It's official: record companies don't like you. After all that griping about signing up for the
Zune music store -- and keep in mind that these record companies receive
monies for selling songs here -- that resulted in Universal Music Group getting some sort of
fat royalty check from Microsoft for Zune sales, not to mention whatever negotiations went on behind closed doors to come up with that ridiculously minimal "three days or three plays" sharing scheme, a couple of labels have once again gone out of their way to make life hard on you. It appears Sony Music and Universal Music Group are marking certain artists of theirs as "prohibited" for sharing, meaning that just because you've paid for a song, and even managed to find another Zune user on the planet Earth, doesn't mean you'll necessarily get to beam that JoJo track to another Zune via WiFi magics. In a non-scientific sampling of popular artists by Zunerama and Zune Thoughts, it looks like it's roughly 40-50 percent of artist that fall under this prohibited banner, and the worst news is that there's no warning that a song might be unsharable until you actually try to send it and fail. Oh well, maybe you can just hum a few bars or something -- just make sure the labels don't hear you!
[Via
ClicZune]
Read - Zunerama
Read - Zune Thoughts
posted January 19th 2007 11:38AM
Please stop being naive, a business is setup to make money, they don't hate or love us, they really don't care, but making money is the priority.
"It's official: record companies don't like you."
Please stop being naive, a business is setup to make money. They don't hate us or love us, they realy don't care. Making money is the priority.
Amazing... so many people are quick to blame the Zune when this is in fact a DRM issue. You want to get around this??? Don't buy music from an online store! Buy a CD, rip it, and like magic, No DRM!!! No Restrictions!!! No hassles!!! Imagine that, suddenly you are free to share music. *sigh*
"It's official: record companies don't like you."
Please stop being naive, a business is setup to make money. They don't hate us or love us, they realy don't care. Making money is the priority.
I think what a lot people who post on blogs and comment on blogs about the notorious and evil nature of organizations like the RIAA don't realize is that the reason why the RIAA still exists is because there are way more consumers who don't know or care or read engadget. The only thing that matters to little Suzie and her dad is that little Suzie can take her music she gets from iTunes and puts it on her iPod and is happy. Her dad is happy cuz Suzie is quiet and content and all the parts like iTunes and iPod, or ZVM and WMP11 just work and there is no bitching. We who so desparately wish the RIAA would fall off a cliff and hit every damned pebble before plummeting straight to hell are a very rare breed in the face of the entire market.
Yes, more people blog by the day, and eventually, the general public will wake up and realize the ass-raping they've been getting over the years from the industry. But as it stands, at this moment, there are very few alternatives we have, some are illegal, which most of us clearly brush off as simply sticking it to the man. Some are legal, but come at a very heavy cost, like burning and re-ripping the protection off of our files. And then there are legal ways that just work, but are somewhat cumbersome and inconvenient, like buying the cd's, especially in the case of just requesting one or two tracks. All we can do is continue our own game, let the industry play theirs, and in due time it will be us, the consumer, who bends the industry over and gives it right back to them.
I feel sorry for those being suckered into the HD market. The guy at Best Buy tells John or Jim that this Brand new plasma will last them for years and with the introduction of HD movies, their home theater will be complete. What they fail to mention is that in two years, one of the machines will become obsolete due to market restrictions like HDCP, (either the TV without HDMI like mine, or the player), where in some cases, could potentially scale back a Blu-Ray movie from 1080p, which would look sweet on that new plasma, all the way back to 480i, standard-def tv, which most of us know, is a bitch on a big screen digital tv.
I didn't like thier comment about "finding another zune owner on the earth" I purchased a zune the day ti came out, and after the holidays , I found out atleast a dozen people I knew had a zune too.
One thing Engadget left out was , this only applies to tracks bought from the zune store.
