Author John Scalzi outlines, hilariously, why Sony BMG’s plan for selling non-DRMed songs online is ridiculous and doomed to spectacular failure.

“Kid #1: Also, what’s with this first slate of artists? Celine Dion? Backstreet Boys? Kenny Chesney? Barry Manilow? Are you high?

Sony BMG dude: They appeal to the sort of mainstream consumer who will see the convenience of our revolutionary music cards!

Kid #2: Like my mom? Dude, she’s not going to buy a card. She’s going to buy a CD. Because she’s at the CD store. Where she can buy CDs.

Sony BMG dude: They also make lovely gifts!”

Kid #1: If she gets one as a gift, all she’s going to do is ask me how the heck she’s supposed to use it. And then she’s going ask me to get the download for her. Like I’m not busy. And you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to return the card for cash, and then I’m going to download the album off of Pirate Bay, because you’ve confused and upset my mom. And annoyed me.”

Link.

Like TechCrunch, he’s also suggesting that they want it to fail, so they can say they tried to sell non-DRMed songs but there just wasn’t demand. But, again, I’m worried that this gives Sony BMG too much credit.

I’d be shocked if they didn’t actually think that this was a good idea. I think they figure this is a brilliant promotion. They see the demand for non-DRM. They also see sinking CD sales. What do they do? They entice those interested in non-DRMed songs into going to the store where — Ta da! — CDs are available. They print these plastic cards for next to nothing as an enticement to increase CD sales.

Of course, they’re still deluded enough to believe that consumers are willing to jump through their hoops, still concerned about their backward and antiquated business model. But, as always, they’ll be proved profoundly wrong.

Try again, Sony.

What is wrong with these people? It’s like they insist on making everything as terrible as possible.

Because a rootkit wasn’t bad enough. Because admitting DRM is a bad idea by telling people how simple it is to get around wasn’t bad enough.

Well, now that they’ve finally decided to drop DRM, here’s how they plan to implement it:

“DRM free music from Sony BMG will be available from January 15 to those who purchase a plastic card called the “Platinum Music Pass” for the album they want from a retail store for $12.99. Buyers will then have to visit MusicPass.com and enter a code to download the DRM free album they selected in the store.”

You have to go to the store, by a piece of plastic, go back home, and then download the songs DRM-free.

Wow. I hope lots of people get fired for this.

TechCrunch suggests that maybe they’re setting this up to fail, so that they can claim there was no demand for DRM-free and go back to selling DRMemd music.

Me? I think they’re just idiots.

Link.

Photo credit: swanksalot on Flickr, used under license. 

To the point, even, that I don’t want my mp3s to think I don’t like them.

Yeah.

I’ve noticed a really odd thing that I’ve been doing for some time that I don’t quite understand. It seems that instead of skipping to the next song in Amarok when it’s near its end, I’ll restore the window and drag the time slider to the end of the song. This is because I’m worried that skipping the song will affect its rating/score, and I don’t want to do that if I like the song.

I even have a few “sacrificial” songs in my playlist. When I want to skip to an album way down on the list, I’ll place the song to be sacrificed below the current track, drag the slider to the end, and then once it’s playing the sacrificial song I can safely skip to the song I’d wanted. Because I don’t care if the sacrificial song gets a bad rating.

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The following is a review for Matthew Ebel‘s album, Goodbye Planet Earth. I wrote it for iTunes and then decided “You know what? I want more people to hear how much I love this album. I’ll post it on YouMakeMedia too!” It’s also related to what we talk about here because almost all the promotion and execution of the album was done via new media marketing techniques – Second Life, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, etc. It’s a very new twist on music marketing; very dynamic and exciting. Oh by the way, I exaggerate nothing here. Honestly – I love this album. It may be one of the best I’ve heard this year (and I just got a stack of fifteen CDs for Christmas so I have heard quite a bit this year). It is really a great album. You should buy it! (and no, I wasn’t paid to say this!)

In his newest album, “Goodbye Planet Earth”, singer/instrumentalist/songwriter Matthew Ebel has crafted what may be his magnum opus – his greatest work. The album is varied in its musical exploration, incorporating dynamic dance styles (A Cautionary Tail), modernist instrumental tunes (Gray Planet), a capella (Lost My Way), and classic Ebel piano-rock (Goodbye Planet Earth, Every Color). With all the available listening options, “Goodbye Planet Earth” will never bore you, and as you jump around the album you will quickly find your favorite track.

At the same time though, Ebel accomplishes something far more impressive: the songs, though catchy and great in isolation, are even more strong when listened to as a cohesive album. Transitions are smooth and logical, and where they might not make sense, Ebel has carefully inserted instrumental tracks. There are reprises, melody replications (where they makes sense), and the layout of the tracks was undoubtedly intentional. This album is no musical pastiche, it is a well-defined, expertly conducted overture with Ebel as maestro.

Matthew Ebel proved he could write catchy tunes with his previous album, “Beer and Coffee”, but “Goodbye Planet Earth” proves his ability to assemble an album – a skill reminiscent of the rock greats who preceded him; Brian Wilson, The Beatles, The Who, Pink Floyd. It is not hard to imagine this album crossing into the mainstream and one can only hope that Mr. Ebel is rewarded thus. He certainly deserves it – “Goodbye Planet Earth” presents a listening experience unlike any album released in 2007; it is equal parts emotional, exotic, ephemeral, and engaging. Matthew Ebel has set the bar high for podsafe and independent music.

Reading through the release notes of Soundtrack Pro 2.0.2, this little bugger caught my eye (it was actually listed in the release notes for 2.0.1, but I never saw it before):

iTunes Store Media Files
Soundtrack Pro does not support opening or importing any iTunes Store media files

Ok, that makes sense — if it stopped there. But it doesn’t. It continues…

iTunes Store Media Files
Soundtrack Pro does not support opening or importing any iTunes Store media files, including iTunes Plus files.

Wait. What?

including iTunes Plus files.

including iTunes Plus files.

including iTunes Plus files.

Says here:

“Consumers are going to love listening to higher quality iTunes Plus tracks from their favorite EMI artists with no usage restrictions.”

I think Apple has a few questions to answer…

1. Are iTunes Plus files really “DRM-free”?
2. How can they block Soundtrack Pro from opening iTunes Plus files?

I’m a bit confused right now, and I think with good reason. If anyone can shed light on the subject that would rock. Mmk?

If you google a few terms like Sony Viral Video Backlash you’ll find out what happens when marketers try to use the participants of a social network, instead of just trying to harness the network.

I once organized a charity Walk-a-Thon on Facebook, and I got to see what happens when you use a network, instead of its participants.

What’s the difference? Transparency. Participation implies consent, and when marketers try to trick people into doing their advertising for them, bad things ensue.

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