iLounge

Music fans will soon be able to download digital versions of classic songs by the Beatles. David Munns, head of EMI Music’s North American division, said at a web industry conference in San Francisco that the Beatles’ catalog would be available for download “soon.” Munns did not offer specifics such as a timeframe or which online music stores would be selling the Beatles tracks. Following its legal win earlier this year against the Beatles’ Apple Corps, Apple expressed interest in selling the band’s music on the iTunes Store. “We certainly will do everything we can to get them on iTunes,” Eddy Cue, Apple’s vice president of iTunes, said in May. “The Beatles aren’t available in any digital format today but they are going to be one day. We certainly hope that happens on iTunes.”

The Wall Street Journal’s Walt Mossberg and The New York Times’ David Pogue, two of the most well known and widely read tech columnists, both give less than stellar marks to Microsoft’s Zune media player in their reviews of the device today. While both writers give the Zune credit for a handful of features—with Pogue even calling the device “excellent” at one point—they both offer up fairly damaging final reviews.

“This first Zune has too many compromises and missing features to be as good a choice as the iPod for most users,” Mossberg writes. “The hardware feels rushed and incomplete. It is 60% larger and 17% heavier than the comparable iPod. It has much worse battery life for music than the iPod or than Microsoft claims—at least two hours less than the iPod’s, in my tests. Despite the larger screen, many album covers look worse than they do on the iPod. And you can’t share music libraries between computers like you can with iTunes… Overall, the iPod and iTunes are still the champs. Still, I expect the Zune to attract some converts and to get better with time. And this kind of competition from a big company with deep pockets and lots of talent is good for consumers in the long run.”

“Competition is good and all. But what, exactly, is the point of the Zune?” asks Pogue. “It seems like an awful lot of duplication—in a bigger, heavier form with fewer features—just to indulge Microsoft’s ‘we want some o’ that’ envy. Wireless sharing is the one big new idea—and if the public seems to respond, Apple could always add that to the iPod… The Zune 1.0 player is pretty barren, too. It doesn’t have a single standard iPod amenity: no games, alarm clock, stopwatch, world clock, password-protected volume limiter, equalizer, calendar, address book or notes module. Incredibly, you can’t even use the Zune as an external hard drive, as you can with just about every other player on earth.”

In a move that could have a future impact on Apple, Microsoft has agreed to pay Universal Music Group a fee for each Zune media player it sells. “We felt that any business that’s built on the bedrock of music we should share in,” said Doug Morris, chief executive of Universal, owned by French media giant Vivendi. “We were very early in working with Steve on the launch of the iPod and he’s been a very good partner and done a lot for the industry,” Morris said in response to questions about Universal’s relationship with Apple. “We have a current contract with him and at the end of that I’m sure we’ll negotiate.” Apple currently only has revenue-share deals with record companies for music sold on the iTunes Store, and does not offer a portion of iPod sales to any company.

Update: The New York Times reports that Universal is expected to receive more than $1 for each $250 Zune sold, and that the deal “comes after weeks of tense talks and averts a standoff that might have crippled Microsoft’s attempt to compete against the iPod.” According to the Times report, Universal apparently threatened to not sell its music through the online Zune media store unless Microsoft paid a royalty for each Zune sold.

“Microsoft ultimately had plenty of incentive to make a deal with Universal,” reports the newspaper. “Microsoft is laying a huge wager on the Zune. If it had not struck a deal, it would have been left in the position of trying to mount a credible challenge to the iPod without Universal, which accounts for a third of new albums sold in the United States. Microsoft also stands to benefit by cultivating a fan-friendly image with the notion that artists—not just corporations—will share in the Zune’s sales.”

Microsoft has announced plans to sell TV shows and rent movies that can be downloaded onto an Xbox 360 through the company’s Xbox Live online video game service. Beginning Nov. 22, Xbox Live users will be able to choose from select shows distributed by MTV Networks, CBS, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Turner Broadcasting System, and Ultimate Fighting Championship. The programming, which will come in standard-definition and some in high-definition, includes shows such as “South Park” and “CSI,” and movies such as “V For Vendetta” and “Superman Returns.” Pricing of the content was not announced, though it is expected to be similar to iTunes Store pricing.

In a move that would no doubt signal the end of its partnership with Apple, Cingular has reportedly teamed up with iTunes rivals Napster, Yahoo Music and eMusic to launch a new music service. The service, which could be announced as early as tomorrow, will work on music-playing cell phones and will eventually offer wireless downloads, according to The Wall Street Journal. “Cingular’s service initially will support transferring music from personal computers to cellphones using a cable. In a first for music-enabled cellphones, users will be able to transfer music acquired from ‘all you can eat’ subscription services like Napster to Go, Yahoo’s Y Music Unlimited or eMusic,” reports the Journal. “They will also be able to transfer songs ripped from CDs or downloaded in the MP3 and Windows Media formats. Next year, Cingular is scheduled to add an over-the-air downloading component that will feature a menu for compatible telephone handsets that takes users to a virtual store, similar to the ones customers already use to buy ringtones.”

