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We destroyed a collectible Doritos bag to get at its hidden MP3 Player
Junk food and summer blockbusters go hand in hand -- from the nachos, popcorn and candy you buy at the cinema, to action-hero faces plastered on every brand of potato chips at the supermarket. This has been the way of the world as long as I can remember, but this summer, the pairing may have reached its apex. In a perfect storm of brand synergy, nostalgia and guilty pleasures, Marvel has decided to release the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 in the most unconventional format imaginable: a bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos.
GOG.com is selling still-in-development games, too
Who says only Steam users get to have all the fun with Early Access games? Well, not GOG anymore. Today the PC-gaming seller is announcing its curated take on vending still-in-development software. Purchases are refundable within 14 days, no time limit (Steam doesn't offer refunds if you've played more than two hours), no questions asked. More than that, if an update breaks one of these games or changes in a way you don't like, you can roll back to a previous version via the service's Galaxy desktop client. And this version of access to non-final games wouldn't truly be a GOG endeavor if any of them were locked behind digital-rights management, so they aren't. Basically, it's treating these builds like any other type of game it'd sell.
Court rules that sale of DRM-laden songs on iTunes did not run afoul of antitrust law
The US Court of Appeals in San Francisco this week upheld a lower court's ruling that found that Apple's operation of the iTunes Music Store did not run afoul of antitrust law. The initial lawsuit against Apple was filed by Stacie Somers in December 2007. The suit alleged that Apple operated an illegal monopoly to the extent that songs purchased on iTunes (back when songs were encumbered with DRM) were unplayable on non-Apple devices. In finding no wrongdoing on Apple's part, the Court of Appeals noted that Apple's US$0.99 price point for songs remained the same with and without DRM enabled. Note that Apple began selling DRM-free songs on iTunes back in early 2009. Gigaom reports: Despite the commanding market share, a three-judge panel affirmed that Apple did not break antitrust laws, in part because it maintained prices at 99 cents before and after the introduction of the DRM system. The court also noted that Apple maintained its 99 cent price point even after Amazon entered the market with DRM-free music, and after Apple itself dropped the FairPlay encryption system in 2009. The court was likewise not persuaded by arguments that Apple changed its software to prevent companies like Real Network, which sold music for 49 cents a track, from operating on its devices. The court's full ruling is available for your perusal over here.
Duke Nukem 1 and 2 now available for Mac on GOG.com
Ever since they first announced that they'd be carrying Mac games, GOG.com has steadily added to the amount of retro titles on offer, making some really great old games available for our favorite platform. And today's edition is no slouch, either: They've put the original Duke Nukem and its sequel up for grabs for US$5.99 for the pair, complete with the original manual and soundtrack for both as well. That's a great deal, and who wouldn't want to have this gaming legend sitting on their Mac ready to play? Just like all of GOG.com's games, these are DRM-free, and I believe you also get the Windows versions as well. Pretty solid deal for two classic games, and another good offering in GOG.com's constantly growing Mac library.
Ditching DRM could reduce piracy, prices, inconvenience
This may run counter to what your common sense tells you but, a new paper out of Duke and Rice University says that ditching DRM could actually reduce piracy. The study, which relied on analytical modeling, showed that while copy protection made illegally sharing content more difficult it had a significantly negative impact on legal users. In fact, the researchers say, "only the legal users pay the price and suffer from the restrictions [of DRM]." Many consumers simply choose to pirate music and movies because doing simple things, like backing up a media collection, is difficult with DRMed content. Even the most effective DRM is eventually broken, and fails to deter those already determined to steal. Meanwhile, abandoning these restrictions could increase competition and drive down prices (as well as remove a serious inconvenience), encouraging more people to legitimately purchase content. You can check out the November-December issue of Marketing Science for more details.
