurrect Napster as a legal service"

    Aren't they coming a bit late to the party? People are doing much more exciting things with file sharing nowadays. It was the idea behind Napster and the time it hit the scene which led to it's success, as opposed to the (very simple) technology. The addition of the type of features which I'd want to see in an online music service (searches, previews etc) would lead to a product completetly different to Napster.

    The success of ITunes shows that a decent product will do well in the popularity stakes regardless of brand. Though the Napster brand will bring a bit of recongnition, I can't see it making customers any more likeley to buy overpriced, bad or crippled (in terms of usage) music.

    • Aren't they coming a bit late to the party? People are doing much more exciting things with file sharing nowadays.

      It ought to be pretty obvious that this has nothing to do with file-sharing or P2P. This is about creating a legal alternative to file-sharing and P2P -- a label-friendly environment where people can actually shop for and buy music, rather than just take it. Apple proved in two weeks that people will buy downloadable music if it caters to their needs. Now Roxio is going to follow suit and

  • Competition (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Phroggy ( 441 ) * <slashdot3@@@phroggy...com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:34AM (#5991616) Homepage
    PressPlay and Rhapsody were the two services Steve Jobs mentioned when he introduced Apple's iTunes Music Store, and he concluded that compared to iTMS, they both suck. They're both subscription services, and they place restrictions on what you can do with the songs you download. Apple also uses DRM, but Apple is MUCH more lenient about how you can use music you've purchased.

    If Roxio is buying PressPlay, that can only mean increased competition among music providers, and competition is always a good thing.

    By the way, although Apple hasn't had time to work out any deals with independant artists, many of them have been clamoring to get on board as quickly as possible, and Apple says they will definitely be working with them once they've had a chance to get more popular "Big 5" stuff added first. I haven't heard much interest in PressPlay distributing indy music. Probably doesn't hurt that so many musicians are Mac users.
    • Of course the only ones saying the indies are clamoring is steve jobs, so you must take it with a grain of salt.

      Also remember that they made a deal with the 5 largest record companies. Quite possibly they don't want any indies on the service and may have made it part of the deal.

  • Go Apple, Go Roxio (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Cackmobile ( 182667 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:39AM (#5991651) Journal
    Hopefully Roxio will sort out a good system. EZ-CD kicks arse so hopefully they can do something like Apple. The biggest problem they have is cost. I think the per-song price needs to be lower. If it was 20-50 cents, I believe you could make it work. I for one would buy. I don't particular like using napster, kazaa etc. With all the broken files and poor quality etc its just a pain but I put up with it cause its cheaper and I can get songs that you can't buy at the local Justin Timberlake/J.Lo store.

    Maybe the success of Apple is making the record companies take notice. If Roxio offered competitive pricing and a large back catalogue they could be onto a winner.
    • The price (for Apple) is a buck, and there's a ton of whining that it should be lower.

      If it was 50 cents, people would whine it should be lower.

      If it was 25 cents, people would whine it should be lower.

      Face it, people feel entitled to free music. After all, they dont pay to hear it on the radio. Of course radio is payed for through advertising.

      Now how about something like this, it's free, but every fifth tune you download has two minutes of adverts appended to it. You pay not to hear the ads.

      Only a f
      • If I don't value it at $1, then it is overpriced.

        If I don't value it at $0.50, then it is overpriced.

        If I don't value it at $0.25, then it is overpriced.

        The good thing about all this piracy is that it is slowly forcing the music biz to shake itself out of it's competitive stupor.

    • "EZ-CD kicks arse"

      I'll have two of whatever Cackmobile is drinking. I want to experience that distorted sense of reality. EZ-CD is a mess and it's been a mess as long as it's existed.

      If their music service is even close to the quality one finds in their burning software then Apple has all the time in the world to get that Windows client out.

      No rush, it's not like anyone else is threatening to beat them to the punch.

