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Another “Free” Music Service Looks Too Good To Be True |
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It’s going to be a short one music-wise tonight. With FISA and Donna Edwards today, I’m pretty much blogged out…
The premise: Free music downloads from your phone. You can listen to them on your computer too. Music from all the labels. Not bad huh?
The Reality: Probably too good to be true.
London-based company Omnifone today announced the launch of MusicStation Max — a worldwide mobile music download service that offers ‘free’ unlimited downloads of music from the four major labels (Sony BMG, Universal, EMI and Warner), directly to mobile phones over the air. In the UK, Omnifone will offer a catalogue of 1.5 million tracks — a solid figure, but not one that will cover the entire catalogue of each major label.
The problems seem immediately obvious. For one, the tracks will be “protected” with DRM. This likely means no transferring to your iPod, no CD burning, no freedom. DRM has killed ideas like this in the past, and labels are starting to abandon it altogether. Seems like Omnifone is behind the times.
Second, the music will be downloaded to your computer using Mac or PC software. This should be a red flag to anyone. Do you like the music player you use now, whether it be iTunes, Winamp, or what have you? If so, why would you switch to whatever piece of software Omnifone devises? Special software to listen to the tracks you’ve downloaded with this service might be a deal killer for many.
And of course, you’ll probably have to pay something for the mobile data bandwidth you use to download this music.
It’s hard to compete with free. Obtaining music through file sharing is incredibly easy. Any product that puts barriers in front of users won’t be as widely accepted as it could be. Throw in DRM, special software, and mobile data charges and you start to see a product that won’t take off.
To make it in the brave new world of digital music, you have to compete with free. You have to offer something file sharing doesn’t. It could be higher quality tracks, bonus artwork, or even the option of donating to your favorite band (like Radiohead). It just needs to be something.
Looks like Omnifone might not have what it takes to compete.
I like your comments on tis “free” service. But the bigger issue will be in the fine print… No doubt the cost of the music license will be added to the user’s mobile phone service. This is ostensibly what Nokia did with their “Comes With Music” service. Sure there was no cost to download, but the cost of the overall mobile contract went up to recoup the added expense.
It’s worth noting that nothing is “free.” This is like a law of thermodynamics — cost can only be transferred, but never destroyed. Either the consumer pays, the producer pays, or someone in the middle pays (usually sponsors). If I’m not paying for my download, someone else is (in the case of P2P, it’s the producer/label/artist).
Music downloads might be better considered as barter. As a music consumer, what am I willing to exchange for this DRM-free track? Maybe I’ll suffer some ads; maybe I’ll pay some money; maybe I’ll take the time and risk of P2P.
I think the barter can work, as long as it offer some advantages over the truly free. P2P is easy to use, but it could be easier. Often you get tracks of lower quality or you simply can’t find what you’re looking for. I do think people will be willing to trade something for a better customer experience. It just seems few companies have found a good trade yet.