During an in-depth discussion with a work colleague last week (basically he was trolling the "Linux users want everything for free" point of view) the discussion moved round to digital music downloads, and how people should support ITunes (he's a Mac user).
My point was that the DRM used for ITunes rules it out for me (the DRM isn't supported on Linux). Even for Apple's DRM free stuff the necessity to run the ITunes player to access the ITunes shop rules Linux out unless you are willing to try and run it through Wine.
The main alternative if you are running Linux is to buy the CD and rip it to MP3 or OGG yourself. Amazon was suggested as an alternative source of legal MP3s.
So I checked. Amazon do sell DRM free MP3s which is great. . . . . . if you live in America. That's right - they don't sell to Europe yet.
So what other options do we have in the UK for this?
HMV also sell regular MP3s, alongside the DRM'd WMA files, but as their site says if you try and access it from FireFox:
Unfortunately at the moment, hmv downloads is not compatible with Firefox, Safari or Opera browsers.
If you can see this message, please access the service using Internet Explorer.
Bugger. Another route blocked.
That leaves us with Play.com. Their service supports MP3s, and works through any browser. They've also got a fairly decent range of music to choose from, and they are cheaper than the competition.
To quote the Play.com site:
Works with all MP3 players, including IPods. DRM free MP3s. No software to install.
Nice one! Track prices range from around 60p to 70p each (this varies from album to album but appears to be cheaper than the competition) and are encoded as 192khz and 320khz MP3s, again this varies from album to album, but most new ones seem to be 320khz.
So for commercial DRM free music downloads on Linux it looks like it is a one horse race at the moment, with Play.com being the only runner.
So do any of you know of any legal DRM free download services that run on native Linux and are available to those of us in the UK?
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music. Show all posts
Sunday, 20 July 2008
Thursday, 20 September 2007
SpiralFrog update
A couple of days ago I wrote about Universal's SpiralFrog service, and mentioned some of its teething problems, such as the broken links, problem with downloads and so forth.
Well, I'm glad to say that it looks like most of the teething problems are resolved. There has been a lot of new music uploaded and overall (ignoring the DRM issues) it doesn't seem a bad service.
One strange point is this - I'm in the UK and was able to sign up without problems a couple of days ago. Now it claims that the service is only for USA and Canada only. And that the site is still in beta. I've had a look at the sign-up process, and it gives a large error that "You are connecting to SpiralFrog via UNITED KINGDOM." Eeek! Don't let those horrible Brits download free music!
Well, as far as I'm concerned I signed up in good faith, so pffffft! to the idea of not using the service now.
Well, I'm glad to say that it looks like most of the teething problems are resolved. There has been a lot of new music uploaded and overall (ignoring the DRM issues) it doesn't seem a bad service.
One strange point is this - I'm in the UK and was able to sign up without problems a couple of days ago. Now it claims that the service is only for USA and Canada only. And that the site is still in beta. I've had a look at the sign-up process, and it gives a large error that "You are connecting to SpiralFrog via UNITED KINGDOM." Eeek! Don't let those horrible Brits download free music!
Well, as far as I'm concerned I signed up in good faith, so pffffft! to the idea of not using the service now.
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Psst! Hey buddy, want some free music?
Universal have released a new music service with a bit of a twist - you can download the albums for free.
Their SpiralFrog service has been in beta for a while but has now been released to the general public. You can subscribe for free, install their download manager and be off downloading legal music before you know it.
Providing you use Windows. And aren't allergic to DRM. And you don't want to burn it to CD. Or play it on the majority of MP3 players (such as IPods, Mobile Phones, cheap EBay Mp3 players).
If are willing to use Windows for your musical needs, or your MP3 player supports PlaysForSure DRM then you're laughing. There is a good selection of albums there already and the quality of the tracks is OK (128kbps). The site is still experiencing some teething problems, and I found that the easiest way to download an album was one track at a time, as having multiple tracks in the download list causes download errors after the first couple of tracks. There have also been more than a couple of 404 errors when following links on the site.
One other detail is that you'll need to renew your account every 30 days by answering some questions on their website. If you don't then your music stops working. Nice.
At present, if you are a Windows user and want a legal way to increase your music collection then this isn't a bad option, but for the rest of us it isn't as good as it could have been.
Their SpiralFrog service has been in beta for a while but has now been released to the general public. You can subscribe for free, install their download manager and be off downloading legal music before you know it.
Providing you use Windows. And aren't allergic to DRM. And you don't want to burn it to CD. Or play it on the majority of MP3 players (such as IPods, Mobile Phones, cheap EBay Mp3 players).
If are willing to use Windows for your musical needs, or your MP3 player supports PlaysForSure DRM then you're laughing. There is a good selection of albums there already and the quality of the tracks is OK (128kbps). The site is still experiencing some teething problems, and I found that the easiest way to download an album was one track at a time, as having multiple tracks in the download list causes download errors after the first couple of tracks. There have also been more than a couple of 404 errors when following links on the site.
One other detail is that you'll need to renew your account every 30 days by answering some questions on their website. If you don't then your music stops working. Nice.
At present, if you are a Windows user and want a legal way to increase your music collection then this isn't a bad option, but for the rest of us it isn't as good as it could have been.
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