Sony may have the oddest plan ever for DRM-free music

by Brad Linder Jan 7th 2008

You know how we told you the other day that Sony would become the last major label to offer DRM-free music? Yeah, apparently they're going kicking and screaming. While most record labels offering DRM-free downloads are letting users buy songs from online retailers like iTunes and Amazon, Sony wants you to go into a bricks and mortar store and drop $12.99 on a plastic card with a code that will let you download the album from the company's new MusicPass web site.

That's right, you've got to walk into a store, pay for a full album, and then go home to download your song. You might as well just buy a CD while you're at the store and rip it for yourself.

But wait, there's more. Or less, rather. When the service launches on January 15th, there will be a whopping 37 albums available for download. And no way to buy singles.

You'll be able to pick up MusicPass cards at Best Buy, Target, Fred's and a handful of other stores.

[via USA Today]

Tags: drm, music, musicpass, sony, sony-bmg

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Todd said 2:57PM on 1-07-2008

Hate to say "I told you so", but I told you so!

http://www.downloadsquad.com/2008/01/04/sony-bmg-dropping-drm/#comments

david said 2:59PM on 1-07-2008

Sony: Failure is our specialty

PixelSlave said 2:59PM on 1-07-2008

If it's just one of the channel to buy their DRM-free music, then it's great idea -- people still like to shop and how many times you go into a store without buying anything? if it's the ONLY channel -- which is very likely, consider how brain dead SONY is -- it SUCKS.

LeeH said 2:59PM on 1-07-2008

Their original plan was to require you to also have a microchip embedded inside your cheek, post a $500 bond and write a 1000 word essay on how downloading music from anyone other other than a large music industry manufacturer is not only illegal but evil.

stopsatgreen said 3:00PM on 1-07-2008

Until you can download music in the format you want it with no controls over it, buy CDs. Rip as many times as you like, in whatever format you like, and usually for cheaper than digital downloads. Has the added advantage of resale value.

kyle said 3:00PM on 1-07-2008

sorry sony, but the goal here is to make legal purchases easier and more attractive than downloading. not more confusing.

JBD154 said 3:01PM on 1-07-2008

First off I should say that I love Sony and their products. I own a few Sony TVs, DVD players, PS3, sound systems, etc.
But this is just a BAD idea. Who in their right mind would go through all this trouble just to download a CD??? Poor decision in my opinion.

L.T. said 3:03PM on 1-07-2008

Fail.

kingkool68 said 3:05PM on 1-07-2008

Looks like Sony is stuck between a rock and a hard place. They need to keep customers happy so they will keep buying but they also need to keep the third party retailers happy because they actual push out the goods. Without one or the other you lose money... and this looks like an attempt to appease both sides.

James said 3:06PM on 1-07-2008

@#3: That was actually their second plan. Their original plan had you paying full salary plus benefits to a Sony employee to come live in your house 24/7. The employee's sole job would have been to watch over your shoulder each time you do anything with their content on your computer just to make sure it doesn't conflict with Sony's corporate interests. If you try to share the song with a P2P client, the employee would shoot you in the head.

Unfortunately, it was voted down by a narrow majority of the legal department.

R said 3:06PM on 1-07-2008

Oh Sony,

You used to be a neato consumer electronics company that offered some cool gear. But now you've become a media overlord with more assets than common sense. Let's hope you get a clue in 2008. Maybe you'll win back some of your fans.

Zenny said 3:10PM on 1-07-2008

Sony... The One That's Phony.

kojo87 said 6:52PM on 1-07-2008

the one positive thing i saw in this article was that they do not allow you to download singles. people blame piracy for killing the music industry when the real culprit is iTunes and the like. there is no incentive to download an entire album and listen to it entirely like the artist intended when you can just get that one song by that Lil Centsouljapimp for a buck and avoid all his "bad" music. and then what is the incentive for the artists to produce full albums when they can't just make one ringto-, err...song and pump it through iTunes.

yes i download music but i take full albums. if you are going to buy music just purchase the CD. no DRM and its what the artist wanted you to do.

ASurroca said 6:59PM on 1-07-2008

Umm...Apple and Starbucks have been doing this for a while now. Anyone can walk into any Starbucks, pay full price for a piece of plastic album art with an iTunes download code inside, and feel like a tool.

Scott said 8:15PM on 1-07-2008

At first glance this does look backwards, but on the other hand there are a number of positives with this:

First you get some sort of tangible collectible item. Second, how do you "gift" an digital download to someone? At least with this you can present something at a party or in a stocking stuffer. Thirdly, you can pay cash or check for something that normally requires a credit card.

It doesn't have to be the only way they distribute music, but it's a nice alternative.

Mike said 12:56PM on 1-09-2008

I think your title's spelled wrong, you spelled "stupidest" as "oddest."

Seriously, they killed the ONE THING that makes downloading music truly desirable (the convenience)? Looks like someone decided to do something just because they thought they were supposed to, not because they really have a handle on the reasons.

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