  • may have a chance (Score:5, Insightful)

    by asv108 ( 141455 ) * <asv@@@ivoss...com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:43AM (#5991675) Homepage Journal
    This service could have a chance, but any software that I've had the unfortunate pleasure of using from Roxio was complete crap. I'm sure that there will be a lot of "Apple Music Service Roxs!" posts, but this service could have a chance if it has a similar library while using high quality mp3's 192kpbs+ mp3 files with no DRM. Unfortunately there is a high probability that this service will be a complete failure given the companies involved.

    The Apple music service is great for people who only listen to music on their ipod and computers, but most people do not own or can even justify spending $299 on a portable music player. For a music service to be successful on the PC it needs to be using a standard format (MP3) that can be used in a variety of devices (portables, Audiotron, etc). The Apple Music service is useless to me because I play all my music on my stereo via an Audiotron. Converting to mp3 sounds like shit, and the quality of 128 AAC to begin with is not high enough for a good stereo.

    Again the major problem with Apple that we see time and time again is the strategy of trying to use their software innovations to sell their hardware. This is fine if your selling to Apple enthusiasts and users, but it will not work with the other 97% of computer users.

    • Re:may have a chance (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      >> This service could have a chance, but any
      >>software that I've had the unfortunate
      >>pleasure of using from Roxio was complete crap

      You need to remember that Roxio has a seperate target market then the one you are used to. The target is the average non-technical home consumer. The software is dumbed down for these folks.
    • I agree with 99% of your post but I do have one small dicker point.

      Since Apple is basing its DRM solution on AAC, which is an open standard, there's no reason in the world why other MP3 makers can't include it in their firmware, or even offer a patch. If companies can offer MP3/WVM/OGG support, then there's nothing that is stopping them from offering AAC.

      It will probably come later in the year in anticipation of when Apple rolls out their service for Windows users. Assuming that Pressplay/Roxio will not
  • I had no idea Napster ended up in a bankruptcy auction. I used to work for a company that were working with Bertelsmann to buy Napster (remember that?), so a big hello to Paul V. at iFormation! Would you put a guy with his finger as far from the pulse as possible on a project like that? I mentioned at the time that buying Napster was the stupidest idea ever because it was seen as being free gratis & for nothing, but egos tend to get in the way....I wonder how much cash went up the wall? iTunes works b

  • I Wanna Beat the Dead Horse Too!! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LordYUK ( 552359 ) <jeffwright821@noSPAm.gmail.com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:46AM (#5991697)
    Seriously though, I was thinking about the Apple thing the other day, and 99 cents for a song is too much. I'm sorry, but aside from the stuff I legally own on cassette tape that I want on MP3, the stuff I download is stuff they play on the radio, which if I really wanted to could tape *gasp* off the radio and still not buy the stupid CD.

    Unlike some of you (and like many of you) I buy a limited amount of CD's, but only from artists that release albums that are (IMHO) mostly good. So if there are 10 songs on a CD and 8 are good, as far as I am concerned its a good CD. If 1/10 are good, then not only am I not going to buy the CD, but I sure as heck am not going to pay anyone for that one song, which was probably forced out by the record label.

    Lets think about purchasing a movie on DVD (after all, CDs and DVDs are roughly in the same 15-25 price range). Not many people are going to buy a movie if only 15 minutes of it is worth watching. Why do these record companies think that we will pay for single songs when the rest of the album blows? That'd be like spending a buck to get the Qui-Gon Darth Maul fight at the end of Episode 1, which unlike the rest of the movie was pretty damn good.

    Add to that fact that there is no reason to have CD prices of 10-20 year old albums in the 15-20 price range. Its rediculous. The majority of the costs are already covered, and all the only reason I can think of is that they dont want people listening to older less money making (no concerts of dead bands, or videos, or product placment, or whatever) from a band that rocked in the past but is now gone.

    I'm sorry, 99 cents a song is absurd. I dont know how they charge you, but unless the price was 25 a download sold in 5 dollar increments (so you buy 20 songs at a time, which makes more sense than 1 for 1 {note, I am assuming that if I buy 1 song, they charge me 1 dollar, and if I come back 3 hours later and get 3 songs, they charge me 3 dollars} and umpteen 1.00 transactions, which is just plain annoying).

