Music
Online
What is an mp3?
MP3. short for MPEG Layer III, is a coding
standard of compression for audio data. A four minute song from a
commercially produced CD takes up anywhere from 40-50MB of storage
space. The same song encoded in MP3 format at 128kbps will require less
than five MB of space, and only slightly more for a higher quality bit
rate like 192kbps.
The quality to compression ratio for MP3’s
is so good that instead of 20 songs on a CD, you can fit more than 120.
Instead of carrying around your favorite Rolling Stones CD everywhere
you go, you can play every recording the band made EVER! This includes
the farewell tours of 1991, 1997, and 2001.
At what cost?
However, this technological evolution and
never-before-achieved freedom does not come without a price. The ability
to listen to select favorite songs rather than buying complete albums
and the capability to mix, match, and create your own CD mixes presents
problems for the recording industry that then creates difficulties for
consumers.
The RIAA maintains that networks like
Morpheus, Kazaa, and the previous incarnation of Napster illegally
distribute artists’ work without paying for it and thus are committing
blatant thievery. In response, the music downloading sites defend
themselves from prosecution on the basis that they provide no media,
digital or otherwise. The networks operate on a peer-to-peer system with
unique users sharing their own files which others can search for and
download.
Because the argument against free music
downloading is so strong some services like Apple’s iTunes and the newly
reformed Napster have capitalized on the new technology but secured
access to music in an entirely legal format thus providing desired songs
for much less than the price of a store bought CD.
I tried Napster once,
but I did not Inhale
In 1999, an 18-year-old college dropout
named Shawn Fanning changed the music industry forever with his
file-sharing program called Napster. His idea was simple: a program
that allowed computer users to share and swap files, specifically music,
through a centralized file server. His response to the complaints of the
difficulty to finding and downloading music over the Net was to stay
awake 60 straight hours writing the source code for a program that
combined a music-search function with a file-sharing system and, to
facilitate communication, instant messaging.
Shawn Fanning
After being asked about Napster dozens of
times in my lectures, I tried Napster to see what all the fuss was
about. After taking about 45 seconds to install Napster, I was amazed
how quick and easy it was to find and download any song or comedy
routine I could think of. From Red Skelton and Andy Griffith to Marshal
Tucker and Pure Prairie League – almost every song you could think of
was out there. SNL skits, funny television commercials and of course,
plenty of porn was abundantly available. After learning about this
application, I removed Napster off of my computer and never used this
service again – but I admit that I went through withdrawals. To me,
Napster met a need the music industry had not – it allowed users to
easily create their own mix of song titles and create music CDs
containing all of your favorite songs. By contrast, the music industry
forces consumers to purchase an entire CD of songs to get one particular
song title.
The Recording Industry Association of
America (RIAA) filed suit against Napster charging them with tributary
copyright infringement, which meant that Napster was being accused not
of violating copyright itself but of contributing to and facilitating
other people's infringement. Napster argued that because the actual
files are never in Napster's possession, but transferred from user to
user, that Napster was not acting illegally. The issue in P2P
applications (Peer to Peer) was that if Napster was guilty of copyright
infringement, then the Napster users are guilty too.
In February 2001, a judge first ruled that
Napster had to stop the distribution of copyright material through its
network. Record companies provided filenames and song titles that should
be removed and Napster blocked over 250,000 songs using over 1.6 million
filenames. In July 2001, a judge told Napster it must block all files
infringing copyright, effectively forcing it to shut down. Napster
folded in September 2002. The RIAA has continued to pursue Napster
clones in the courts. According to Zack Urlocker, the top ten downloads
on the day Napster closed were as follows:
10. Doobie Brothers - Listen to the music
9. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give it away
8. Dr. Dre - Bang Bang
7. Metallica - Seek and Destroy
6. Jimmy Buffet - A pirate looks at 40
5. Warren Zevon - Send Lawyers, Guns and Money
4. Judge Jules - Gatecrasher
3. Jerky Boys - Fanning my **lls
2. The Clash - I fought the law (and the law won)
1. Everly Brothers - Bye Bye Love
The recording industry has been quick to
accuse internet piracy of causing a drop in CD sales, but a survey by
Forrester Research in August 2002 concluded that's not true. The company
said that frequent digital music consumers weren't buying fewer CDs and
that the 15% drop in music sales over two years owed more to the
recession and competition from the booming markets of video games and
DVDs. By 2007, Forrester predicted that digital music revenues would be
worth US $2 billion as long as record labels made it easy to buy songs
from any record label without having to pay a flat subscription fee. In
July 2003, owners of the Napster name Roxio announced Napster 2. Napster
now sells digital music on behalf of record companies.
In 2005 sales of
recorded music are down almost 7% from last year as the calendar hits
the halfway mark. But if the music industry is looking for a silver
lining in that rain cloud, they'll find it in the digital arena, where
paid downloads are up by 104 million units.
