Crave

(Credit: Napster)

Probably the biggest piece of digital music news to come out of CES 2008 was that Napster was planning to offer its complete catalog of more than 6 million tracks in the unprotected MP3 format.

On Tuesday, with the launch of version 4.5 of the software and store, that announcement becomes a reality. Although digital music stores such as eMusic, Amazon MP3, and even Napster itself already had MP3s on offer before this point, the collective catalogs of all three didn't even come near the volume of tracks you can find in the entire Napster library. All four major labels and thousands of indies are represented in the store, and every track will be available at the standard 99 cent price point.

Napster's Web-based store with the online media player window open.

(Credit: Napster)

In addition, Napster's Web-based store, which is all that is required for MP3 purchases and downloads, is compatible with every operating system. And--of course--the MP3s can be played on any MP3 player, portable video player, or music cell phone. Currently, 95 percent of the catalog is encoded at 256Kbps, which is reasonably high-quality for an MP3, and each track comes with hi-resolution album art (at least 1,000x1,000 pixels). Although Napster has quite an international presence, the MP3 store will only be available to U.S. residents for the time being.

Napster will continue to offer its online and To Go subscription services for $12.95 or $14.95 per month, respectively. The music associated with a subscription will remain in the protected WMA format with the time-out capability.

The company did make some improvements to its online interface. It now features a "liquid layout," which resizes everything within both the store and media player windows when you adjust the size of either window. Napster has also improved its download management system so that users can better view what has been purchased already and whether it was ever downloaded after the purchase.

Sadly, because of label restrictions, Napster will not be offering any type of trade program for customers who have a library of DRM-protected WMA files that they purchased a la carte. However, the licenses on those files will continue to be supported by the service, so no need to worry about a repeat of the MSN Music scandal. At least not for now.

Earlier this week, I attended the SanFran Music Tech Summit, best described as a meeting of the minds of those who are deeply involved or invested in the music technology space. To quote the event Web site: "We will meet to discuss the evolving music/business/technology ecosystem in a proactive, conducive to deal-making environment." I know...sounds a touch boring, but it was actually quite the opposite. In fact, I've come to the realization that conferences with an emphasis on panels are infinitely more informative, entertaining, and relaxing than those centering around massive product launches (ahem, CES). The panels covered topics of varying interest in the music space, and although none really focused on hardware devices, each offered some interesting insight into how technology continues to change to music industry as well as what it is doing to help consumers hear what they want and discover new content.

Now I could go on and describe the three panels that I attended in excruciating detail, but in the interest of not putting you to sleep, I think we'll discuss something that never fails to incite some form of interest: good ol' Digital Rights Management. Ah, DRM...what a tangled web you weave. The technology was a hot topic throughout the course of the conference. Unsurprisingly, the subject turned into a rousing debate during the Artists, Copyrights & Technologies panel, with panelists talking over one another and audience members chiming in out of turn. It was quite the frenzy. And it was great. Clearly, DRM is a touchy topic for many people who are involved in digital content--and that's a lot of people. We have the producers, negotiators, marketers, distributors, purchasers, and even educators, which is the term I apply loosely to myself and other tech editors who have the job of explaining DRM to frustrated users. Indeed, it takes very little provocation for me to get riled up about it myself--if you have any doubts, have a listen to the MP3 Insider podcast.

But back to the panelists. There was quite an array of backgrounds represented, which is always good at these "round tables." The moderator was an independent musician, as was the representative from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the founder of CD Baby (who, incidentally, founded the site to promote his own music--gotta love that). Then, there was the CEO of Songbird, the CEO and Chair of TAG Strategic, and a lawyer specializing in artists' rights. The moderator and the EFF rep (unsurprisingly) were the most outspoken against DRM, essentially noting that it restricted the artist and consumer alike and was the reason that many people acquired music through illegal means (P2P services)--they want to be able to get the music they like and play it on any device they want, i.e. fair use. That seemed to be the general feeling of the audience as well. For the most part, positive comments made by other panelists about DRM were met with at least a hint of disdain. Mostly, I think, because people have trouble separating DRM from its reputation, but there are some logical points to be gleaned from both sides the conversation.