When you go to a store and a salesperson sells you something don't you take the time to read the instructions? It is only DRM music that can't be played for more than 3 plays or 3 days. And why are you blaming Microsoft for Sony's greed? That is so sick. In Michigan they prosecuted a 12 year old girl for downloading songs off the net and not paying royalties. How sick is that? And you blame Microsoft who gives you a sleek new peice of machinery that ties in nicely with your xbox and your pc.
Besides you can share videos, movies and pictures too. It's not just music.
"It's official: record companies don't like you."
Please stop being naive, a business is setup to make money. They don't hate us or love us, they realy don't care. Making money is the priority.
people actually buy songs from the Zune Marketplace?
You can find media rights on tracks from within the Zune software...
How about, right-mouse clicking, selecting properties, clicking Media Usage tab.
Are you all seriously crying over the fact you can't share a JoJo tune you may have purchased?
Please...as if any of you are actually paying for that "40% to 50%" of the DRM'd songs Sony and Universal blocked, and if you really have a JoJo track you don't have a lot of room to diss the Zune.
In real life useage I've not had one single file I've transferred to another Zune block. Not one file over four different units shared. Why? Cause I don't pay for Sony crap anyway.
This article is getting way more hype than it deserves thanks to the Apple cult, and just because some board had that amount block does not mean that all Zune users are going to get the same results. It all depends on how much music you actually bought and if those specific files are the ones blocked by Sony and Universal. That amount is a whopping zero files on mine.
This is Microsoft's fault. In their zest to offer a iTunes/iPod competitor, they signed ill-advised agreements with Universal. I don't think Universal should get a percentage of Zune sales in addition to the per song fee. What if I buy a Zune and NEVER buy a Universal song? Now, I've paid a fee to a publisher for nothing! I guess Universal had Microsoft by the balls and said the Zune is nothing without content. Pay us the fee or we won't let you use our music library. Regardless of whether you like Zune or iPod, the music industry should not be able to force different terms on different hardware manufacturers. Microsoft and Apple should have insisted on the same terms for all players, and then let the devices prosper or fail on their own merits.
instead of Welcome to the Social, Microsoft should have the box read Welcome to the restrictions.
This is why I continue to not pay for music, when you give me free, unrestricted access to something I pay for im down but with bullsh*t like this happening constantly you cant ever pay and know your getting what you pay for so the solution is simply not to pay for it. Maybe they will come to their senses or they will go out of business, I cant believe some morons out there actually pay for this content and take it up the @$$ from the record companies and keep them going without letting them learn for the rest of us.
When are people gonna wise up and realize that things are not going to get better until we start sending a message with our wallets and boycott all records put out by these RIAA asshats? They actually manage to sell a few songs on the internet where you can easily find the same song with (a) better quality, (b) no playback restrictions, and (c) for free, and they still want to bend you over and rape you!
Oh, and do I smell a class-action lawsuit coming for MS? If there is no way to distinguish which songs will not work with the 3x3 system before purchasing them, then it would seem that MS is marketing a non-existent feature.
@BAMF
I 100% agree with you. The RIAA is losing money, not a ton, but enough that they are starting to become dangerously insane. I read on digg.com yesterday – that they are starting to arrest and sue Musicians. WTF? Biting the hand that feeds you? Who would do that?
RIAA is the problem; they refuse to change with the times. It’s not the public that will effect change – it will be the Artist/Musicians. When NEW artist and old timers stop signing they’re rights away in contracts and the record labels, start losing millions of dollars – that will be the moment the RIAA will realize they’ve made a huge mistake. By then it will be to late. The wheels are already in motion.
Oh that's just wonderful and well I would say that constitutes fraud.
They said that you could share any song with your friends.
No one said that you could not.
Take back your zune. This is the fire for a class action lawsuit.
well, I guess I'll just squirt them on my iPod... oh wait...
This kinda sucks for Zune users like me, but then again, I dont buy music anyway, so it doesn't affect me. It is already possible to send any file via the WiFi, and THE ZUNE HARD DRIVE IS USER UPGRADABLE!!!! I curretly run an 80gb Zune!
