Is microSD the music medium of the future?

SanDisk on Monday announced a partnership with all four major music labels in a deal that's set to bring future albums to microSD cards. The preloaded cards, dubbed "slotMusic" media, will be sold at brick-and-mortar retail locations as an alternative to the CD.

(Credit: SanDisk)

At this time, there's no information on which albums will be sold for how much and when, but the first outlets set to receive the new digital music medium are U.S. branches of BestBuy and Wal-Mart, among others. More than likely, the slotMusic cards will go on sale in time for the upcoming holiday season.

No doubt in the interest of compatibility, music will come in a 320Kbps MP3 format. Each card will offer a 1GB capacity, which gives musicians the option of including various album extras such as liner notes, videos, and other creative content. It will also leave extra space for the user to transfer his or her own content to the card.

The idea of slotMusic cards is to bridge the gap between the physical and the digital, as users of certain cell phones and MP3 players will be able to purchase the cards and insert them directly into the device, eliminating the need to rip CDs or download from a service and then connect to the computer to transfer the songs.

However, given the relatively large size of each card (1GB could fit about eight albums assuming 12 tracks per ripped at 320Kbps MP3), this usage model doesn't completely make sense, as you would need to connect to a computer to make full use of the capacity--unless, of course, you're purchasing songs wirelessly, which in itself indicates a certain amount of comfort with a fairly advanced downloading practice.

And say you elect not to make use of the leftover capacity. A phone or MP3 player only has one memory slot--do you really want only one album taking up that spot? Finally, microSD cards are tiny, which raises a concern over how to keep track of them if you start racking up a collection.

All that being said, I'll wait until pricing is released before passing final judgment on slotMusic. I can certainly see an argument if it ends up being a much better value than the current 99-cents-per-song download structure. At the moment, however, I'm having trouble wrapping my brain around who this might appeal to. Am I completely out of touch? Or do you see microSD albums as just another teeny thing to misplace, too? Chime in below.

[jekter]

***??? This seems like another attempt at a floppy disk replacement. Save gas, time, resources and money and download the album from Amazon.

[GlennAllen]

It's good to know, in a world of constant change, that the music industry can remain just as clueless as they ever were. Even if it's cheaper for them to mass produce physical albums using new media, they'll still charge the same amounts for those albums--as they've always said, they're charging for the content (which, now, won't even be lossless).

[eracca]

I agree. The physical format just does not make sense anymore. They can come up with any kind of format, and I am sure it will eventually fail. Does DataPlay ring a bell? It was supposed to be the replacement for the cassette. That died quickly.

In the end, the MicroSD is another storage device. Content is what is important.

[Someone-else]

For music and movies i think the way to go is Downloading.
but Micro SD would be a great replacement for floppies, but i think pen drives already have this role, they are not as small os Micros SDs, but at that size, it's just too easy to lose them.

[fortheclueless]

D.O.A. for this application. Next up, the reboot of the 8-track tape. The music industry has no clue.

[jonesns]

I can see this being successful if two things happen
-The price is lower than that of CD's (say maybe $5.00-7.50 per card)
-They come out with some kind of case that holds several to many microSD cards, maybe even one that fits in a wallet or purse?

Otherwise, the music industry (particularly the RIAA) is gonna have to face the facts.....that many people prefer to download music in this generation

[bwahblah]

lol i feel sorry for sony fanboys

[andrewfelluss]

I agree that many users see the unity of content, where the industry is thinking of "units sold". We need to change our paradigm desperately, and changing up the format is not the answer. People don't want to be responsible for maintaining their own libraries, they'd rather just search for what they want WHEN they want it, and have come to accept that "it will be there". It's the great liberation of content, and almost unfathomable as to adapting a business model.
I think if you're going to make physical content, make it something worth collecting physically, like a gatefold LP with beautiful artwork. Packaging digital content and selling it on costly flash media is like bottling NYC tap water...oh wait someone's doing that. Something to be said for marketing i guess.

[tamroi]

Great! I've been waiting for it.

For the past couple of years mp3 players have not been available with memory slots. That wasn't good for SanDisk or us. A library of memory cards is more convenient (as well as better for SanDisk) than either either internal memory or CDs.

The next step will be the following business model for recorded music:

A one or two GB disc of music, text, and pictures, each day -- sold and used kind of like a newspaper, and priced like a newspaper.

My town of a quarter million will alone contribute a hundred groups, and won't we be proud and grateful to be able to check them out.

(The daily GB will also be available as a download, but I disagree with the other commentors because who wants to wait and pay for all that bandwidth.)

Ofcourse the daily GB should also have a bunch of oldies.

By the way, soon computers in general will be solid state, and these memory disks will replace external drives.

