Sony has launched its online music download store with a library of around 500,000 tracks from major and independent labels to choose from. Music can be purchased for 99 cent a track or by the album for $ 10 each. Sony's music is encoded in its own ATRAC3 codec at 132kbps and is protected with Open Magic Gate (OpenMG) DRM.
Purchased music may be transferred to data CD up to 10 times, to MiniDisc up to five times, to Audio CD up to five times and to compatible equipment an unlimited number of times. Sony expects to launch its European version in June and is partnering with United Airlines to allow its customers to purchase music using frequent flyer miles. Thanks to Quakester2000 for submitting the following news via our news submit :
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Better does not necessarily mean more, of course. Sony touted Connect's database of 500,000-odd tracks from major and independent labels, which is rather less than the 700,000 on offer from Apple's iTunes Music Store. Like iTMS, Connect supports a limited array of portable music players, in this case Sony's MiniDisc machines. Connect encodes songs in Sony's own 132kbps ATRAC 3 format, offering them on a one-off basis for 99c a track, or in album batches at $ 10 a pop. Downloaded songs have no playback limitation and can be shared with up to three Windows PCs, which have to be registered with Connect. Read the full article here. |
It is interesting to see Sony offer support for MiniDisc players since these are still very popular alternatives to CD and MP3 players, especially with musicians and other users that need high quality portable recording equipment. However as most MiniDisc devices do not offer PC connectivity, it is not clear how users are expected to transfer music to their players. As Sony's music is compressed into the equivalent of MiniDisc Long play format, it should be possible to store up to 160 minutes per MiniDisc. Sony are one of the few along with iTunes that do not use Microsoft's audio codecs for its music store.
Feel free to discuss and read more about online music stores and other music download services on our Music Downloads, P2P & Legal Issues Forum.
Source: The Register
