MediaFuturist

Nokia Comes with Music - a 'private' music flat rate and music as the social glue

Nokia has announced that it is launching their Comes with Music (CmW) offering in the UK, Engadget reports. With 2.1 Million tracks from 3 of the 4 companies 'formerly known as major record labels', DRM'ed but without expiration date. Regardless of the obvious bummers (where are the indie labels, and why DRM?) I find this offer to be a very interesting step-up-the-ladder towards the Music Flat Rate that I have been describing for the past 5 years (lately, in my new book, Music 2.0... download the free PDF now!).

In a way, just like Google is doing in China, Nokia is using music as the social glue, i.e. to make sure people stick with their Nokia devices and receive lots of added value which imho is a really valid marketing strategy for Nokia - but of course not an overall solution to the vast music ecosystem problems; that will require the controling entities to get with the program, first.  In reality - even though the handsets will be a bit more expensive than usual I would guess - it is Nokia that will pay for the music so that people will in turn love them (and their phones) even more. Music Like Water paid for by the Faucet Makers, so to speak. Let's see where this goes!

Update: Elliot over at Wired Blog has another good take on this, Techmeme has more cool links
Disclosure: Nokia is one of my thinktank clients

Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM... says BusinessWeek

Hate to say it but....I told you so: Sony BMG Plans to Drop DRM.

"Abandoning an Outmoded Idea.....Many, including music executives, consider the industry's about-face long overdue. "This agreement is the first of many of these types we'll be announcing in the coming weeks and months," Warner Music Group Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. wrote in a Dec. 27 memo to employees explaining Warner's breakthrough deal with Amazon. "Many have argued that we could and should have done this long ago."

hypebot: What WMG MP3's On Amazon Really Means

And one more to go for my prediction to come true: all of the major labels selling MP3s by the end of 2007 (yes... a few months later but still ;); read this link from hypebot: What WMG MP3's On Amazon Really Means.

"With the addition of Warner Music Group product to its 2.9 million track DRM free mp3 catalog, Amazon is poised to to take on the mighty iTunes. The final piece of the product puzzle, Sony BMG, will inevitably be forced to join the other three major labels in freeing their downloads of unpopular and restrictive "copy protection..."

A Tipping Point For MP3s (Billboard reports on Pepsi / Amazon / WMG / SonyBMG deal

Hate to say it, but... told you so!  A Tipping Point For MP3s.

My comment:

MIC Norway: MusicOnline.no drops DRM

And another one. DRM free music, globally, by Christmas 2007!
Link: MIC Norway: Downloads.

Even Bob Dylan hates DRM

as evidenced below ;)

Finding DRM-Free Music Online (techcrunch list)

Nice summary by Techcrunch.  There are a LOT more sites that offer MP3s but this is a good start - I will post a few comments on this shortly.

Link: Finding DRM-Free Music Online.

My poll on DRM: all gone by XMas 2007? (Kyte.tv powered poll;)

Come on now... vote!  And hit the play button to hear some music while you do so :)

EMI's New Digital Strategy May Have Prevented A Worse June/July Slide (says Coolfer)

In response to one of the comments and questions on this blog, here is a link to a good post on Coolfer, trying to answer the question of whether EMI has fared better or worse with their decision to go DRM free.

Link: EMI's New Digital Strategy May Have Prevented A Worse June/July Slide.

Personally, I think this question is moot, for the most part: it is not like going DRM-free will solve all of the industry's problem in one big swoop. It's more like a trigger point - much like the Berlin wall coming down did not change East Germany in one day. More on this subject soon.

Google, Universal Music Partner To Sell DRM-Free Music

Link: Google, Universal Music Partner To Sell DRM-Free Music.

Looks like a hot summer (and autumn) for digital music and the Major Labels who seem to be finally waking up to what IS rather then what they WANT IT to be. Now this is what's going to happen - they will:
Step 1: drop DRM and sell music in the format that people actually want: MP3 (and other open formats - personally I'd love some good wav files!)
Step 2: bundle and combine music with SEARCH and Adds
Step 3: 'hide' the payments for music within another payments (access, ads etc), and license social networks and online communities to stream music on demand, without the usual DMCA compliant stuff
Step 4: share all kinds of revenue streams with all kinds of partners
Step 5: offer new deals to artists that will look like agency deals (well.. this will probably happen in parallel).

