MacRaven - Dave Haxton's Weblog

Sat, 16 Sep 2006

I'm not so sure we're "shunning" it - we're just taking our existing collections and putting them we we can listen anytime. I'm pretty typical here, according to the article, as our of 1598 songs in my iTunes library, only 74 were purchased from the iTunes Store. That's about 4.63%. I bought the songs I wanted, by the piece. I've only purchased two complete albums, because it was actually cheaper to buy them from iTunes than it was from a store (due to the number of songs on each, I suspect).

In short, I think we're doing exactly what Apple expected. At least they don't seem to be complaining about sales volume...

A report into the habits of iPod owners reveals they prefer free music to tracks they have to pay for.

(link) [BBC News | News Front Page | World Edition]

/Technology | 4 writebacks | permanent link

On 9/16/2006 12:31:31
lwood wrote

Begging Your Pardon...

Never once bought anything from there, because then I'd just have to hack the DRM off of it anyway. -- Lorrie

On 9/16/2006 14:52:32
Dave H wrote

Ooohhh

that's so tough, too. I mean, it used to be "Rip, Mix, Burn", and nowadays it's "Burn, Rip, Mix". And for my touble and $1.05 (including sales tax) I get the single song that I wanted, rather than having to spend $15 to get a CD with 11 other songs I don't want. I utterly despise DRM, personally and professionally. If it was too much work to get the DRM off, then I'd probably balk, too. But the way it stands I can't see how it's a bad deal. Thanks for the comment and Be well, Dave H.

On 9/16/2006 22:51:46
SB wrote

Uh between the DRM, the fact that iTunes files only work on one type of portable mp3 player, and the fact that 128 sounds like someone stuck a sock in your ears, what did they expect? After going through my music collection and making very high quality rips of my tunes, which I can play on anything that likes mp3s, I found I had all the music I needed, though random playlists tend to be a little uh...disjointed. I just can't see spending money on something I don't own. If I go buy a used cd from someplace, I own it. I can turn around and sell it or give it away (and as an added bonus, it only cost me $7, $3 for something out of the bargain bin). $1 a song just isn't quite as good of a deal.

On 9/16/2006 23:16:34
Dave H wrote

Oh my

but you do own it, SB, just as much as you own a track on a CD. And if you really think 128 sounds like you have socks stuck in your ears than you have a Golden Ear indeed: the Frauhofer Institute itself has determined that 128k (at 44kHz sampling) MP3 or MP4 AAC audio is indistinguishable to the average human ear from the original performance. Having done several double blind tests myself back when I made my living at digital audio, I'm inclined to agree. Of course, some things depend on the tune itself, but for the most part bit rates above 128 are the digital equal of old hi-fi systems that featured flat response to 60kHz - nice on paper, and certainly allowing the company to charge a premium for the equipment, but nobody could really hear anything much over 22kHz.... Maybe you'd notice a slight a difference in spatial quality on a really advanced stereo system, but not on a computer and certainly not on an iPod or other portable device. I guess I don't see a problem - I buy a track from iTunes, burn it to a CD and have an instant backup that I can play anywhere, or rip to MP3 and download to my Nomad. BTW, if you really do have a Golden Ear (and I'm being serious here) you should approach some studios for work as a listener: they're constantly looking for folks who can hear otherwise indiscernible differences that could help them improve quality and recording techniques. Thanks for the comment and Be well, Dave H.

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