VMware Fusion

I just switched from using Parallels to VMware's Fusion product for running Windows (and Windows applications) on my Mac. I love the "Unity" mode of Fusion that allows each Windows application to run in it's own native window on your Mac desktop. It's a bit of smoke and mirrors but it to the users it looks like each app is native.

Check out the new Winamp beta running on my Mac desktop.

Company Claims Patent on Playlists

Ugh...

Company patents playlists, sues everyone: "The patents describe what essentially comes down to a playlist. 'A plurality of works can be collected together in a list for purposes of establishing a play or a presentation sequence. The list can be visually displayed and edited,' reads the '725' patent. Both of them describe ways to graphically display an arrangement of songs from CDs or any manner of media that can then be played back sequentially or out-of-order."

In related news I have filed a patent for a 'plurality of letters that can be grouped together for the purpose of establishing a word'.

If you guys have violated my patent, I will gladly settle out of court with you. :-)

Apple Tightens Shackles Between iPods & iTunes

I can't say it's a surprise, but it is unfortunate nonetheless...

ipodminusitunes: Apple cuts us off: "So, it's finally happened. Unhappy with other media players being better than iTunes, Apple have apparently decided to stop them from working with the new range of iPods."

This is bad news for Winamp, Songbird, ephpod and/or Linux users in general. This was already basically made a moot point by the iPhone since it uses iTunes to sync your contacts and calendar - but now the entire new line of iPods is literally and physically locked to iTunes too.

Flixster & iLike in Bed Together?

I just noticed that Flixster and iLike are cross-promoting each other from each site's footer. Could they be exploring some sort of merger?

Happy 10th Winamp!

To celebrate Winamp's 10th birthday, the fellas have rolled out a new beta. This was well in the works while I was still there, and I have to say that I'm a big fan of the new features - most importantly the option to have a monolithic UI instead of one that breaks into pieces every time you do something and the "play the web" support similar to Songbird. There are some other goodies in there too...

Welcome to the Winamp 5.5 Beta Test

Winamp 5.5: 10th Anniversary Edition is packed with exciting stuff, including:

* A brand new unified user interface with album art support
* More Like This automatic playlist generator
* Media Monitor tool that automatically playlists playable songs from any web page
* Fully integrated browser with Smart Search functionality
* MP3 surround playback support
* Remote access to your music and videos on the web, compatible mobile devices, and TVs using Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360

**Coming Soon**
* A custom Winamp browser toolbar with integrated Winamp playback controls

There is much more to explore. Click the Download Winamp button to try out the new and improved Winamp features.

I strongly suggest you check it out. To date, Winamp is the *only* reason I can think of needing to run Windows on my Mac. Thanks guys, you just cost me a bunch of money. :-)

Shameless Plug: Download the MyStrands client for Winamp and join the fun. Just by listening to your favorite music in Winamp, you will also be dynamically programming a personalized music video channel at MyStrands.TV for you to watch and share with your friends.

The Great Subscription Music Consolidation Continues

This one is not via acquisition, but attrition...

Heard on the Street - WSJ.com: "Its Yahoo Music service, which has about 250 to 300 staff, is among those expected to be trimmed and its fee-based subscription music offering overhauled or shuttered. Overall, the company plans to move staff around and freeze some positions, though significant layoffs aren't expected, people familiar with the matter say."

Since the Rhapsody/Urge merger a whopping couple of weeks ago, even more has happened. Sony Connect has been shut down and it appears that Napster is backing off of their freeplay strategy. This is of course good news for "Rhapsody America" (ugh) as the Yahoo Music Unlimited subscribers will now need to look for a new home.

Also, as of last week Apple announced that they will be rolling out WiFiTunes (my name, not there's) where users can buy any track and download over the air to their iPhone/iPod Touch and sync it back to their computer. Unlike the wireless carriers who thought that you would happily pay 2-3x for this convenience has now had that business chopped at the knees.

