Play.com launches DRM-free music in the UK before Amazon

by Alex Zaharov-Reutt

Thursday, 14 February 2008

Page 2 of 3 US Linux users can always go to Amazon’s site to download music through a browser, so while specialised music management and downloading software is nice, when you work through a web browser and are capable enough to transfer your tracks manually, a web browser is all the software you need! And if you’re wanting to beat the market leader, in this case iTunes, at their musical game, you really need to have some juicy bait to tempt the music loving public, especially those willing to pay for music instead of just stealing it from P2P networks. And of course, Play.com have done just that, offering their DRM-free tracks at only 65 pence per track, as opposed to iTunes’ 79 pence per track. Album prices are cheaper too, priced at only £6.99, compared with iTunes’ price of £7.99 per album. But Apple does have the advantage of a super easy-to-use iPod and iTunes ecosystem, where music purchases go directly into the iTunes library and will transfer themselves to an iPod or iPhone upon synchronisation. Play.com, on the other hand, needs you to download the music to your computer, then use iTunes or some other software to transfer the music to an mp3 player – unless the user is tech savvy enough to transfer it manually – and providing, of course, that the mp3 player in question supports the drag and drop of music. Some mp3 players don’t, and require the use of their own software suite, although mp3 players with that restriction are much rarer these days. What about Windows Media Player - and can the DRM-free movement now ever be stopped? Please read onto page 3... << First page <   1 2 3 Next page > Last page - Post your comment >>

 

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