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Label tests MP3 in song sale
Posted by Kevin Chen on Friday, May 24 @ 12:05:48 EDT File Sharing
Article from News.com:

In what may be a first for a major-label recording artist, Maverick Records and Vivendi Universal's online division are asking listeners to pay just under a dollar for an unprotected MP3 version of a new single.

The companies put the track, a dance version of "Earth" by Meshell Ndegeocello, online Thursday on sites run by Vivendi Universal Net USA, including MP3.com, RollingStone.com, GetMusic.com and MP4.com. People can purchase the file for 99 cents and then burn the song to a CD-ROM disc or transfer it to a portable device. The companies said subscribers of EMusic's MP3 music service will be able to download the track as part of their memberships.

Ndegeocello is releasing a new album, "Cookie: The Anthropological Mixtape," June 4 on Maverick/Warner Bros. Records. The original version of "Earth" will appear on the album.

 
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Re: Label tests MP3 in song sale (Score: 1, Insighful)
by Anonymous (Name Withheld on Advice of Counsel) on Friday, May 24 @ 16:32:22 EDT
I attempted to buy a copy of this file, but I found it impossible to do that without creating an "account" and giving my name, email address, postal code, and gender. So much for that: it was worth 99 cents US to me, but it's not worth 99 cents US plus my personal data.

Some people have questioned whether it's even worth 99 cents at all. I think it is. Sure, at 99 cents per track, an entire CD's worth of MP3s would end up costing just as much as a regular CD, while being lossily compressed and lacking the durability of a physical artifact, the cover art and liner notes, etc. However, it's a critical issue that one doesn't have to buy an entire CD at this price. Even with my favourite purchased CDs, it's seldom the case that I like every single track; and there are many other CDs I have not purchased because I only like one or two tracks. I'm willing to pay considerably more per track when I'm only paying for the tracks I want. Is 99 cents a fair price under those circumstances? I'm not sure. I probably wouldn't be willing to buy all my music at 99 cents per track, especially when it's lossily compressed; but I'm willing to spend that on this one track, even though it's not even in my favourite style, just to make the statement. I've been boycotting the MPAA for a long time; I want them to know that they still have a chance at my money if they play by reasonable rules.

It's such a shame that I couldn't buy this track because of their unreasonable demand for personal information.


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