Things That I'm Interested In…

Back in September 2007 Rick Rubin, whilst settling onto a velvet sofa, spoke to the New York Times about a music service that was going to revolutionise the music industry. It would save the record labels from collapse due to falling CD sales and the copyright crisis, and transform the way in which we listen to and purchase music…

“You would subscribe to music, you’d pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you’d like. In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cellphone, from your computer, from your television. Anywhere. The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home. You’ll say, ‘Today I want to listen to … Simon and Garfunkel,’ and there they are. The service can have demos, bootlegs, concerts, whatever context the artist wants to put out. And once that model is put into place, the industry will grow 10 times the size it is now.” – The New York Times Online

This, in some respects is coming true, but is its potential being maximised?

There are various websites out there now which allow DRM-free digital downloads based on a monthly or yearly subscription, but I don’t think that they are being promoted effectively. iTunes is still the most popular source of music on the internet but it isn’t necessarily the best, or cheapest for that matter. It does offer DRM-free downloads, albeit for a slightly higher price than the standard download, but the probable reason for it’s popularity is simply the fact that iPods are still the most popular portable music device; providing direct access to iTunes every time you connect it to your computer.

However, iTunes is being caught up by better services such as eMusic. Apple are yet to allow a subscription service, something which eMusic, along with other websites such as Rhapsody do allow. You gain unlimited access to DRM-free downloads for a fixed monthly sum, which is exactly what consumers need to begin migrating away from the illegal aquisition of MP3s. Nokia’s latest ‘Comes with Music’ service is the latest addition to an ever growing base of next-generation online music providers.

‘Comes with Music’ allows unlimited music downloads from Nokia’s website once you purchase their pay-as-you-go mobile phone for £130. It is not completely restriction-free though. The music can only be stored on one computer, or the Nokia handset itself, and once the year long subscription ends you are forced to buy another phone to continue.

“Nokia’s Comes With Music, available from October 16 in the UK, allows unlimited access to songs for a one-year period, but after that time a customer has to buy a new phone. Any songs downloaded are tied to the particular handset — the first Comes With Music model, the 5310, has 8GB of memory and can store 6,000 songs.” – The Times Online

This, in my opinion is a step in the right direction and could potentially become very popular. However it does depend on Nokia’s promotional tactics. The people who should be targeted are ‘hardcore’ downloaders, they need to see that for a comparatively minimal charge they can avoid the risk of prosecution and still download as much music as they like. The other websites out there are not currently doing this. Yes, you can easily find them on the web through a simple search, but only the people who actively want to legally purchase their music are going to do this. If the benefits of these services are not pushed in front of the people that matter then they are simply going to carry on as normal.