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2005, Oct 27

Music Shops Come of Age

Filed under: Uncategorized — Hrishikesh @ 17:58

In case you haven’t noticed already, and I still will be pretty amused if you really haven’t, online music shops are really coming up big time. And they are doing really good too!
 
First, Apple hit it huge with the iTunes Store, which just opened up it’s Australian website down under. Many me-too sites have come up, following iTunes, wanting to cash on in the opportunity. At 99 cents per song, it’s not that very expensive by American standards. Plus, the satisfaction of a legal download. But this is not a post about that.
 
This post is instead a showcase about the VSNL – Tata Indicom and SoundBuzz collaboration. Yes, it’s a music store, targeted to the Indian audience. You need to have a VSNL Internet Account, and the same ID can be used to login to the online store. There is a decent selection (over 300000 tracks) from SONY BMG, Warnern Music, EMI and Universal. And each download costs something between Rs. 8/- to Rs. 20/- per song.
 
What is interesting is the revenue model. The amount is deducted from your VSNL account, or if you are with post-paid plans, you get a bill for those downloads. The downloads themselves are in WMA format, and the site uses DRM allows you to make three copies of the file. One for the host machine, the other for your supported portable player, and a third for burning to a CD.
 
The way this has been tied about the VSNL account is awesome. It speaks volumes about the market strategy being used by the moguls of the Tata Industries. Hats off to them!
 
As far as I can tell, when they start advertising this explicitly, people are going to get hooked. Yes, the cost is a little deterring at present, but if iTunes is any indication, people will still flock to it. This has interesting repercussion for the entire Indian music industry. Hope they don’t screw it up!
 
Even more, it means that companies are growing up to recognize the potential. And that internet is growing in India. If a company can decide to actually go the distance by setting up a working e-shop, they are already there. Wonder what is the current download rate… This is going to be one hell of a thing to follow!
 
I’m simply glad that this is happening in my lifetime.
 
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DISCLAIMER: I do not work for, or endorse, or receive any renumeration for this post. Though if any one feels that this blog is a good enough medium, I’ll be willing to consider.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5154159 rohit bhute

    Thats the way its meant to be. I will go even ahead and ask the companies to stop using those 1/8 inch tapes and CDs. Full e-distribution. And let the customer decide where he wants the song – on a tape, CD or on MP3/WMA player.

    About that – what is this supported player funda? AFAIK, all players play all songs that could already be played on your PC. Or is this something else?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5154159 rohit bhute

    Thats the way its meant to be. I will go even ahead and ask the companies to stop using those 1/8 inch tapes and CDs. Full e-distribution. And let the customer decide where he wants the song – on a tape, CD or on MP3/WMA player.

    About that – what is this supported player funda? AFAIK, all players play all songs that could already be played on your PC. Or is this something else?

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5164138 Hrishikesh

    Supported player implies that the player must fully support WMA and DRM. The file would not play if the player cannot access the license, and decode the song.

    Of course, since you can burn the file to a CD, I still don’t quite understand why someone cannot rip it later on and convert to MP3/FLAC/AAC/OGG/WMA for everyone’s listening pleasure.

    ===========

    There is a major typo in the Disclaimer. Remuneration, not renumeration.

    Yes, I am too lazy to edit.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5164138 Hrishikesh

    Supported player implies that the player must fully support WMA and DRM. The file would not play if the player cannot access the license, and decode the song.

    Of course, since you can burn the file to a CD, I still don’t quite understand why someone cannot rip it later on and convert to MP3/FLAC/AAC/OGG/WMA for everyone’s listening pleasure.

    ===========

    There is a major typo in the Disclaimer. Remuneration, not renumeration.

    Yes, I am too lazy to edit.

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5164138 Hrishikesh

    And now they are selling it to the cell phones too. Direct. Very expensive, and prolly crappy quality too… But hey, make hay while the sun shines!

  • http://www.blogger.com/profile/5164138 Hrishikesh

    And now they are selling it to the cell phones too. Direct. Very expensive, and prolly crappy quality too… But hey, make hay while the sun shines!

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