SanDisk Loads up microSD Cards with Music

SanDisk has developed a logical means of music distribution: microSD memory cards that come pre-loaded with music. Aptly named slotMusic, the cards will include DRM-free tunes from major record labels like EMI, Sony BMG, Universal, and Warner.

I've always been a fan of the flash memory card format, mainly due to its versatility and convenience. They sort of remind me of mini versions of the 3.5mm floppy discs of yesteryear, in that you can buy them pre-loaded, or load a bunch of data onto them, then access said data by inserting the square-shaped device into your PC. Except with flash memory, you can instantly access the data through a host of other devices as well: an MP3 player, a cell phone, a portable navigation device, a voice recorder, a digital photo frame, an SD card-enabled TV or car stereo system: essentially any digital card reader of any kind. The slotMusic cards will come with a small USB adapter to connect them directly to the PC, but I'm surprised that they won't come with SD card adapters, which allow you to insert them into larger, SD card-enabled devices (e.g. a digital camera).

One of the first questions that came to mind when I heard about this product was whether you'd be able to load your own songs onto the card as well. The answer is yes, you can. Each card is 1 GB in capacity, and tunes already loaded onto them will play back at 320 kbps. A really neat addition, however, is that the cards not only store the audio tracks, but also liner notes, album art, videos, and other creative content selected by the artist.

While the concept makes sense, and I'd totally be on board for it, there are some things to consider. First, if you have a Sony Ericsson mobile phone or other portable Sony device, you're likely out of luck since they use the Memory Stick media format. If you have an iPod, you're also not interested in this format since iPods (sadly) don't have memory card slots.

Another concern is the fact that microSD memory cards are tiny and therefore much easier to lose than a CD. While this wouldn't be a major setback with those old 16 and 32 MB cards that were the norm, today's 8 and 16 GB cards can easily hold someone's entire music collection. Would I entrust a small card like that with all my music, even if it were slotted into a postage stamp-sized SD adapter? I'm not sure. But it is something to consider if you're prone to misplacing things.

One thing's for sure: if SD cards continue to become more and more ubiquitous, you can bet your bottom dollar there will be a ton of them floating around pockets, purses, and wallets. If I were an accessory manufacturer, I'd be jumping on this opportunity to design a whole whack of neat, secure, and fashionable microSD memory card holders that can accomodate multiple cards, and fit into a wallet or purse. These may become the way of the future.

Availability and pricing for SanDisk's slotMusic cards will be announced in time for the holiday season; and they will initially be available through Best Buy and Wal-Mart stores in the U.S., with Europe to follow.

Corporate Sponsorships: When Does it Go Too Far?

I'm obviously into every form of media: television, movies, magazines, Websites, music, you name it. And across every platform, I've been looking at corporate sponsorships and wondering just how far can one go without delving too deep that it becomes detrimental to your brand.

As I just mentioned on our sister Website, http://www.marketnews.ca/, Universal’s Island Def Jam record label is joining forces with mammoth household goods manufacturer Proctor & Gamble to create a new music label. The label will be called TAG Records, in obvious synergy with one of Proctor & Gamble’s brands, TAG body spray. What does this say for the quality of music, or the integrity of the record label? Similar partnerships have been around for decades, of course, whereby a company might sponsor a concert tour or CD launch. We might even see a coupon for $5 off a particular CD when you buy a box of cereal; or a free digital download when you buy X product from X manufacturer. This is fine and dandy, but is creating a major partnership with one company for an entire record label division going too far?

Granted, the music industry has been feeling the pain as of late due to digital downloading and online piracy issues. So something has to be done in order to maintain profitability.

As mentioned in the aforementioned article from Marketnews.ca, technology company Apple had the clever idea of taking unique, TV content from popular show American Idol and offering it as downloadable audio or video files via the iTunes Website. But there are only so many TV shows, and even that industry is feeling the heat from digital downloading, not to mention from the recently ended writer's strike.

Speaking of TV shows (as well as movies) I've seen the same sort of over-indulgent corporate sponsorship in everything from blatently obvious product placements (more so than ever before) to subtle (yet not so subtle) brand plugs within dialogue. Sadly, I've even noticed the same thing in recent novels I've been reading. Have these "mentions" been paid for, or are they legitimate choices by the noveslist? I often wonder.

The typical "brought to you by" sponsorships are no big deal. Every piece of content, whether it's a movie, TV show, or music concert, has to be paid for somehow. But it seems as of late that corporate entities are dipping their hands a bit too much into the creative pies. Iconic artist Madonna has already reportedly made tons of money from her new CD (which, by the way, hasn't even been released yet!) through corporate commercials that feature its songs (like Sunsilk shampoo). I can't even begin to count how many indie artists have skyrocketed in popularity after having their songs featured in an Apple commercial. It appears that commercials now lead the music industry in determining what "good" music really is! Not to mention how many "celebrities" have become increasingly popular through their own lines of clothing, perfume, shoes, heck, even books when none of these things are considered their primary "talent"!

I'm not claiming that all of this is totally wrong or unjustified. After all, maybe it's a necessary evil in order to survive in industries where the Web is quickly cutting into profits and distribution channels. I just think that, no matter who's backing one's music, TV program, acting career, or what have you, integrity and creative control needs to remain in check. Otherwise, music, TV, and every other form of media will no doubt lose touch with the very people it's trying to reach in the first place.