Vastly suprior to the 5g iPod I traded for it!!!
Yeah. "Welcome to the Social. Just not when you're playin' music by THOSE guys".
So much for havin' WiFi. Microsoft should've just focused on WiFi sync and called it a day.
So, wont normal NON DRM mp3's shoot across to the next zune or will only the DRM'ed ones do this????
I hope the Sansa Connect is better then the Zune then for this.
Welcome to the UN-social!
"It's official: record companies don't like you."
As of 2007? I think this is a little outdated, don't you think? Record companies don't like us since ANALOG CASSETTE (I've still got some tapes with the "STOP PIRACY" label on them). When was that, early 80's??
Record companies like our money, not us.
Only mac-fucks buy music online. cause they are mindless zombies who shit when apple tells them to. I have a w810i mp3 phone that comes with software with zero restriction. i copy discs or downloads songs p2p and never worry about any fees. Best of all music phones look cooler then players(except anything from motorola which is all shit!).
p.s. are we forgetting how unreliable microsoft is? do you really want to buy something thats called zune?
You do realise that you can load CDs and p2p downloads onto iPod don't you? Because otherwise people might confuse you for an ignorant Sony fanboy.
First, I must add that the photo of the Zune gave me the impression that it was even more ugly than expected. I've never sen one for real, but I've not looked for it either.
Second, The sharing -experience is a good idea, but as a new player Zune should have introduced something that played along with its limited marked share. Because device interaction on a limited platform never catches on, and with this limits it's even worse.
So UMG gets a buck for every Zune sold, and then limits even more severely what you can do with their content. Wow, tha takes big brass ones! Of course when MS bends over and spreads them, what do you expect. You don't need to be an "Apple fanboy" to see that this is patently disgusting. Another example of treating your customers like thieves, even tho' they are the ones who are trying to do the right thing and pay something for their music. Even if it is a stupid rental plan!. The actual thieves proceed as usual. Zune even adds DRM to songs that you have ripped from your own CDs and put on the player. Fairplay, for all its criticism as a DRM scheme, does not do that. If you want to share a song with somebody, buy a headphone splitter, and leave the Zune-turd collecting dust on the bottom shelf at Worst Buy!
This is exactly why i don't get into digital distribution. I won't adopt it. Sure, I guess I'm playing into exactly what the record companies want. They of course want to kill it.
BUT .. i will rip my CD's onto my ipod or zune or whatever, and guess what I don't have to worry about any of this digital rights crap.
But I imagine they're trying to screw me out of that capability as well. Which basically means I wont listen to their crap.
nothing is wrong with digital distribution, just DRM.
Microsoft should have just partnered with a site like eMusic and forgot about the whole DRM/music store idea. Music sharing is a great idea...it's just the RIAA squashes anything resembling innovation. Support DRM free music and independent artists or just buy from allofmp3.com. ;)
we're seeing less than that amount at our Zukakke.com squirting parties...
Microsoft needs to implement the WiFi abilities that the other players are going to have. Sync at least. Shoutcast streaming and download from the subscription service / updating licenses as well. Seriously, why did they put WiFi in the Zune if they were hardly going to use it?
Another half-baked Microsoft product. The Zune is the laughingstock of the industry! The Zune TV commercials are pathetic. You can view quite a few of them on YouTube.com. No wonder Microsoft is ashamed to actually air them! A quick peek at the Electronics Bestsellers on Amazon.com will show that NONE of the Zunes are even in the top 100 bestsellers now that the holiday season has passed. The Zune brand is now permanently tainted due to such a poor initial product release and horrible marketing.
Zune rocks.
I've always wanted:
1) A device I couldn't save my PC files on. So unique!
2) A device I couldn't upload or download songs with on any operating system I please.
3) A device with superfluous features in order to get checkbox marketing points more than useful everyday use. (I love restrictions placed on shared files. It's so hip and new).
4) A device approved by the cartels, with kickbacks to the cartels, connected to a cartel-approved "music store".
