We all knew it was coming -- those of us who were paying attention, anyway. And I somehow think that there are more people paying attention to these things, now that Apple's got some stuff that has a more widespread appeal.
(Well, widespread appeal in the form of kick-ass gadgets that are compatible with Windows systems, too.)
Me, I'm gonna have to get off my rear and buy a couple of songs myself. I've never felt the need to download online music before through any of the "sharing" services, but dangit, this kind of thing is too important to not support. It's the kind of innovation that will help secure a less exploitative version of the Web for the rest of us, instead of the fascist society the entertainment cartels are trying to desperately save from inevitable oblivion.
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
Checked it out tonight... large variety, but it's missing a lot of artists and songs I'd be looking for... I tend to find myself listening to comparatively obscure music due to my tastes and my normal listening station, which tends to play lots of odd remixes anyway. (Half of the links they have available to CDNow don't even work...)
Posted by Toadkiller (Member # 425) on :
Having enough obscure music for everyone is certainly the biggest hurdle facing Apple (and the other on-line stores) at the moment. It is frustrating to get on the store and not find what you want - but the same could be said of a regular retail CD shop... I think the real trick is getting the artists on board with it, which Apple has an in with.
I've got Macs so I've been using it for awhile - I like it and the selection is getting better, they'll have doubled their library by the end of the month.
Now we'll see how well the DRM will hold up.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
Yeah, and the problem with getting the obscure music is, ironically, the independent music label companies. What gave the store it's quick start was that Apple only had to negotiate with the five major companies to get a huge chunk of music all in one go -- but for everything else, they pretty much have to go on a case-by-case basis, at least for the time being. And because the product is in a format that's not really available anywhere else (not for the same price anyway, and not online) then it's not something that could work like Amazon.com where they can just resell what's already on the market.
Posted by Charles Capps (Member # 9) on :
It Would Be Nice™ if they had a "requests" form, where you could provide information about an album/publisher so that Apple could approach them with a "Hey, people want to buy your stuff, wanna sign up?" thing...
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
They do have such a form! Or at least, they DID a while ago. I submitted a request myself several months ago.
The only drawback to that is the unavoidable delay involved in Apple taking notice of the requests, then presenting the independent label with a proposal, waiting for the label to respond to the proposal, then hammer out a deal, and THEN get the damn music online!
Still, considering that the iTunes Store catalogue has literally doubled in the past six months, I would say that it's off to a reasonably good start...
Posted by deadcujo (Member # 13) on :
Is iTune the one with the commercials where the rabbi and his friends sing to rap songs? That commercial alone makes me not want to buy songs online. At least Jeff Goldblum wasn't in it, eh? I'm going to stick to just buying music in stores for a while.
Posted by The359 (Member # 37) on :
Could have been an iPod commercial, but those seem to coincide these days.
Posted by Fleet-Admiral Michael T. Colorge (Member # 144) on :
Apple was right... hell froze over.
Hehe...
I just downloaded the iTunes for Windows and I like... much easier to use than MusicMatch Jukebox when it comes to edit music info and burining CD's.
Posted by MinutiaeMan (Member # 444) on :
quote:Originally posted by deadcujo: Is iTune the one with the commercials where the rabbi and his friends sing to rap songs? That commercial alone makes me not want to buy songs online. At least Jeff Goldblum wasn't in it, eh? I'm going to stick to just buying music in stores for a while.
I don't know for certain, but from past experience, Apple usually posts most if not all versions of its commercials online for people to check out. (Like that hilarious one with Yao Ming and Verne Troyer with the two new PowerBooks last winter.)
I downloaded iTunes today, and it is so much better then what I had to use before. In terms of just normally listening to music, I'm divided between Media Player and iTunes, because they both have their ups and downs that I like and dislike.
As for the store, don't care, don't plan to use it in the first place.
But for syncing with my iPod, woah, no comparison. Windows users were stuck with nothing but MusicMatch Jukebox before, and that thing sucks a big one. iTunes syncs with my iPod without me having to press any buttons, it automatically recognizes my iPod, it automatically loads playlists, and it seems to load in about half the time that it takes MusicMatch.
So I completely deleted MusicMatch and am now fiddling with iTunes.
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