Rhapsody gets down with iTunes
p2pnet news Music:- RealNetworks is at it again, jousting with iTunes, Apple’s user-funded iPod load application.
“Does this look familiar?” – p2pnet posted in 2004.
“Apple won’t allow RealNetworks to license its seriously misnamed FairPlay consumer-control DRM technology.
“So Real, which supports its own Helix format as well as Windows Media Player, says it’s figured out a way to allow people to buy Real tracks and hear them on any player, including iPods – whether Apple likes it or not.
“After all, says Real in effect, it’s only fair that people should be able to do that.
“Does this mean Real will soon be receiving a Cease & Desist letter from Apple’s lawyers?”
So what’s the latest RealNetworks move?
Rhapsody is, “eliminating copy protection [read DRM] on all tracks bought from its online music store, which will enable them to be played on a variety of devices, including iPods,” says the Nashville business Journal.
Not at all, coincidentally, “Verizon Wireless Inc. launched a new program Monday that will let customers download as much music as they want from Rhapsody online music service for $15 per month,” says the story.
Put another way, Rhapsody went DRM-free and, “announced partnerships with iLike and Yahoo, in addition to revealing what it was doing with its partners of nine months, Viacom’s MTV Networks and Verizon,” says Wired.
“Real software engineer Rob Williams said the company has been working on the technical underpinnings of this strategy for about three years.”
“We’re no longer competing with the iPod,” NME has Rhapsody’s Neil Smith declaring. “We’re embracing it.”
Rhapsody will allow users to preview an entire song online before they choose to buy it or not – a service unavailable on iTunes, observes the story.
“Experience DRM-Freedom: Rhapsody MP3s aren’t restricted by Digital Rights Management (DRM),” says RealNetworks.
“If acronyms aren’t your thing, that means; when you buy a song or album from Rhapsody you can do whatever you want with it.”
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Does this mean Real will soon be receiving a Cease & Desist letter from RIAA lawyers?
.
.Stumble It!
p2pnet – RealNetworks vs Apple, July 26, 2004
Nashville business Journal – Verizon, Rhapsody to offer unlimited music downloads for $15 a month, July 1, 2008
Wired – Photos, Details From Rhapsody’s MP3 Launch Party, July 1, 2008
NME – Rival download embraces iTunes to take on iPod, July 1, 2008
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July 2nd, 2008 at 5:02 am
No, they won’t be getting a cease and desist…
In any case, the situation has gotten better.
July 3rd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
There is absolutely nothing illegal about selling music without DRM. All labels have approved the move- and apple has nothing to do with that process. Another thing- as stated in the article, Rhapsody isn’t jousting with iTunes. It’s actually working with it. Yay for getting along!