For the first six months of 2005, Nielsen SoundScan reports that 282.6
million units have been sold, compared with 303 million a year ago.
Digital downloads, however, have topped 158.7 million, up from 54.7
million a year earlier.
Napster Clones Emerge
Many Napster clones have emerged, the most
popular of which is Kazaa who’s parent company (Sharman Networks) is
based in Australia. In 2004 Kazaa was part of one of the the ten largest Internet
based companies in the world – as shown in the table below:
1.
AOL Time Warner
2.
Microsoft
3.
Yahoo!
4.
Google
5.
eBay
6.
United States
Government
7.
Amazon
8.
Terra Lycos
9.
Sharman
Networks
10.
About-Primedia
Kazaa is more than ten times larger than
Napster ever was. It works similar Napster and it is used to swap all
kinds of files, even large movies over 1 gig in size.
Kazaa Warning
Today if you download and install the free
version of Kazaa, a large assortment of spyware will be installed on
your PC including Gator and the GAIN network which remembers passwords
(unless you can track down the K++ version of KazaaLite). Gator is
fairly polite, staying out of sight, popping up only when they can help
you. Although Gator isn't much of a nuisance, it does fall into a group
of software known as spyware, sending information about buying habits,
etc. for information purposes. The Gator company recently changed their
name to Claria.
Downloading Music in
2004
Today many websites now offer free music
downloads. Amazon.com lists over 80 MP3 players with multiple gigabyte
capacities for up to $500. Manufacturers now offer personal CD players
that can play MP3s for as little as $40 and in-dash car MP3/CD players
start at $179. Each time a network of music sharing consumers shuts down
because of pressure from the RIAA, a new one crops up almost overnight
to take its place. From Napster to LimeWire to Morpheus to Kazaa to
iTunes and back to Napster, online music weaves a tangled web of media,
consumer’s rights, fair use, and the rights of the artists themselves.
Some sites offer varying degrees of free
music downloading:
Others offer pay by the song or pay by the
transfer plans:
Even retail powerhouse Wal-mart entered the
fray in March 2004 with a characteristic plan to undercut market
leaders. Instead of offering the common $.99 download price Wal-mart
debuted their own digital music network with $.88 songs.
Downloading Music in 2005
A lot has changed in the span of one year.
Whereas Apple's iPod was a premier player in the digital music arena, it
is now essentially the supreme ruler and an excellent case study in
marketing as well spawning a plethora of knock-off iProducts like the
iToaster and even look-alike players (such as the Luxpro "Super Shuffle"
shown right).
In addition to setting sales records for the
blossoming new market, reaching landmark agreements with PC vendors for
iTunes software to be pre-installed on consumer systems, thus increasing
market share and revenue, the company that Steve built expanded their
hardware line in 2005 to capitalize on the success of their iPod MP3
player with the introduction of the iPod mini and iPod Shuffle. iPod
sales increased by 909%, yes there are 3 digits in that figure, between
2003 and 2004 and sales are projected to reach $2 billion by 2006.
However, not everything that glitters is
made by Apple. Napster, Rhapsody, and Yahoo have pushed for the digital
music frontier with the introduction of rights managed music
subscriptions.
It is now possible to
pack your MP3 player with 40GB worth of music (10,000 songs) from an
online music store all for less than the price of a CD. Where can I get
these wonderful toys you ask? We'll discuss the hardware later but first
let's talk about your music, which really isn't your music anyway. Users
do not actually buy the tracks; but rather rent them in an
all-you-can-eat scenario for a monthly subscription fee. Sounds
intriguing right? Welcome to 2005 and the brave new world of the
on-the-go music subscription service. Traditional services don't allow
you to transfer tracks to portable devices unless you buy them outright,
but today, there are three players ready and willing to slake your audio
thirst: Napster To Go, Rhapsody To Go, and Yahoo Music Unlimited.
Napster To Go
$14.95 per month; three months free with
purchase of certain new MP3 players
YAY!
- Preprogrammed playlists specifically
tailored for your device
- completely interactive radio
stations that can be saved as playlists
- can access all other members'
subscription-based music library
- you can add content to player
continually while it's syncin
NAY!
- Graphically intense interface isn't
immediately user-friendly; sometimes has trouble recognizing when a
compatible device is connected.
Rhapsody To Go
$14.99 per month; $100
rebate with annual subscription and purchase of iRiver H10
YAY!
- Fastest music downloads
- most user-friendly interface
- excellent editorial content
- playlists are publishable for
sharing with other members
- only service that allows you to send
full-length tracks (and playlists) to nonsubscribers
NAY
- No autosyncing of subscription-based
downloads
- to-go selection isn't as robust as
regular subscription catalog.
Yahoo Music Unlimited
$59.88 per year
($4.99 per month) or $6.99 per month
YAY!
- Most affordable service
- integrated Gracenote Music ID that
automatically fills in ID3 info for untagged music
- can access the entire music library
of any Yahoo Buddy who also subscribes
- good integration with Yahoo
Messenger.
