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http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/03/11/puretracks.music/

Puretracks hits DRM-free mobile music fray

updated 05:50 pm EDT, Tue March 11, 2008

 

Puretracks music


Puretracks, with labels Universal, Sony BMG, Warner, EMI, and various independents under its belt, is offering a new DRM-free mobile music store and service for BlackBerry smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM). As the latest company to take a stab at Apple's music download dominance, the new music service competes directly with Apple's WiFi iTunes store for the iPhone and iPod Touch and will work with the BlackBerry Pearl, BlackBerry Curve and BlackBerry 8800 series smartphones. Using compressed DRM-free AAC/AAC+ file formats, Puretracks Mobile Edition will be unveiled March 12 at the South By Southwest (SXSW) event in Austin, Texas. A full version of the mobile music service is expected to launch at CTIA Wireless April 1.

The new mobile music store, which will debut in the United States with future roll-out plans slated for Canada and other markets, will feature a "broad selection of songs from top mainstream and independent artists." The company says it is planning to implement support for Wi-Fi capable handsets, enabling BlackBerry smartphone users to download MP3 files over Wi-Fi connections, in the future.

Purtracks is now among a series of outlets to launch mobile music stores. Mobile entertainment firm Jamba (known as Jamster in the US) has claimed it would be the first company of its kind to offer cellphone music without digital rights management (DRM) in Europe. Meanwhile, the UK branch of European cellular provider Orange hopes to have music rental services on its handsets without copy protection in as little as half a year.


by MacNN Staff

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 iPhone, iTunes, music, audio, BlackBerry, wireless, smartphones, RIM, Pearl, Research in Motion, Puretracks, AAC, Apple

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Comments

  1. jhawk95

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Oct 2006

    0
    03/11, 09:05pm | report spam | Reply |

    Fray????

    I wouldn't exactly use the word FRAY to describe what they are doing here considering how far ahead Apple already is and seeing that just about EVERYONE else in the world who has taken on Apple has not come anything close to "competing" with Apple in this market.

    fray 2 |freɪ| |freɪ| noun ( the fray) a situation of intense activity, typically one incorporating an element of aggression or competition : nineteen companies intend to bid for the contract, with three more expected to enter the fray. • a battle or fight. ORIGIN late Middle English : from archaic fray [to quarrel,] from affray [startle,] from Anglo-Norman French afrayer (see affray ).

  1. Mixotic

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Apr 2005

    0
    03/11, 09:58pm | report spam | Reply |

    I wonder if...

    ...there may come a day when Apple will need to embrace competing online music stores. I would like to use a variety of services to get my music, and am usually forced to due to the different availability of artists in different stores.

    I think it's more in Apple' interest to sell hardware units and lose a few customers to other online outlets than not sell a device to those users at all.

  1. MrBallmer

    Baninated

    Joined: Mar 2008

    0
    03/11, 10:44pm | report spam | Reply |

    iTunes Killer!

    Tired of being screwed by apple?

    http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com

  1. ender

    Junior Member

    Joined: Mar 1999

    0
    03/11, 11:33pm | report spam | Reply |

    collusion?

    At what point does the fact that the major labels refuse to allow Apple to sell DRM-free music, while at the same time allowing others to sell it, start to look anti-competitive? And if all the labels are playing the same game, it's starting to look like collusion.

  1. Kainzow

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: May 2007

    0
    03/12, 01:04am | report spam | Reply |

    no collusion

    "At what point does the fact that the major labels refuse to allow Apple to sell DRM-free music, while at the same time allowing others to sell it..."

    Probably when Apple ditches their superior act and starts negotiating.

    The only thing preventing Apple from having any available content is their refusal to pay the asking price.

  1. elroth

    Fresh-Faced Recruit

    Joined: Jul 2006

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    03/12, 02:11am | report spam | Reply |

    re: no collusion

    ""At what point does the fact that the major labels refuse to allow Apple to sell DRM-free music, while at the same time allowing others to sell it..."

    Probably when Apple ditches their superior act and starts negotiating.

    The only thing preventing Apple from having any available content is their refusal to pay the asking price."

    That's total BS. You think Amazon is paying more to the labels than Apple is? The labels are giving better deals to these other music services just to try to take down iTunes. The fact that all the major labels (except EMI) are doing it is obviously collusion. They may not have actually talked it over, but they are colluding.

  1. testudo

    Forum Regular

    Joined: Aug 2001

    0
    03/12, 10:03am | report spam | Reply |

    Re: no collusion

    That's total BS. You think Amazon is paying more to the labels than Apple is? The labels are giving better deals to these other music services just to try to take down iTunes. The fact that all the major labels (except EMI) are doing it is obviously collusion. They may not have actually talked it over, but they are colluding.

    So the labels are colluding to try to beat out the monopolistic practices of Apple's ITMS.

    But you're mistaking "price" as just cost. The asking price was variable pricing, the object of which Apple has no problem with unless, of course, it doesn't suit them. Songs have to be one price. TV Shows have to be one price (why, beats me, since there's no way a half-hour comedy is worth the same as an hour sci-fi epic).

    But then combine them, and pricing is all over the map. Season passes of shows aren't a single price. Albums range from $7 to $100+. And the number of songs don't matter. Some albums with 5 songs will cost $10, the same as another album with 50 songs. But other albums with 10 songs will cost $13. Even when they went DRM-free, it was $1.29 for some songs, 99 cents for others, and users had to pay attention to realize how much they were paying.

  1. Flying Meat

    Junior Member

    Joined: Jan 2007

    0
    03/12, 12:19pm | report spam | Reply |

    same price...

    "(why, beats me, since there's no way a half-hour comedy is worth the same as an hour sci-fi epic)."

    There is a way, actually. Some folks value one half hour of laughter over an hour of ridiculous science fiction pap.

    go figure.

    Not saying "I" do, but, just saying...

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