Nokia's all you can download Comes with Music service is finally DRM free... in China (updated)
We've been browbeating Nokia for using DRM to "protect" its Comes with Music offering ever since the service launched back in December of 2007 -- a time when the industry was just beginning to shed its DRM shackles. Now get this, the idle talk is over, Nokia just launched its all-you-can-eat (for 12, 18, or 24 months, typically) Comes with Music service in China without any DRM at all. India is on deck as Nokia looks to hook more emerging markets on the (kind of) free music drug. That means you no longer have to strip the DRM illegally to play your downloaded content on devices other than your main PC and Nokia Comes with Music handset. And yes, you can keep the tracks for life after your CWM subscription expires. At launch, Chinese consumers will have a choice of eight (ok, seven really) CWM handsets (X6 32GB and X6 16GB, 5230, 5330, 5800w, 6700s, E52 and E72i) with prices starting at a local equivalent of €140 (the CWM service fee is baked in to the cost, mind you) excluding taxes and subsidies. Suspiciously, Nokia's not making the usual boast about the millions of tracks available in the CWM catalog. It is, however, reassuringly supported by all the Big 4 music labels in addition to some Chinese indies, as you'd expect. Sorry, no word on when they'll strip the DRM from its European CWM stores and we're still not clear when CWM will finally see a US launch. Hopefully soon as a service like this could go over very, very well Stateside -- a market that Nokia is desperate to crack. Get on to the other side of the break for the full press release. Update: We met with Jyrki Rosenberg, Director of Music at Nokia, who shed a bit more light on the offering. Unfortunately, while DRM-free music aligns with Nokia's global vision, he had nothing to announce for the US or Europe today. And as you might expect, the onus to go DRM-free in China was in part driven by rampant, local piracy concerns -- recovery of any revenue was better than nothing at all in the eyes of the Big Four. Jyrki also told us that Chinese CWM subscriptions will be 1 year in length but the terms of renewal are still being hammered out. We also know that the music catalog numbers in the "hundreds of thousands" at launch (comparable to competing services in the region, according to Jyrki) and is growing every day. Privacy advocates will be happy to hear that the 256kbps MP3 files are "clean" -- in other words, no user data is embedded in the files unlike the practices of Apple and Walmart, among others.
Nokia Ovi Music store slowly shedding its DRM shackles globally
While not widely touted, Nokia's Ovi Music store is on track to make Nokia's music catalog DRM-free globally. This was first mentioned in December at Nokia's Capital Market Days event. Keep in mind that we're talking about Nokia's a la carte music download service, not its all you can eat Comes with Music offering that lets you keep all the tracks you can download in the first year but locks them to a single Nokia handset and PC for life. Russia's Ovi Music store was the first to go DRM-free back in November while adding single sign-on with other Ovi services during the revamp process. Now we're hearing that India has quietly joined suit with its Nokia Music store becoming the DRM-free Ovi Music incarnation. Nokia is apparently focusing on growth markets first on its way to more western markets but it's a good sign that its fair use debilitating DRM is on the way out -- a good thing for consumers and a change, like free Ovi Maps, that makes Nokia handsets just a bit more attractive.
Amazon Kindle gets its DRM stripped (for the time being)
If there is one near universal gripe folks have with the Kindle, it's the DRM-laden files. It's no wonder, then, that the thing has been a lightning rod for the "information wants to be free crowd," almost since the beginning. Sure, we've seen Mobipocket, .epub, and .pdf files used on the device, but if you really want to bedevil Bezos the thing to do would be to altogether circumvent the DRM from your Amazon e-books -- and it looks like an Israeli hacker named Labba has done just that. For the time being, the hack, which allows you to convert your legally obtained e-books to unencrypted PDF files, is available as a Python script. We're sure that the process will be streamlined for us civilians soon enough -- let's just hope that it happens before the hole gets plugged and your e-reader auto-updated. This is one way to keep hold of your legally purchased Orwell, eh?
Apple iTunes LP format gets dissected, explained
Did you hear the news? Apple "resurrected" the LP! It turns out that a complete reversal of millions of music lover's listening habits has been accomplished by throwing some images, videos, interviews, and DRM-free 256Kbps AAC audiofiles into a WebKit package playable in iTunes. OK, so maybe we are a little jaded -- our busy 21st century lives generally don't afford us the time to stare glassy-eyed at our computer screen (any more than we have the time to stare glassy-eyed at 12-inch album covers while sitting on the floor of our incense-soaked Haight-Ashbury crash pads). But if you're morbidly curious about the inner workings of the new iTunes LP format, an experience accomplished via HTML 4.01, CSS and JS, hit the read link for the down-and-dirty tear down from web developer Jay Robinson. And who knows? You just might learn something. [Via Daring Fireball]
Walmart spruces up its MP3 offering with select 74 cent tracks, cross platform compatibility
Cue that "rollin' back prices" theme and break out the bouncy smiley faces, Walmart is trimming prices on its DRM-free MP3 music store. Many tracks will still be offered at the original 94 cent pricepoint, but certain "Top 25" songs will go for a mere 74 cents -- a quantity of money which is officially insufficient to buy anything in the meatspace anymore. In perhaps even more exciting news, Walmart is finally making things easier on the folks averse to or incapable of running Internet Explorer: the store finally works with Firefox, Safari and IE running on Mac, Linux or Windows. As for content, Walmart now boasts more than 3 million MP3s and exclusive Walmart Soundcheck content, which predictably boasts of performances from Beyonce, Nickelback and David Cook. "Light On," Walmart, "Light On."
