July 5, 2006 4:33 AM PDT
CD format gets 'reboot' from Universal Music
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Record company will offer CDs in deluxe, standard and bare-bones packaging, with prices adjusted accordingly.
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18 comments
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Non-copy-protected CDs offer the best sound quality, aren't locked into a proprietary-DRM scheme, and aren't locked into a particular brand of music player.
Non-copy-protected CDs offer the best sound quality, aren't locked into a proprietary-DRM scheme, and aren't locked into a particular brand of music player.
One annoying thing though - yep, the track listings were often *different* on each of the CD singles and the prices were usually the same or close to each other too!
Do you get a booklet with the cardboard sleeve version of CD albums that Universal is proposing? If so, then it might be a nice way to get older CD albums cheaply.
Tip to Universal - make the most expensive ("deluxe") packaging also be DRM-free, so that customers feel they're getting some additional value - and please avoid putting extra tracks only on the deluxe version...that's an infuriating thing that happens in the UK all the time...but 6 months after the standard version is released, so you feel swindled by being an early-buyer and getting 2 or 3 less tracks.
They are practicing predatory pricing on the loyal fans. They know the fans will have to have every track and will pay the price again to gain a track or two. This has been going on for years, and is just another reason the P2P thing got so huge to begin with.
One annoying thing though - yep, the track listings were often *different* on each of the CD singles and the prices were usually the same or close to each other too!
Do you get a booklet with the cardboard sleeve version of CD albums that Universal is proposing? If so, then it might be a nice way to get older CD albums cheaply.
Tip to Universal - make the most expensive ("deluxe") packaging also be DRM-free, so that customers feel they're getting some additional value - and please avoid putting extra tracks only on the deluxe version...that's an infuriating thing that happens in the UK all the time...but 6 months after the standard version is released, so you feel swindled by being an early-buyer and getting 2 or 3 less tracks.
They are practicing predatory pricing on the loyal fans. They know the fans will have to have every track and will pay the price again to gain a track or two. This has been going on for years, and is just another reason the P2P thing got so huge to begin with.
Does the label really expect a 5 or 10 Euro premium for packaging materials? I doubt it or they're even dumber than I thought.
Anybody but me think this is a price hike in disguise? I suspect that the basic level (which is the current price of many CDs in the US) will be less content than current CDs. Less packaging, possibly less quality (would they be foolish enough to try and sell compressed format files at CD prices?) for the same price.
I want to believe this is a good move for the consumer, but I suspect we're getting shaft again (not that I can tell from the wealth of detail in this "report"). The record labels are letting greed run them out of business, but it's going to be a long slow fall and painful for the consumers on the way down.
Does the label really expect a 5 or 10 Euro premium for packaging materials? I doubt it or they're even dumber than I thought.
Anybody but me think this is a price hike in disguise? I suspect that the basic level (which is the current price of many CDs in the US) will be less content than current CDs. Less packaging, possibly less quality (would they be foolish enough to try and sell compressed format files at CD prices?) for the same price.
I want to believe this is a good move for the consumer, but I suspect we're getting shaft again (not that I can tell from the wealth of detail in this "report"). The record labels are letting greed run them out of business, but it's going to be a long slow fall and painful for the consumers on the way down.