[gabeheim]

I can only see microsd (or full size SD) as a buy, transfer to device/computer, and throw away (or really, put it in some dark corner and lose it) for movies, music, and games. Definitely not going to sell like hotcakes. But it would also be a great way to give away promotional content as well, or to satisfy the "Buy it now" urge at concerts, events, etc. I think wireless (including WLAN, as well as cellular) will become the most predominant medium, but there are times where physical media might be necessary or preferred.

[grissomb]

Ya- this will go the way of the minidisc if not handled correctly.

First -- lower the price.
Second -- give me options. $5 for a 320kbps album? Sure. Included on the card is a coupon to download the lossless version? That's more like it.

[wizworks]

LPs are starting to make a comeback. I seriously hope they become popular again. I loved the artwork and included notes, etc. I also own a nice direct drive turntable with audiophile cartridge and I will say that the sound quality of my records kicks the CRAP out of any CD, MP3, etc. Assuming one takes proper care of their LPs, they are the BEST sounding form of audio available. There's also a Japanese company that makes a turntable that uses a laser to read a record groove so there's no wear and tear, and you can play an LP on such a machine as many times as you want! I noticed that Newbury Comics is starting to sell vinyl again and I have been buying! I also frequent my local used record store for used vinyl that I currently do not have in my library. Sure records take up more space, and require the owner to care for them properly, but are we becoming such a careless throwaway society that has foregone quality in exchange for total mindlessness? And for those bubblegum teens... yes, vinyl can even be "ripped" into MP3 for a dumbed down, non audiophile experience.

I hope they bring back records.

[one80oneday]

Man it sure does take the music and movie industry to catch on. I was thinking about this at least 5 years ago and was waiting for SD card prices to come down enough. I like the physical purchase better than downloading personally.

myspace.com/notoriousnickoli

[MadLyb]

What a waste in more than one way.

First, the waste of physical resouces and then the whole idea of a distribution mechanism for delivery music in an inferior format. Why not use a lossless format to at least give me the quality of a CD.

...But, then if you can provide the music is a lossless format without DRM, why not just allow me to download it?

[baylors]

Wow...nothing says failure like leaving the most popular device in the world out! So you want me to buy this card.... hmmmm where do I put it in my iPod. You know the one that connects to my car, pants (Levis), and shoes (Nike)....

MiniDisk comes to mind.

[electroplid]

As a musician and a music lover, the one good thing I can see from this is the option to give music lovers more product in a smaller package... you could include videos, lyrics, artwork, and having a Creative ZEN myself, most of these fetures could all be accessed through the SD card slot. I do agree that I would prefer lossless audio rather than some sort of so-called "high quality" MP3... In the end music will be sold because it connects with consumers, not because it's in a fancy package. The real problem with the music industry is the fact that it is only concerned with making a quick buck rather than foster artists. Some of the industry's most venerable and money-making acts were ones that hit it big after two or three albums .. sure it's great to have the instant hit, but what's one hit compared to years of thought-provoking and possibly ground-breaking music?

PS, why more MP3 players don't have SD or microSD slots boggles my mind... I put movies on my SD cards for my ZEN so I can use the onboard memory for MUSIC..

[shinelikeitdoes]

this whole idea is idiotic but i guess i'll bother to ask..if a cd is around 300mb LESS storage than one of these cards...why compressed audio?

[dirty55409]

yeah it seems strange to me. but it still seems cool. People do still buy CDs I think right??? I haven't for years but some people do. (maybe old folks) I'll stick to downloading from amazon etc.

[robjmiller]

Why is this idiotic? Let me count the ways:

1) People don't want to go to a store to buy music.
2) Practically nothing uses MicroSD except a few phones and cameras. My phone stores apps on the card so I need it in, and cameras don't play music. SanDisk is not going to convince people to get new devices just to be able to transfer music from tiny cards they don't need. Maybe if it were SD cards it would at least sell a few before they realized it was a terrible idea.
3) Uh... after those first two is a third reason really necessary?

Honestly, the only possible market for this is impulse buyers that already happen to be at a store that also sells music. That doesn't sound like a big demographic.

[rangel28]

Sandisk MP3 players have MicroSD slots, which is why they are trying to market this item. Creative MP3 players have SD slots. iPods, of course, have no expandable slots.

[MarkCarras]

Most do not have the tweezers or the time for MicroSD. Ok, this format maybe ok for little girls with a pink phone, but your average user will not have the patience for something so ridiculously tiny. It begs the question "When is it too small?" Trying to sell music on a format that already leaves so many frustrated just shows how clueless both the music industry and the people who make smartphones really are. Bring back full size SD!