Apple officially cuts DRM-free track prices to $.99
In a move which can only be described as unsurprising, Apple has officially announced plans to lower the price of its iTunes Plus offerings (AKA iTunes sans-DRM) to $.99, instead of the higher-priced premium of $1.29. Old Jobsy claims that the decision was made due to the popularity of the unlocked, higher quality tracks with customers, saying, "It's been very popular with our customers, and we're making it even more affordable." Of course, it also seems likely that iTunes and Apple are feeling the burn from the new wave of DRM-free music providers, like Amazon, and the persistent rumors / news of former playmate Universal amassing an "anti-iTunes" which could seriously compete with the Cupertino monolith's business. Sure, it's the third-largest retailer of music in the US, but there's always someone creeping up from behind -- just ask Irv Gotti.Update: Apple press release makes it really, really, super duper official.
Napster relaunches, shifts focus from hardware to web
According to news out today, Napster is attempting a fevered slide back into the game with a relaunch of its music-download service, featuring a heavier emphasis on web-based streaming capabilities. The new "4.0" platform the company is touting boasts improved compatibility, as playlists and content and be accessed from any computer, without the use of additional software -- though if you want to get that music onto a player, you're still stuck with Napster's proprietary application and list of compatible players. In addition to the accessibility revamp, the company says it has further plans to embrace DRM-free music in 2008, which makes sense, as the portal's music has heretofore been unplayable on Apple's products -- which have the largest market share. Can that rascally cat pick up the pieces? Only time will tell.[Thanks, Jon]
Microsoft beefs up Zune music and community experience
As we noted in our Zune launch post, with the new Zune announcements, Microsoft intends to do more than just launch hardware. The Zune crew has apparently done a complete overhaul of the Zune desktop software so it's no longer just a weak rebadge of Windows Media Player 10 (praise the heavens), which Microsoft hopes will help the social to get more, um, social-er, with a number of things to attempting better engage music listeners and Zune customers: The Zune Marketplace is officially adding DRM-free music support, launching with over a million DRM-free MP3 tracks. As we mentioned earlier, other details (like which labels, whether there is a DRM-free upgrade path is for users who've bought music with DRM, price differences, etc.) are not yet known. Zune Marketplace is also getting podcasts and music videos. (Great, but where's the real video content?) Microsoft is also launching Zune Social, a free online music community / social network (great, another social network!) which allows users to create... Zune Cards, which are web widgets not unlike Xbox's Gamer Cards. Zune Cards let other users track your most played and recently played music (updated each time you sync back to your host machine). Users can also sample music directly from someone's Zune Card. You can now share with others music that was shared with you. No, the Zune still doesn't analyze the tracks it shares, so Zune Pass unlimited customers still can't share music without DRM. But, at very least the Zune's 3x3 DRM no longer has a time limit. Same three play restriction, but it no longer has to be within three days.
Amazon launches DRM-free "Amazon MP3" music downloads
If you're into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the "top 100" tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there's no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.
Universal and Rhapsody launch DRM-free partnership "test"
Rhapsody America (the new Real / MTV partnership) wasn't the only thing that Real had up its sleeve today. Hot on the heels of the Universal snubbing of iTunes, and consequent announcement that the company would begin selling music via other outlets, comes today's news that the Rhapsody / Universal Music partnership has officially launched, at least in a limited "test" form, with the aim of selling UMG's catalog of thousands of tracks -- sans DRM -- via the Real Rhapsody service, charging $.89 per song for subscribers and $.99 for non-subscribers. Currently, only a select group of artists are up for grabs, including 50 Cent, Amy Winehouse, The Pussycat Dolls, The Police and Johnny Cash, though the plan is to make Universal's entire catalog available in the future. This announcement makes what we all knew was coming now abundantly clear -- the gloves have come off.
Universal to test DRM-free music sales, snubs iTunes
In both shocking (and, frankly, kind of unshocking) news, Universal Music Group (whom we all know as the largest music conglomerate in the world) announced its intent to test DRM-free music through Real's Rhapsody, Wal-Mart, Amazon, even Google -- but not through long time begrudging online retail partner / frenemy Apple's iTunes Plus DRM-free music store. Apparently the restriction free Universal tracks will start popping up on those other music distributors next January, during which time the company intends to closely monitor sales, increases in music piracy, etc. before going all-in; for the time being we've no idea which artists Universal intends to free up or just how much of its total catalogue will be distributed in this little toe-dip of theirs. But one thing we do know: between EMI and Universal, two of the top four music businesses in the world have now announced or begun distributing music without DRM, and there's little we can find fault with about that.[Thanks, somebody]