Jon Lech Johansen, a hacker also known as “DVD Jon,” says he has cracked Apple’s FairPlay digital music copy-protection technology and plans to license the code to others. The Associated Press reports: “Unlike his previous work, which he usually posts for free, the Norway native plans to capitalize on his efforts through his Redwood Shores-based DoubleTwist Ventures, said the company’s only other employee, managing director Monique Farantzos. An unnamed client will soon use the technology so its copy-protected content will be playable on iPods, she said, declining to give any specifics.”

According to a new study, listening to loud music with earphones on an iPod or similar music player for more than 90 minutes a day will damage your hearing. “The study of 100 doctoral students concluded that people who listened to music at 80 percent of volume capacity, at which point the sound is considered loud, should stick to under 90 minutes a day,” reports Reuters. “The study also found no problems for people who listened to music at 10 percent to 50 percent of maximum volume for extended periods. It found, however, that anyone who listened at 100 percent for more than five minutes faced the risk of hearing loss.”

Target has sent a letter to movie studios expressing concern that Apple and other companies will get a better deal from the studios for digital movies than the retailer gets on wholesale DVDs. The sharply worded letter from Target President Gregg Steinhafel said the retailer didn’t object to competition but wanted “a level playing field,” and also said that if Target didn’t receive fair pricing from the studios it would reconsider its investment in the DVD business. Target accounts for about 15% of DVD sales in the U.S. The letter follows similar complaints to studios from Wal-Mart and comes just weeks after Apple added full-length movies from Disney to the iTunes Store for as little as $12.99 each.

MP3.com founder Michael Robertson believes the Zune media player will be a large failure for Microsoft. “At first glance the features seem compelling but my prediction is it will be the biggest flop of 2007 with less than 50,000 units sold worldwide,” he says. Robertson cites Zune’s disappointing wireless features and the device’s incompatibilities with “Plays For Sure” purchased songs. “Microsoft will likely spend nearly $100 million in marketing the Zune. The press will give them tens of millions of dollars in free marketing,” Robertson continues. “In spite of this publicity the Zune will be an expensive failure for Microsoft because consumers aren’t stupid. As the saying goes: Zune me once, shame on you. Zune me twice, shame on me.”

Microsoft has finally announced pricing and a release date for its much-hyped Zune media player. The company said it will charge $249.99 for the device—essentially the same as Apple’s 30GB iPod, which retails for $249. Microsoft will launch both the Zune and its companion digital music service on November 14th. The Zune music service will charge 99 cents for individual songs and $14.99 per month for a subscription service. Scott Erickson, senior director of product management for Zune, admitted that the Zune player will not make money for Microsoft immediately. “In total we won’t be making a profit this year, but we will of course work toward becoming a profitable business in the future,” he said.

Beleaguered subscription music company Napster said it is considering selling the company. “There’s been interest by third parties to acquire the company,” said Napster CEO Chris Gorog, adding that other proposals have included strategic partnerships or joint ventures. “That activity has heated up as we’ve gotten traction with a lot of our new products… There’s been a lot of speculation” about which companies or industries would be interested in Napster, Gorog said. “Any company that is executing at a high level in digital media will likely have at least a conceptual interest in looking at Napster.” Napster was originally an illegal music sharing site before being shut down in 2001. It was purchased by Roxio and relaunched in 2003. Napster said as of June 30, it had 512,000 paid subscribers, down from 606,000 in the prior quarter.

After persistent compatibility problems with Microsoft’s “Plays for Sure” format, RealNetworks has teamed up with SanDisk to offer a portable music player that works seamlessly with the company’s Rhapsody service. The Sansa Rhapsody will be based on SanDisk’s e200 player, which comes in 2GB to 8GB sizes and retails for $140 to $250. The player has a layer of RealNetworks’ own software, including copy-protection technology, to ensure compatibility.

Microsoft officially announced its Zune media player and new online music service today. As previously reported, the Zune player will feature a 30GB hard drive, Wi-Fi wireless technology, a built-in FM tuner and a 3-inch screen. Microsoft said the Zune will come in three colors—black, brown and white. The company declined, however, to disclose pricing and an exact release date, only saying the Zune player would be available “this holiday season.”

