NovaScene

Napster relaunches with 6 million DRM free MP3s

Administrator — Wed, 21 May 2008 04:44:39 +0000

Once upon a time, Napster was the place to go to get all your music needs. It had a simple interface, and you could search, download and play your favourite songs within minutes. The problem was, just about everything on Napster was illegal. Fast forward a few years later, and now the new new Napster has taken a leaf from Amazon’s playbook. Napster’s version 4.5 of its software and store now offer 6 million unprotected (DRM free) MP3 tracks for US$0.99 each.

Hopefully the four major labels will soon warm up to Apple and offer the entire iTunes DRM-free, too.

[ via CNET Crave ]

Apple iTunes : largest music retailer in the world

Administrator — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:20:54 +0000

Starting from scratch just a few years ago, Apple has done the impossible with the iTunes Store. Now, having sold over 4 billion songs, Apple has claimed the top spot as the largest music retailer in the world. The giant that they had to beat was the mighty Wal-Mart.

Next step : largest media seller in the world?

Guitar Hero 3 rocks digital song downloads

Administrator — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 00:43:06 +0000

Have you played Guitar Hero 3 yet? It may not teach you how to play a real guitar, but it sure is a lot of fun. Apparently, it’s also good for the songs featured in the game. Ben Kuchera of Ars Technica reports that digital sales of the songs in Guitar Hero have increased dramatically.

For example, Slipknot’s track “Before I Forget” jumped up 75 percent the week of Guitar Hero 3’s release, and it went further up 140 percent the week after. I guess we will have bands lining up to include their songs in the next Guitar Hero add-ons and Guitar Hero 4.

Shock horror : music boss admits he was wrong

Administrator — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:34:12 +0000

Umm, excuse me? Warner Music CEO Edgar Bronfman did something unusual for a music industry executive : he admitted the mistakes that they made. He said :”How were we wrong? By standing still or moving at a glacial pace, we inadvertently went to war with consumers by denying them what they wanted and could otherwise find and as a result of course, consumers won.”

He was talking to mobile operators at the GSMA Mobile Asia Congress in Macau, and was discussing about the missteps that they made, which lead to the rise of illegal peer to peer sharing.

Stats on the Radiohead experiment

Administrator — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:04:20 +0000

Last month, British band Radiohead was brave enough to try out an experiment with their latest album. Fans could name their own price (even free) when downloading the DRM-free album. Aside from getting massive amounts of coverage from the press and the Internet media, how well did Radiohead do?

Comscore tracked all the information during the experiment, and have shared the numbers. So, did anyone actually pay for the download? Only 40% (2 out of 5) downloaders actually paid for the In Rainbows album. Of those, the majority paid less than $8, although 4% paid up to $20. All told, that’s not a bad result.

Comscore is pretty happy with it, calling this project “a resounding success for Radiohead and music fans everywhere”. Hopefully, many other artistes will follow suit. Music labels must follow suit or be rendered obsolete.