News
iTMS: Get your 99 cent song of silence
“Among the hundreds of thousands of downloadable songs for sale at Apple Computer’s online music store are at least nine tracks of silence, a fact that has prompted quite a bit of discussion. The chatter over the inaudible music tracks began this week at Mac enthusiast site As The Apple Turns.
As the site notes, Apple treats the silent songs just like their more musical counterparts. The silent tracks sell for the same 99 cents as other songs, feature free 30-second “previews” and are all wrapped in Apple’s usual digital-rights management software to prevent unauthorized copying.”
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1
too expensive. I have these songs (yep all of them) and I will sell them for .25 each. And if you order right away I will have them dubbed into the language of choice.
Posted by cheddar on February 5, 2004 at 3:41 PM (PDT)
2
Cheddar- I am interested, but ONLY if they are encoded above 160 kbps.
Posted by Jeremy on February 5, 2004 at 3:45 PM (PDT)
3
That’s gotta be the stupidest thing I’ve -ever- heard of. Makes for an entertaining article though.
Posted by Caleb on February 5, 2004 at 4:08 PM (PDT)
4
they’re not gonna have enough time to research (or listen to) every song on the store. I’m sure it’s all just done in huge batches.
And why are artists putting blanks on their CDs? I’m aware of a few CDs that have like 50 extraneous “tracks” on them with one being a “hidden” song, but I’d imagine that you’d just buy the whole CD for $9.99 or whatever it is and just be happy.
Posted by dethbrakr on February 5, 2004 at 4:44 PM (PDT)
5
I point out to you cutting edge composer John Cage who in 1952 composed “4’33”“, 4 minutes and 33 seconds of silence.
Composer Cage’s “45” was heavily requested on AM and FM radio at the time and every once in a while a DJ would actually spin it.
Maybe Apple is honoring John Cage’s genius!
For a more modern interpretation of one of John Cage’s works listen to or purchase “In A Landscape” by William Orbit on his 2000 recording “Pieces In A Modern Style.”
Posted by Michael Hill on February 5, 2004 at 6:25 PM (PDT)
6
Cheddar, if you’ll burn those onto DVD-R, I’ll buy 50 copies.
Posted by rdlink in Denver on February 5, 2004 at 6:28 PM (PDT)
7
Sound quality is OK, but the visualizer effects are disappointing.
Posted by Nagromme on February 5, 2004 at 7:20 PM (PDT)
8
You know what the worse thing is?
People will stupidly pay for this.
Posted by Adam on February 5, 2004 at 11:14 PM (PDT)
9
I’m still disappointed that iTMS don’t offer Animal Sounds - especially when they are singing to us (I know Snoop Dog is one of them but he ain’t keeping-it-real like a All-star German Shepherd can;)
Posted by voodoo on February 6, 2004 at 2:49 AM (PDT)
10
This is a nonissue.
Apple offers albums, not just individual songs. If the album is to be considered complete and contains silent tracks (I can think of several at the moment), ALL of the original songs must be included, hence their availability as individual downloads.
Posted by matthew on February 6, 2004 at 5:38 AM (PDT)
11
Matthew:
Agreed though they should identify the tracks as devoid of sound…
Posted by Margk on February 6, 2004 at 7:17 AM (PDT)
12
yea, like Dave Matthew’s Under the Table And Dreaming, 34 total tracks on the cd, the 34th being a hidden song, the first 11 being actual sound tracks.
In itunes though, when i was importing the cd i just unchecked all the blank tracks. this is the only cd i have with empty void tracks. i do have albums with hidden tracks but they are contained in the same track as the last track, just separated by like eight minutes of silence. i’d rather have empty tracks separating the tracks then just silence, its easier to get to the hidden track that way -
peace
Posted by zero on February 6, 2004 at 10:03 AM (PDT)
13
I am fully prepared for rants about how AAC-encoded silence sounds better than mp3-encoded silence or WMA-encoded silence.
Posted by rantomatic on February 6, 2004 at 10:23 AM (PDT)
14
AAC-encoded silence is too lossy for me. I use FLAC, WMA Lossless, or WAV silence tracks.
Seriously…
This is a non-issue. If you’re buying the whole album, the silent tracks are part of the gig. If you are buying tracks individually, take 30 seconds (or less) to preview the track first.
Posted by Snoop D-O-GG on February 6, 2004 at 11:07 AM (PDT)
15
“For a more modern interpretation of one of John Cage’s works listen to or purchase “In A Landscape” by William Orbit on his 2000 recording “Pieces In A Modern Style.”“
That’s a great album. I love it. “In A Landscape” is my first or second favorite track too.
Posted by monkedsel on February 6, 2004 at 1:30 PM (PDT)
16
People who say John Cage is a genious for not bothering to write notes for 4 minutes and 33 seconds of nothing is a bloody idiot. Its like modern art, it takes the piss and its rubbish.
Posted by Tom on February 6, 2004 at 6:29 PM (PDT)