NAY
- Interface is a bit bland and has a
few minor limitations
- device integration not as elegant as
other services; weak editorial content.
Quick tips
- Since all files are transferred through your
PC, you'll need ample space available on your hard drive, 30GB of
MP3's means you'll need 30GB of free space on your computer too
- Make sure you have a compatible device and
that the device's firmware is up to date.
- Take it for a test drive. Sign up for the free
trial at any of these services, and make sure you're comfortable
with the jukebox software as well as the service itself. Most of the
services also support ripping, burning, and managing your music
library
- You will need to to sync your device with the
service at least once a month to keep the licenses for your songs
from running out
However, before you point your browser to
one of the services and start grabbing songs left and right, make sure
your MP3 player is compatible with the subscription format. Windows
Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) 10.0 makes the magic happen. This
technology allows an MP3 player or other device to keep track of when
your subscription ends or is due to be paid. After the expiration
period, content will time out and force you to reconnect your
portable to a computer (and pay up, if necessary) before you can listen
to the music on the player again. Because DRM requires a hardware clock
within the device, only newer MP3 players work with on-the-go
subscription services. If you have an MP3 player that was made before
the closing months of 2004, you're probably up the iCreek, or is it
iRiver? Alas, iPod aficionados and owners of Sony players--sorrow be thy
name. If you fall into one of these categories, and want to partake of
the subscription services, you'll need to get a compatible player such
as the Creative Zen Micro, iRiver, Dell Pocket DJ, or even a portable
media player like the Archos 420 or Samsung YH-999.
Also consider Content,
Community, Device Integration, and Transfer Times before selecting a
music subscription service.
Content
In addition to looking at the overall size of the music catalog,
consider the preprogrammed content which can save time.
In the previous section, we touched on the scope of the music content
represented in each service's catalog. Pretty much anything mainstream
you can think of will be available on any service but also look at
preprogrammed content such as radio stations and playlists as well as
editorial content.
Yahoo
offers access to all 120 Launchcast stations and in general, a high
percentage of popular music, but you can't save radio stations as
playlists or easily download the content.
Rhapsody has 50,000 artist-based stations and over 100 preprogrammed
radio stations, which can be browsed by genre. Rhapsody seems to do the
best job of incorporating indie music into its stations. You cannot save
radio stations as playlists or download the content.
Napster
has the most fully interactive radio. Not only can you pause, skip, and
reverse tracks, you can save stations as playlists and easily download
the content which can then be transferred to your MP3 player. Napster
seems to offer the widest variety of stations. You can create a custom
radio station based on your entire library or by selecting three or more
songs from your library. Since they can be saved as playlists, you can
make as many as you want. Napster To Go is also the only service to have
a dedicated section of playlists tailored specifically for your MP3
player.
Community
Community features in music services are an integral part of the
structure as they present fun ways to discover new music
and
share with your friends.
All of the services provide a send function
for sharing tracks or playlists, but with Rhapsody the recipient doesn't
need an account to listen to the full song or playlist. Rhapsody and
Napster use e-mail for sharing, and allow you to send multiple songs;
Yahoo uses IM, and you can send only one track at a time.
If you have a large network of friends that use Yahoo IM and also
subscribe to Yahoo Music Unlimited, then your preferred choice should be
clear. When your contacts are logged in and running the Yahoo Music
Engine, you can access their entire library, including personal
playlists.
Napster allows you to browse all other members' collections, rather than
just those of your own contacts. Want to find members with your same
taste in music? Right-click a track, and select "Find in Members'
Collections"; all the members who have that song in their library show
up in the window.
Transferring files
Each service will also exhibit certain
speed characteristics when downloading songs from the catalog to your PC
and then when moving them to your device.
File Download Speeds:
Napster To Go: 1.1 MB/sec.
Rhapsody To Go: 2.9 MB/sec.
Yahoo Music Unlimited: .42 MB/sec.
File Transfer Speeds
Napster To Go: .82 MB/sec.
Rhapsody To Go: .87 MB/sec.
Yahoo Music Unlimited: .67 MB/sec.
Device Integration
All of the services require you to sync
your player each month to ensure that your content does not time out,
and if necessary, pay up to continue using your songs. Some force you to
sync right after your payment date, others allow a short grace period of
5 days or so.
Case Study
-
Apple
launched its web-based music store iTunes in April 2003
-
Users
downloaded 1 million songs in three days, each selling for $.99 when
a Windows compatible
version of the software was offered
-
30 million
songs had been downloaded from the pay site by the fourth
quarter of
2003
-
In 2004 iTunes
controlled 70% of the music downloading market
Conclusion
The popularity of the MP3 file format is
entirely market driven. The recording industry did not direct this shift
as it did from cassettes to CDs. The public at large has expressed an
interest in highly portable and transferable music files and the demand
for these features is not likely to diminish any time soon.
Links
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