    One last thing. Treat me as if I am a thief, and I will be a thief. If you already think I steal from you RIAA, then I will continue to steal from you. Its easier to fire up Kazaa than it is to search any database you currently have.

    Well, thats my rant for the day, I apologize if its less than coherent at certain points, its early and the Dew hasnt kicked in yet... =)
    • One last thing. Treat me as if I am a thief, and I will be a thief. If you already think I steal from you RIAA, then I will continue to steal from you.

      That's a pretty weak rationalization for your activities. The fact of the matter is that downloading music from P2P networks is usually illegal. I do it too, but I'm not going to pretend that I have some moral authority to do so. I do it because I'm a cheap bastard and I'm not going to pay $16 for 3 songs.

      Pretending that you use Kazaa because the RIAA assu
    • 99 cents for a song is too much

      Yep, just like $3.25 is way too much for a cup of coffee. Nobody will pay that much for "trendy" coffee.

      Or like $3.99 is too much for a video rental, when you can buy the movie for $20.

      Or like $1.85 is too much for a gallon of gas - I'd rather walk.

      Guess what? There are a lot of songs I'd like to buy for $0.99. I'll still buy CD's, and I might still use P2P, especially for things that simply aren't available legally. But you seem to think that they're not offering any
    • .99 cents is much cheaper than paying $15 for an album with one good song. $10 an album is cheaper than buying most CD's new.
    • but you won't pay for one you do like?

      Unlike some of you (and like many of you) I buy a limited amount of CD's, but only from artists that release albums that are (IMHO) mostly good. So if there are 10 songs on a CD and 8 are good, as far as I am concerned its a good CD. If 1/10 are good, then not only am I not going to buy the CD, but I sure as heck am not going to pay anyone for that one song, which was probably forced out by the record label.

      I'm confused. If one song of ten on a CD is good, then wh

      • Unlike some of you (and like many of you) I buy a limited amount of CD's, but only from artists that release albums that are (IMHO) mostly good. So if there are 10 songs on a CD and 8 are good, as far as I am concerned its a good CD. If 1/10 are good, then not only am I not going to buy the CD, but I sure as heck am not going to pay anyone for that one song, which was probably forced out by the record label.

        I'm confused. If one song of ten on a CD is good, then why would you not pay for the song? If it i
  • What the heck is meant by saying Pressplay has bee offering subscriptions for three years? As it currently exists, Pressplay has only been around for perhaps one year? The consumer reviews of its music service came out last year.

  • Looking deeper... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by blinder ( 153117 ) <[blinder.dave] [at] [gmail.com]> on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:47AM (#5991700) Homepage Journal
    You know, I guess I'm blessed (?) or just lucky that the wiring in my brain has enabled me to truly enjoy (for nearly 20 years now) independant music and at the same time that wiring has enabled me to loath and detest "commericial mainstream" music. So, when I want to downnload MP3's of music I enjoy... its never done "illegally" as 90% of the bands/artists I like generally thrive on the free exchange of their music.

    Also, and here's the kicker, these bands generally make money off of me because after I download and burn 2 or 3 MP3's, I then buy the CD (and also get past CD's if applicable).

    So, the whole point of "legal" vs. "illegal" burning/copying MP3's is quite irrelevant if one just opens up to independant/diy music.

    I generally use places like diysearch [diysearch.com], victory records [victoryrecords.com] (who always has a nice selection of their artists mp3's available).

    The stuff is out there, in all genres, you just gotta find it, and be open to it.

  • Good Luck Roxio (Score:5, Insightful)

    by JudgeFurious ( 455868 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:51AM (#5991721)
    Cause Apple is gonna own this bitch in no time once their Windows version sees the light of day. If I were Apple I would have every available resource focused on getting that Windows version out there while the positive press is still fresh.

  • Is it just me... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gamgee5273 ( 410326 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @11:54AM (#5991741) Journal
    ...or is it that Roxio is setting itself up as a takeover target? I can't see Roxio itself ever really pulling this off. However, there have been rumors of both MS and Apple eyeing Roxio over the years. I think Roxio's just setting itself up to become a good takeover target.