GOOD MORNING MAJOR RECORD LABELS. Listen to this soundtrack for immediate edification: Download alarm_clock_oldstyle.mp3  (courtesy of SoundSnap)

Finally... told you so;) - Universal Music Will Sell Songs Without Copy Protection - New York Times

"Signaling another departure from the music industry’s longtime antipiracy strategy, the Universal Music Group will sell a significant portion of its catalog without the customary copy protection software for at least the next few months, the company announced yesterday...."

Link: Universal Music Will Sell Songs Without Copy Protection - New York Times.  and many other links

It looks like my predictions will indeed hold up: DRM in digital music will be toast by the end of this year. Good to see someone is finally waking up at the Major Record Labels. 

In a nutshell, this is like the Berlin Wall Coming coming down. It took a loooooong time but when it happened it crumbled in a very short time, changing the landscape forever.

This is what I think of DRM (video of Digital Music Panel at the Commonwealth Club San Francisco)

Download the iPod version of this video (btw, thanks to ForaTV for making and posting this video - I love their tagline: " The world is thinking ")

Download digital_music_panel_discussion_pros_and_cons_of_drm.m4v

Read more here and

Download the_future_of_music_media_entertainment__drop_drm_or_become_irrelevant_why_the_music_industry_needs_to_drop_drm_and_sell_unprotected_digital_music_now.pdf

And while you're at it, here is an iPod version of my "Unlock the Music" Video

Download unlock_the_music_gerd_leonhard.m4v

Short Science Fiction Stories: Gucci DRM Free!

Funny pun on DRM ;) Link: Short Science Fiction Stories: Gucci DRM.

DRM Watch: MySpace Adopts Windows Media DRM for Major Label Music (But, says Gerd: will anyone buy anything???)

Link: DRM Watch: MySpace Adopts Windows Media DRM for Major Label Music. Good report from Bill Rosenblatt at DRM Watch, as usual. But here is the thing, Bill: will ANYONE buy this music with this fantastic DRM? Isn't Windows Media universally hated by the user since it's not supported by very many devices? Isn't that what Napster, Yahoo Music and Rhapsody are suffering from? Who in his right mind will buy this omni-protected music that requires me to lock into windows DRM devices?  This, imho, is like trying to sell a car than can only get gas from Shell stations.  Good luck... or shall I say, good riddance?  I think it's time for the major labels to stop jerking the users around with their security desires and post-purchase control obsession. They can do that now, or they can do it later - the differences is 100s of millions in lost revenues.

The dam is breaking: DRM is over. Amazon to Launch MP3 Download Store in May; Universal on Board | Digital Media Wire

                                                                                         It's a new game now. I have always thought that Jeff Bezos is one of the smartest guys around, but this latest development will probably send their stock through the roof. Amazon has huge trust and loyalty on the Net, tens of millions of faithful users, and over 1 Million online affiliates - once they go out with an MP3-based digital music offering everyone else will have to run for cover (but hey, Apple still won't care - they make the coolest devices!).  I predict that Amazon will become the biggest seller of digital music within 12-18 months IF all the labels go with this new tidal shift (away from DRM) - well, of course, they really don't have a choice do they.  I also predict that within 3 months of launching MP3 based services, all retailers will start bundling digital music with other products, therefore drastically reducing the effective, user-paid price for music, and leading to explosive purchase behavior that will ring in a whole new era for the music industry. As I have always said: stop chasing Total Control, and start receiving more $$ instead.  Watch my 2007 predictions and other videos here.  Sign up for my newsletter here. Report: Amazon to Launch MP3 Download Store in May; Universal on Board | Digital Media Wire.

"Report: Amazon to Launch MP3 Download Store in May; Universal on Board Submitted by Mark Hefflinger on April 16, 2007 - 11:03am. New York - Online retail giant Amazon.com is poised to launch its own digital music download store in May that will sell songs in the unprotected MP3 format, Billboard reported. Amazon declined to comment for the story on its entry into a market currently dominated by Apple's iTunes Store. Label sources told Billboard that some are waiting until after it launches, or until a major label signs on before they decide whether to support the service; others are negotiating with Amazon over a premium price to be charged for higher-fidelity 256K MP3 downloads. Billboard also reports that major label Universal Music Group plans to test the sale of unprotected songs at the Amazon store and other retailers, including some of its classical catalog and music from other genres. The news follows fellow major label EMI's recent announcement that it would sell songs as unprotected MP3s on iTunes and other services. Amazon ditched plans last year to launch a subscription-based service utilizing Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format, after Microsoft closed off its Zune player to competing services..."