Study: Online music stores falling short

New research blasts Net music stores for confusing navigation and locking users into proprietary formats.

The story "Study: Online music stores falling short" published January 18, 2005 at 9:04 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[PCCRomeo]

In your FACE iTunes!! HAHAHA.....

This is what I've been waiting for....For so long people have been like "Oh, iTunes is #1" and "iTunes ROCKS!"....Well, it finally looks as though those people have opened their eyes....I have only downloaded one thing from iTunes and that was only because it was a free download through the Pepsi-iTunes promotion, but since it wouldn't work on my Dell DJ I just got on Ares, my P2P program, and downloaded it again in MP3 format......And as for Sony, SonicStage BLOWS.....I have also only downloaded one song from there, and it was "Walk this way" by Macy Gray, and the only reason I downloaded it from there is because it was an "Exclusive Track".....From now on WHEN I actually use one of these I'm going to use Napster, MSN, and possibly even Wal-Mart.....Hahahaha...

Conflict of Interest Study

Dave H (a poster at MacDaily News) reveals:

FNAC is run by Denis Olivennes, who until 2002 was Director General of Canal +, the French television and media company.

Shelley Taylor & Associates list Canal + amongst their clients, and funnily enough, Microsoft too. FNACmusic.com is built on Windows Media Technology.

--------------------

Take that for what it's worth.

[System Tyrant]

You just confessed to stealing music, good job.

I hope, Greg, you are using a fake name because you just confessed to stealing music from a P2P site. You best becarful with that Dell DJ cause it too is a passing fad. I'm glad you chose Napter, MSN, and Wal-Mart. Personally, I only need one to get all the music I want... iTunes.

[zarathustra911]

Your comments are wrong...

First of all, you can convert your songs from ITMS into MP3s by
burning them as an Audio CD and re-encoding in MP3. It might
be an extra step, but at least you are not stealing music off a
P2P.

Secondly you forget that the iTunes music store's primary goal is
to sell iPods. Apple maybe makes a cent a song. Maybe just
brakes even.

Unless the RIAA comes up with a more fair music distribution,
you can't fault Apple for locking you to the iPod. They can't
make much money on the songs so they provide the best music
player available as an incentive to download, not the other way
around.

[skeptik]

yeah we could, but who wants to?

Hey moron, you can convert anything into an MP3 by running analog into your computer and recording it. I could also just buy the commercial CD and rip it myself. It would be better quality than the download sites anyway, but doesn't that defeat the purpose? The download sites are already overpriced considering the amount of work and additional money you have to spend to get a physical CD (of inferior quality to a commercially purchased CD). So the only thing they're really selling is the convenience of a pre-ripped track. Under that sales model, dancing through hoops to get the music you want to the playback device you want is inexcusable.
And that's the point of the article.

[davebarnes]

The best supports many formats

Allofmp3.com supports just about any format you want.

And, the price is really good.

[rvassar]

What do you expect from the French?

Funny article. Do you think a French survey would select an
American company over a French provider?

Can't you guys find something better to report?

[dbarclay69]

Have you checked the source?

Take one look at Shelly Taylor & Associates Web site and you
might question the validity of the report. I've seen better web
sites designed by 5 years olds. Talk about about blowing the
customer experience!

http://www.infofarm.com/

[Stan Kee]

Why does it take a study

Why does it take a study to validate what people have been saying all along. The RIAA wants new money. They see DRM as a tool to get money they never would have made before and they use the cloak of copyrights to push it. Give them time and they will charge you for the songs to be playable on multiple devices. If you want to listen to it in your car, pay up. If you want to listen on your home theater, pay up. If you want to listen on your computer, pay up. If you want to listen on a portable device, pay up. If you want the song to be playable 10 years from now, pay up. And when you say no, they say "Well, its my property!!!" What's the point in paying for any product you have no say over?

I remember back in the days the main selling point of technology was freedom/flexibility, cheaper, and making life easier. The opposite has taken place thanks to old outdated copyright laws.... and greed. And with a friendly government, whose going to stop them???

Luckily most music these days produced by the mainstream music companies is cookie-cutter garbage, otherwise I would really have to worry. After a week or two you don't want to hear it anymore

Shelly-Taylor = Bias

Check out their website. Their clients include:

* Dell
* Microsoft
* Canal +

Is it any wonder they would trash iTunes with an unbiased client list like that?

Geez. How about some objective research please.

[dolfox]

why??????

i mean, there are sooo many holes in this article...AAC is not a
proprietary format...say it with me everyone...Apple's AAC has
their own (Apple's) DRM, but AAC is not proprietary to Apple...

WMA is a Microsoft proprietary format, it is not a 'standard' in
the way MP3 or any other is...

these people are just proping up their store as 'the best', who
cares, why is this an article, why is CNET using it as an 'in your
face' to iTunes?

you can take any music bought at any internet music store and
play it on any portable music player...you may have to convert
file types (WMA to MP3, AAC to MP3), but that is not anymore
inconvenient than ripping a CD.

CNET...stop
spreading
misinformation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

About Time

You can download a song illegially and there is NO limitations on the song and you can PAY for the song and they impose limitations on what player you can use how many times you can burn it and so on. Quite frankly it's rediculous!!!! But thats just my thinking