    Considering the Roxio line-up, Jam could easily go into Apple's current pro music offerings (like Logic) as well as being a standalone product. On the consumer side, imagine Toast being built-in to Mac OS X...that would be very nice. Then Apple could sell an iTunes "Pro" to Windows users with Easy CD Creator bundled/built-in, and it could sell off GoBack, VideoWave and PhotoSuite to some other company.

    • Re:Is it just me... (Score:3, Interesting)

      by MsGeek ( 162936 )
      Brilliant strategy...however, you are missing one important point. There is a reason why geeks call the company in question SuxRoxio. EZCDCreator is a trainwreck. Anyone still running Windows who has any iota of clue will use Nero on their own machine and install NTI CD-Maker on any machine destined for the Great Unwashed. NTI CD-Maker is just as braindead simple as EZCD but plays better with the NT codebase than SuxRoxio.

      Remember, Toast and Jam were written by another company, not SuxRoxio. They got the p

  • Why Napster? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by xchino ( 591175 ) on Monday May 19, 2003 @12:07PM (#5991832)
    Why would you want to start a music store under Napster's name? Granted it has good name recognition, but it's often recognition associated with pirating music. It seems to me it would be more of a burden to lift the stigma of the name than the name is worth.

  • Unless the mimic Apple, they're dead (Score:4, Interesting)

    by esconsult1 ( 203878 ) * on Monday May 19, 2003 @12:21PM (#5991947) Homepage Journal
    Look, I just bought a new Mac last week, for the main purpose of using Apple's music service. Until the other services wake up and at minimal *exactly* duplicate Apple's service, they are going to lose out very badly.

    Because of Pressplay and other services absymal feature set, there is no way that I would have ever signed up. I was an E-Music subscriber for a number of years, but when my subscription ended, the genius marketing folks over there never bothered to auto-renew it! Because they were so stupid at marketing over there, I just never bothered to go through the trouble of signing up again.

    As one of those souls who happen to *buy* all my music, Apple is the way to go. I hope Roxio has good luck, but I can't see how they are going to even use the Napster name or technologies in any way without giving the record companies the willies. Then again, perhaps they have something in mind that will blow our minds in a few months.

  • It seems like Roxio is grabbing at straws trying to save themselves. Their stock peaked at around $25.00 per share in April of last year, and hit a low of $2.25 per share near the end of this last October. Take a look at this report:

    Roxio Acquires Pressplay As The Foundation For The Re-Launch Of Napster(R)

    DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

    SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Roxio Inc. (ROXI) acquired online music service Pressplay, which it expects to be the basis for a new service under the Napster brand.

    Roxio acquired su

  • Roxio bought the Napster brand and assets at a bankruptcy auction last year and plans to resurrect Napster as a legal service."

    Well, this will certainly be the end of Roxio. The Napster model just will not work expecting users to pay for the service and also spend their own bandwidth and hard disk storage to supply music files Roxio can make money on. Also, they will not have good results trying to get people to pay for music when the quality is as questionable as what might be found on a random user's s

  • great...everything (Score:3, Informative)

    by Archfeld ( 6757 ) * <treboreel@live.com> on Monday May 19, 2003 @02:06PM (#5992824) Journal
    ROXIO touches turns to crap, I wonder what happens when they start with somthing that is crap. I used to like the adaptec cd utilities suite, until roxio touched it, now it is a barely functional steaming pile of feces.

  • Subscriber e-mail (Score:2, Informative)

    by InnovativeCX ( 538638 )
    Pressplay sent out an annoucement to current subscribers (myself among them) regarding the merger earlier today. Frankly, I've been quite satisfied with their service. Granted, I often have minor difficulties previewing and downloading songs--"Could Not Connect To Server"--but often clicking again makes everything happy. They recently had a deal offering six months of their "unlimited" plan for US$30...excellent deal.

    Below is a copy of the message.

    We are excited to announce that pressplay has been acq

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