DMB :: Music For the masses, as long as you use Windows...and IE
July 27, 2004
I wrote not long ago about my infatuation with the iTunes Music Store. Apple has now sold over 100 million songs through the service and upon opening the European version immediately became the market dominator throughout the continent. Everyone loves iTunes. Well almost. Who doesn't you ask? The Dave Matthews Band, my favorite act anywhere.
The reason DMB has shunned iTunes lies in Apple's resistance to allow bands to sell only complete albums instead of individual songs. Apple does from time to time allow bands to sell only full albums, but does not allow them to do so exclusively. So DMB has refused and appears to be firmly against doing business with the ITMS.
But that's ok, they have found someone that meets their criterion. None other than Napster, reborn and fully legal, now features all of DMB's albums for download. (As a side note, in it's hayday Napster and the illegal digital download phenomenon virtually killed The Lillywhite Sessions, a to be released DMB album in 2000, when it was leaked before completion.) So I head over to Napster to see what's shakin'. First of all Napster is a completely different animal than the ITMS in that it is a subscription service. You pay 10 bucks a month and have access to a large library of songs, now including the works of DMB. I would like to check it out, but am stopped dead in my tracks (no pun intended) when I realize that Napster is Windoze only. Rats.
But wait, there is another option. DMB actually offers their albums for digital download directly off their site. Who needs Napster?! So I hurry over to dmband.com and click through to the digital download section. I find the album I want and select the lossless quality option. This presents red flag numero uno. DMB relies on Windows Media files for all their downloads. But that's alright, or at least I think so, because I have the Mac version of Windows media. As I proceed with my purchase I am hit with a billing screen that lets me know in big bold letters that the most I can do with this purchase on my Mac is pay, I can't download or listen to the files on my Powerbook.
So what's the problem. Well there are a few. First, the latest version of the Windows Media Player (v9) has digital rights management built in, to ensure protected files are not used improperly. This is all well and good, except that this version is only available for Windows, with the Mac version lacking the necessary updates to handle DRM. Second, the entire download process requires not only Windows, but the hobbling, leaking, hard of hearing Internet Explorer. We all now how I feel (and the Department of Homeland Security feels, and CERT feels...) about IE. So I fire up the old Dell and get to work...
I had already paid on the Mac (no way I am entering my credit card number in IE) so I signed back in to start the download. I was immediately hit with three seperate ActiveX popups (2 from musictoday.com and one from Microsoft) in order just to get to my download. This is the same ActiveX that hackers use to install spyware and adware and other not so pleasant things on your Windoze machine. If this was a primary machine I probably would have stopped right here. But being a bit old and creaky anyway, I went on and finished the download over a few hours.
Now all of this would be completely acceptable if not for the ITMS. But because Apple has pulled it off cross platform and browser independent it raises the bar considerably. I can even share my music libraries between all three computers, from the two Macs to the Dell without effort. But the giant, do it all Microsoft can't. How that for being progressive? In the end, it isn't because they can't, it is because they are scared. They hold so dear to their precious platform that they are scared to let anyone else have access to the services it can provide.
But Microsoft is only half or maybe a third of the problem here. DMB, who have long taken stances for charitable causes and fair rights for all, needs to get their collective head out of the sand and get their stuff on the ITMS. And musictoday.com, who runs DMB's online store needs to check the stats and realize that more and more people are a) moving away from IE and b) using Macs or other alternative OS's.
This is where we stand at this critical stage in the life of the internet. Development now is falling into two camps. The first camp is communal, with a strong sense of designing applications and services that anyone can use, whether they are browsing on their cellphone, using a Mac, or yes even a Win machine. The other camp is proprietary, living on the myth that designing across platforms and devices just isn't possible. The false myth leads them down the road from whence we just came, designing with one solution in mind and forcing everyone through that funnel. Who will win? We will have to wait and see. In the end it is up to the giants of the industry to realize that the internet is about community across geographic boundaries, timelines and yes, even differing technologies. Then we will see the true power of the 'net.
Filed under Apple, Rants, Technology
Comments
Dad says:
Better get a new topic on here as this one is limited in it's exciting readability!
Love,
Dad
Go Cardinals!!!!!
Comments are closed for this entry
KC says:
Great points. I think it just amazes me that a progressive band like DMB has not gotten on the Apple wagon....I had not realized until recently how big the IPod phenomenon has become. I have not used ITunes, or the Apple Music Store, but I am proud to announce that in less than 2 days I will travel to the Apple Store to pick up my Powerbook G4, New Click Wheel IPod, and a few other necessities...so I will soon be experiencing this great digital music phenomenon. I think my first task will be to try and import my current digital library to the Powerbook, which will be a task considering that my PC is still controlled by the Gremlins, and the last time I tried to burn a CD, I got numerous error messages, Brad, watch your email for help messages starting Thursday morning!! I am really looking forward to being "in" with my new digital toys. Let's just hope that Hootie is more advanced than DMB....
KC