Nokia Could Shake up Music Industry

The music industry must feel like a maraca as of late, because every company under the sun is doing what it can to shake things up. From online digital music distribution sites (authorized or otherwise), to artists offering their tracks for free download, to retailers dropping CD prices. Now, popular cell phone manufacturer Nokia could shake things up yet again by offering a mobile phone that not only comes with the ability to access an unlimited number of music downloads for a year, but also lets the customer keep the tracks once the year is over!

To date, any company (to my knowledge) that offers digital music downloads will either permit access to tunes on only the device from which it was downloaded; or, in the case of unlimited downloading, will prevent access to the tunes once a subscription or contract has expired. In many cases, even if a customer can transfer or rip downloaded tunes to an MP3 player or recordable CD, they might be limited to a specific number of them (like up to 3 devices). Sure, we've just started to see DRM-free tunes hit the wire, which are 100% free from these such restrictions; but they're only available on a pay-per-use or pay-per-album basis.

With this new service from Nokia, aptly named Comes With Music, once a tune is downloaded, it's yours to keep and do with it as you like: burn to a CD, transfer to an MP3 player, or just store it on the PC. If you decide you don't want to continue downloading tunes once the year has completed, those tracks are still yours to keep, whether you downloaded 10 of them, or 10,000. The program currently includes Universal Music tracks, but Nokia says it's "in talks" with other major international labels to add their titles to the roster.

"We set out to create the music experience that people are telling us they are looking for: all the music they want in the form of unlimited downloads to their mobile device and PC," said the company's Executive V.P. and G.M., Multimedia, Anssi Vanjoki. "Comes With Music fulfills our dream to give consumers all the music they want, wherever they want it, while rewarding the artists who create it."

No specific information was provided as to how (or how much) the music labels will be compensated for the service, nor how much a subscription would cost after the one-year period (if you wanted to continue downloading tunes, for instance). However, the very existence of this program provides a good idea as to what we can expect with regards to the future of digital music.

What I find most interesting about this program is that, of all the companies offering digital music and portable music devices, it was a cell phone manufacturer that stepped up to the plate with the most appealing offer. Mobile phones could really give dedicated portable music players an unexpected run for their money: take one look at the iPhone, and you'll know what I mean.

Unfortunately, a spokesperson tells me that the Comes With Music service is not available in Canada (what else is new); but perhaps if we get more competition in the wireless arena, there will be more opportunity for such services to sneak into Canadia-land as well.

New Site to Offer Free Music Downloads

A new digital music download Website has emerged that promises to offer tracks from Universal Music artists for free. Of course, there’s a small catch…

To download a tune from http://www.spiralfrog.com/, you’ll first have to wait a tiresome 90 seconds for the song to download. That’s no big deal; I can live with that. I lived with waiting longer than that back in the original Napster days when I was on dial-up! (It took half an hour to download one song!)

Second, you’ll have to fill out a survey each month about your buying habits. OK, a bit intrusive and demanding, but I’m willing to do this if it means no-hassle downloads on a daily basis.

The clincher for me, however, is that downloaded songs can’t be burned to a CD (strike one) nor transferred to an iPod (strike two). Strike three is obvious: the site only offers tunes from one label.

I do commend the company for attempting to find a winning solution to an ever-growing battle in the world of music. However, in my opinion, any service that restricts what I can do with something is o-u-t out. I want the exact same functionality I’d get with a store-bought, Compact Disc. Anything less is, well, less. To spiralfrog’s credit, you can transfer downloaded tracks to any Windows-compatible mobile device, so I’ll take back half a strike.

On a brighter note, I do believe that spiralfrog.com is on to something. How did the company manage to snag a deal with Universal to offer its tunes for free? Through online advertising: to which a portion of the revenue is undoubtedly paid to the label. This sounds like the most logical option I’ve heard to date. As it is right now, I quite often endure 10-15 second commercials so I can watch an online video, or engage in a quick game of Bejeweled 2. So I’d be more than happy to watch a quick commercial, or eyeball some ads, in order to download a desired track. This is provided I’m able to do with it as I like once it’s “mine”.

Spiralfrog.com might not be the breakthrough we’ve been looking for, but it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Music Without Restrictions

The ball has finally begun to roll toward the availability of digital music tracks without DRM restrictions. First, Apple’s iTunes introduced DRM-free EMI songs in May, albeit for a slight premium in price ($0.30 more/track). Then, Canadian online music store Puretracks followed suit, but is offering the DRM-free tracks for the same price as copy-protected ones. Now, Universal Music has decided to run a test, offering DRM-free music through several of its online music stores, like RealNetworks, Amazon, Best Buy, and WalMart. This list, however, does not include iTunes.

This is a great move on Universal’s part. Although the company hasn’t made the decision to permanently move to a DRM-free platform, this test period, said to run until January 2008, will allow Universal to monitor how well such a platform could work over the long-term. If piracy rates remain unscathed, and consumers respond favourably, this could mean a major change in the distribution of digital music.

What's more, the fact that DRM-free versions of Universal songs will not be available through iTunes might shake up Apple’s hold in the online music business. iTunes currently leads the music download landscape, having just topped three-billion song downloads last week. But if competitors offer more tunes without copy-protection, from popular Universal artists like 50 Cent, Enrique Inglesias, and Bryan Adams, iTunes might just get a run for its money.

The reality in the music industry today is that CD sales are slipping, and will continue to slip, regardless of whether digital tracks come with DRM copy-protection or not. And it seems that the industry is finally wising up to this; and we’re one step closer to music without restrictions.