I especially love how the whole Zune marketing approach is this pompous notion of "supporting independent artists". Such honesty and integrity in marketing...
I love the Zune! I've always wanted to continue supporting the cartels. They're such dears. I've always wanted to continue supporting the fine music heard all over the payola-based radio. And continue this fine, fine social police state watching over my audio deeds.
Love you Microsoft! Love you RIAA!
http://www.vorbis.com
http://flac.sourceforge.net
haha. played for sure again, Zune users. I'll not be trading my Apple closed system which works well, for the micro$oft closed system that blows anytime soon.
Really, why endure a closed system at all? Buy the best all around player (iPod), use the best all around software (iTunes) and rip CDs purchased used from Amazon of ebay on the cheap at a better bitrate with NO DRM. And middle finger to the labels.
Heh, I rip to my wifey's iPod on the real freakin cheap...almost all of the mp3s I have come from the internet or my own cd's that I've owned for LONG before MP3 even hit it huge...and just copy paste into the iPod...thats the only reason I would consider an iPod...F Zune after reading this shit
I'd rather buy an apple scented turd than a Zune...btw, anyone else think its a strange occurance that they have one thats in shit brown?
The music industry just does not understand consumer marketing. This is why peer-to-peer sharing is still going on. Consumers want choice, like with every other consumer product, they want the opportunity to take it home, try it on, and see whether it is for them. The music industry is so greedy, that they aren’t seeing the forest through the trees. I buy my music solely through iTunes, because they have a fair licensing scheme, at least the fairest out there, reasonable prices, nicely integrated system & immediate downloads. Before iTunes, I only purchase used CDs, which the music industry made an unsuccessful attempt to squelch. Thank you US Supreme Court. Too bad Apple didn’t buy Universal, they could have had the pleasure of canning that lame a** CEO.
look into how much the artists get for every song sold on iTunes, then tell me it's fair. Both Zune and iTunes are just extensions of the industry that needs to die and be taken over by independents selling directly to their fans.
Buying CDs is in fact a far smarter move if you must support them. Sound quality, for one. Flexibility, two. Hard-copy physical item, three. There are more reasons...
"To help destroy this cartel, please stop buying music unless it's DRM-free"
Just don't buy the Zune. MS pays the studios a kickback for every zune.
Like I needed to talk anyone out of a Zune....
Well I bought me a zune because I was tired of iTunes rearranging and renaming my music collection every five minutes. Had to re-install zune once and it made me erase my zune and re-convert and sync my entire music collection. (I own over 250 albums so they won;t all fit on a 30gb drive at 256k encoding.) The zune is still better in my opinion. I don't care about the sharing, I only buy CD's and rip them so I KNOW I own them. I don't care about the zune store, I don't buy any digital media, physical media only. DRM isn't evil... it's like a lease on a car... don;t go over certain mileage, don't let other people drive it unless you've paid for the insurance bump to let em, and at the end you can either pay the full price for it, or you can give it back and get something different. You don't buy DRM media, you rent it for as long as you decide to use thier service. what happens when you switch to Zune from iPod or vice-versa? You lose your entire media collection and get to start over.. be smart... buy CD's. If you're concerned over not being able to hear the songs... there's something they invented a LONG time back called the Radio... I decide what CD's I'm going to buy for ripping from that. If you are concerned about unsigned local bands... go around to the coffee shops and small clubs in your town and GO TO THIER SHOWS!!! Don't gripe you can't find thier stuff on Zune MP or on iTunes or whatever... go to thier show.. buy thier CD at the show... get it autographed (I have dozens of such) and have a real collectible if they make the bigtimes. There are other ways of getting a music collection together other than DRM stuff. It works for my niece who loves her iTunes and spending those gift cards she gets all the time on it... and I got to say that for her and her level of audio expertise (not to mention she prolly will stop listening to the stuff in less than a year anyways) it's good for her. For me it's not. But that's why it's a MARKET and not a Monopoly.