In addition to the player, Microsoft also announced the Zune Marketplace, a new online music service “where you can choose to purchase tracks individually or to buy a Zune Pass subscription to download as many songs as you want for a flat fee.” The Zune Marketplace appears to be part of the Zune media manager software for organizing music, videos and photos and transferring them to the device.

After years of covering music on CDs, records and tapes, insurers are now beginning to accept claims for digital music downloaded to iPods and other gadgets. “Nationwide has been the trail-blazer, including music and other entertainment downloads as standard in its home contents cover,” reports The Independent. “The building society argues—and a lot of iPod users would agree—that these virtual music collections count as family valuables, just like CDs and old LPs. Other insurers are considering a similar addition to their home contents cover… Nationwide’s cover is for any download—ringtones, games, films or music—wherever it is held, be that a phone, PC, laptop or music player. The important point is that the owner will have to prove they have paid for the download.”

4Flix.Net has announced its Free*Pass monthly subscription plan, which allows unrestricted access to the site’s collection of iPod-ready videos for $9.99 a month. The service allows members to download any of 4Flix.Net’s DRM-free feature-length movies, classic TV shows, and independent films. Strangely, in 4Flix.Net’s press release for the new service, sent to iLounge, the company lists “Apple’s 6th Generation 16x9 widescreen Video iPod” as a supported device. Apple has obviously yet to introduce such a device and is unlikely to provide product details to a company such as 4Flix.Net in advance of such an announcement.

Update: As noted in the comments below, 4Flix.Net has updated its press release on its website, which now lists “Apple’s 5th Generation video-capable iPod” as a supported device.

As expected, Amazon.com today launched its Amazon Unbox video store. The web-based service offers TV shows and movies from more than 30 studios and networks.

TV shows cost $1.99 per episode, and most movies range from $7.99 to $14.99. Movies can also be “rented” for $3.99. The “DVD-quality” movies and shows must be watched on a PC using Amazon’s software. Downloads also come with a second file that can only be viewed on one of a handful of Windows Media-compatible video players from Creative, Toshiba, Archos and iRiver. Movies cannot be burned to DVDs for playback in a DVD player. The average TV show weighs in at 600MB in file size and is expected to take 30 minutes to 2 hours to download, while a 2-hour movie is around 2.4GB in size and takes from 2-7 hours to download.

Apple is widely expected to launch its own online movie service at a special event in San Francisco on Tuesday. Recent reports claim that Apple has yet to sign the majority of Hollywood studios due to wrangling over movie prices.

SanDisk has announced that several companies will be making accessories for its line of Sansa digital media players under a new “Made for Sansa” licensing program—an obvious imitation of Apple’s “Made for iPod” program. Among SanDisk’s first seven accessory partners are six well-known iPod accessory makers: Altec Lansing, DLO (Digital Lifestyle Outfitters), Griffin Technology, HandStands, Macally Peripherals, and Speck Products.

Popular social networking website MySpace has announced plans to launch a major digital music service. The News Corp.-owned site, which currently has 106 million users, said it will offer music from nearly 3 million unsigned, independent bands before the end of the year. “The goal is to be one of the biggest digital music stores out there,” said MySpace co-founder Chris DeWolfe. “Everyone we’ve spoken to definitely wants an alternative to iTunes and the iPod. MySpace could be that alternative.” The indie songs will be sold in unprotected MP3 format, compatible with the iPod. Bands will decide how much to charge per song after including MySpace’s distribution fee. DeWolfe said MySpace will be “enhancing and customizing” its online music service to eventually offer copyright-protected songs from major record companies.

Microsoft’s Zune digital media player appears to be “another classic case of overpromising and underdelivering” by the software giant, according to American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu. “While we have great respect for Microsoft, we are frankly underwhelmed by the much-hyped Zune device,” Wu said in a research note today. “Microsoft had hinted of an all-new design from the ground up, but from our analysis, it appears that the Zune is essentially a repackaged Toshiba Gigabeat that has seen limited success. Moreover, the software is similar to the Windows Mobile OS licensed to its hardware ‘partners’. At this point, we believe this could end up being another classic case of overpromising and underdelivering by Microsoft.”

Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, the world’s largest music company, has partnered with SpiralFrog, a new online music start-up that plans to allow customers to download songs for free. The advertising-supported, web-based service will initially offer Universal’s complete roster and will include digital rights management technology on the tracks. The SpiralFrog service, which is expected to launch in the U.S. and Canada in December, is apparently targeting the pirated music circles rather than the iTunes Music Store. In the company’s press release announcing the service, Robin Kent, SpiralFrog’s CEO said: “Offering young consumers an easy-to-use alternative to pirated music sites will be compelling. SpiralFrog will offer those consumers a better experience and environment than they can get from any pirate site.”