iLounge

1

“RealNetworks(R), Inc., the industry leader in online music subscription services, ...”

The industry leader?  Oh really?  I just love press releases.  Great excuse for totally unsubstantiated claims.

Posted by m. sherman in Northern VA on April 15, 2005 at 9:23 AM (PST)

2

I wonder what RealNetworks is up to.  I’m guessing it’s not just RealPlayer 11, but something bigger.

Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on April 15, 2005 at 9:53 AM (PST)

3

Why can a 21 year-old take a test drive, but an 18 year-old can’t?  I’m much less likely to show up drunk.

Posted by KBrew in NJ on April 15, 2005 at 12:15 PM (PST)

4

Anybody know if the 33 songs from the Audi test drive are pre-selected or if you can select the 33 songs you WANT to download?

Posted by iPod_YouPod_WePod on April 15, 2005 at 2:15 PM (PST)

5

Real?  Who are they?

Posted by Quoth_the_Raven in Herndon, VA on April 15, 2005 at 3:52 PM (PST)

6

33? who picked that number?

Posted by mrwright in california on April 15, 2005 at 4:21 PM (PST)

7

united states residents only? bah.

re. the contest

Posted by rockthecasbah on April 15, 2005 at 7:06 PM (PST)

8

I’m guessing that RealNetworks is going to reveal a subscription service that is iPod-compatible! :-o

Posted by Galley in Greenville, SC on April 15, 2005 at 10:33 PM (PST)

9

Can I be the pedant that points out that the band is called “eels” and not “the eels”?

Good.

Posted by bluejacket in London on April 16, 2005 at 9:05 AM (PST)

10

m. sherman - who is the leader of subscription music services, do you think?

Personally I like subscription services much less than the iTunes service where you actually buy the music and listening to it is not dependent on keeping a subscription alive.  However, I have mostly stopped buying from iTunes for two reasons.  Firstly, the music isn’t that much cheaper than buying the CD, and secondly, with a CD I get full rights to the music - not some lame-assed digital rights management system that is way too restrictive. 

I have no guarantee that I will still listen to digital music on an iPod in two years, or five years or whatever.  Bottom line is, I don’t want to be locked into hardware because of a large investment in a proprietary encrypted music format.

Posted by kokketiel on April 18, 2005 at 4:04 AM (PST)

11

Fairplay is not restrictive.  Heck, if you just burn your $9.99 album to CD, you’re right where you’re be if you had bought the CD—save 5 to 7 bucks.

Posted by Gordy. in Atlanta, GA on April 18, 2005 at 4:39 AM (PST)

12

actually Gordy, if you buy the CD, you can import at a much higher bit rate if you want…  Most people are fine with a 160 bit rate for MP3, hence the 128 bit AAC equivilent.  And when you buy the CD, it does have a better sound quality, but really- its trivial to most. 

However, the ITMS often has mixes and artists’ releases that are only available on iTunes, so there’s a big advantage there.

I buy plenty of tunes from the ITMS myself, but there is room for argument on both sides of the spectrum.  It just depends on what your into.  But to say that “you’re right where [you’d] be if you had bought the CD…” isn’t quite fair, nor is it true.

Posted by apple juice in USA on April 18, 2005 at 7:44 AM (PST)

13

Funny, you didn’t mention FairPlay once.  Probably because it really isn’t a big deal—which was the central point of my earlier reply.

I agree with your point about bit rates—I’ll add liner notes to that argument too.  But for artists I am not that in to, iTMS fits the bill perfectly.

Posted by Gordy. in Atlanta, GA on April 18, 2005 at 1:21 PM (PST)

14

If I buy the CD I get 16 bit stereo uncompressed sound captured at 44.1kHz.  I can lend it to my friends, play it on my audiophile sound system without it sounding compressed, capture it in whatever sound format (including lossless) I wish, copy the file onto as many of my personal PC’s as I like and make as many “mix” CD’s as I want without any restriction.  When DRM lends me similar freedoms, then we can talk again.

OTOH, if your main use for music is listening to MP3 rap in your bass-heavy Honda Civic, iTunes music is just fine for you.

As you mentioned - iTunes is great for getting the few songs you like for an artist if you don’t like everything from that artist.  However, a lot of the music I listen to is classical, and for that I would rather buy the CD, even though iTunes may be more convenient at the time the impulse to buy strikes .

To each his own.

Posted by kokketiel on April 18, 2005 at 4:18 PM (PST)

15

I hate emoticons…

Posted by apple juice in USA on April 19, 2005 at 7:29 AM (PST)

16

(sorry apple)

suppose someone did come out with a subscription service for iPod, wouldn’t iTunes do before Real would?

How awsome would it be to pack your 40gb ipod full of any and all the songs that you want.

Posted by matt928347 in California on April 20, 2005 at 12:10 AM (PST)