First, many people are willing to contribute directly to the artist--or even invest in them--if they are given the opportunity and easy access to digital music that they can use how and where they please. In fact, there are those of us who believe that given the choice between this and getting free music from a questionable source, the overwhelming majority will choose the former. This also plays nicely into the idea that people value something more if they pay for it (even if it's just a penny), and this is an important thing for the musicians and many of the listeners. Not to say people still shouldn't be able to buy from stores such as iTunes, but once you take away the DRM it frees people up to purchase from many different sources for a variety of players, rather than getting stuck in a monopolostic "one device, one service" situation.

The other point is that not all DRM is bad. For example, music subscription services could not exist without it. The copy protection is necessary in order for the services to keep track of the time cycles of the subscriptions and to cut off access when a user ceases to pay. It's also necessary for Internet radio services to use some encryption--also DRM--in order to stay up and running, and I think we can all agree that having Internet radio readily available is a good thing. Innovative devices such as the Ibiza Rhapsody, the Slacker Portable Player, and the Sansa Connect would also not survive without DRM. The bottom line is that there should be different types of DRM to serve different purposes, but in the end what it should do is open up more opportunities for users to listen to music, rather than restrict and confuse.

OK, after that little DRM love fest I just had, I'm feeling a little dirty and would just like to state for the record that when it comes to piecemeal purchased downloads from online stores, I think they should all be DRM-free. And based on the existence of Amazon Digital Music and recent announcements from Napster and iTunes (not to mention a conversation with Rhapsody), that's the way things are headed...and soon, at that. In the end, the consumer will win (I hope) and that's all that matters to me. In closing, I'd like to push my personal agenda/belief that subscription music is the wave of the future, and quote Ted Cohen, who was the panelist from TAG Strategic: "You don't need to own it anymore...and it's not about 'renting' music; it's about gaining access."

This report was updated midday to reflect that Apple has confirmed the DRM-free iTunes price drop.

Apple has dropped the price of its iTunes Plus songs that have no digital rights management (DRM) software protection and allow owners to move song files freely from one device to another.

The 256kbps DRM-free song files were originally priced at $1.29 per song with a lower per-song average price for buying an entire album. iTunes now seems to be offering the same files for 99 cents per song, the same price it charges for its usual 128kbps DRM versions.

"iTunes Plus has been incredibly popular with our customers, and now we're making it available at an even more affordable price," Tom Neumayr, senior manager for iPods, Apple TV and iTunes, said in a statement. "We're adding over 2 million tracks from key independent labels, in addition to EMI's digital catalog, and look forward to even more labels and artists making their music available on iTunes Plus."

The change closely follows Amazon.com's launch of its own digital-music store.

As of September 25, Amazon.com began offering 256kbps DRM-free MP3s for between 89 cents and 99 cents each, depending on the song.

While Apple has made no formal comment as to why it's decided to reduce its DRM-free iTunes prices, Amazon's new music store could be the reason.

Cut the price of your music

(Credit: Steve Guttenberg)

I'm back at my favorite record store and I see a guy approach the owner with a proposition: "I want to buy music to put it on my iPod and then resell the disc to you." Intrigued, I jumped into the conversation, egging the guy on. "That's a great idea. Buy new or used DRM-free CDs, burn 'em to iTunes, and what the hell, burn a CD to keep, and resell the disc." The technique won't be cost effective on every title, but say for example you bought a used copy of Smashing Pumpkins "Zeitgeist" for $8.99, and post ripping sold it back to the store you bought it from for $4.00. Your cost would be $5.00 plus tax. Hmmm, the same music on iTunes goes for $11.99 and will most likely come saddled with DRM, so once the music is on your iPod, you're done. With the CD you're free to do what you want with the tunes, burn a copy for your car, and another copy to play at work. The cost advantages will, in many cases, hold true for brand new CDs as well.

I've already sporadically done the buy, burn, resell deal myself, but the guy clarified the methodology. Then again, I'm not condoning the ethics of the exercise, I like owning discs, I have 3,000 or so, but for you folks who would rather not deal with the clutter, this would be a good way to load your iPod. And if you care about sound quality, you could pack your 'Pod with full CD quality sounds. Apple offers no such alternative, gee, I wonder why.