Now for my latest conspiracy theories around Apple...

1) iPod Touch has WiFi and Safari - how long until they introduce a VoIP client (Skype anyone) and turn it into a WiFi phone? It seems interesting in conjunction with the rumor that Apple may bid on some of the 700mhz spectrum that Google has been ogling.

2) Other news surfaced this week that iTunes has hidden error messages suggesting that a movie rental service is right around the corner. Of course... if you can do movie rentals, there is no reason you can't do a music subscription service. The fact that some of the earlier iPods didn't have a secure clock that would enable these models has be negated by the fact that Apple is rolling out an entire new *line* of iPods that I'm guessing have the secure clock that enables temporary license management.

What do you guys think?

Ringle - the worst idea since ripped bread?

"Ringles" (groan) is basically the new version of the old 45... a song you want (A side), a song you don't (B side) and a ringtone sold on physical media at retail. The difference...you are paying for physical media (the CD and packaging) that is basically trash as soon as you copy it to your computer for something that is better delivered digitally in the first place. The upside? You have the privilege of spending $7 for it....

Music industry betting on 'ringle' format | Tech&Sci | Technology | Reuters.com: "Each ringle is expected to contain three songs -- one hit and maybe one remix and an older track -- and one ringtone, on a CD with a slip-sleeve cover. The idea is that if consumers in the digital age can download any tracks they want individually, why not let them buy singles in the store as well?"

I've got to be honest, I've never understood the success of the ringtone market. At least at the beginning we were talking about a separate MIDI composition (generally speaking) so I understand the incremental work required to enable the market and can see the argument for incremental fees since you were actually buying a different recording. For some reason consumers seemed happy to shell $2 for 30 seconds of a bad mono or polyphonic MIDI-version when they wouldn't pay $1 for the actual song. But now we are talking about using the actual master recordings being triggered by an event. How on earth does anyone (even Apple) rationalize that you have to spend extra if you want a song to play when your phone rings?

What's next? If my phone isn't on vibrate I'm going to be charged a public performance royalty?

It's a Pixies Kinda Day

I was in a Pixies kind of mood today... and thought I'd share.

Watch The Pixies Channel on MyStrands.TV

or just check out my channel:

Watch the muSick in the Head Channel at MyStrands.TV

You can have one too just by listening to you music you are passively programming a channel. It can't get any easier than that, eh?

Shameless Plug: Introducing MyStrands.TV

Remember when MTV used to actually play music videos? I had friends that were completely addicted to it... a TV replaced their radio and they would just leave MTV on all day to serve the roll as their personal soundtrack. Well, we all know that you couldn't find a music video on MTV anymore if your life depended on it. Sure, you can find lots of great music videos on the web, put it's a painful experience of fits and starts. Think of a song or artist, click play, watch. Think of another... rinse, lather, repeat. It's actually quite paralyzing... quick tell me the next 5 songs you want to listen to. I'm guessing most of you can't, because you don't actually *know* - you need a programmed experience to get you kick-started and then give the freedom to explore once you are one you way.

Well, I'm happy to announce the arrival of MyStrands.TV. It's simple... if you already have a MyStrands account then you just log into MyStrands.TV and start enjoying and endless playlist of music videos that are personalized specifically for you.... based on your music listening history and recommendations. Want to veer of course a little? Great, under the video player there is a selection that will help guide you... either select the next song in the playlist to be either: 1) From a Similar Artist, 2) From the Same Artist, or 3) From a Different (non-similar) Artist that we think you may also like. Away you go.


While you're listening, bookmark your favorite videos check out other people that have recently listened to the artist. Want to hear what that user's personalized channel sounds like? Just click on their avatar. Or, jump over to another featured artist for the current channel or and entirely new recommended channel. Hear or see something you just *have* to share? We've made it really easy to email a link to the video to anyone you want, or just as easily embed the video directly into your MyStrands Journal. It's up to you... use it as an interactive video channel or just let it run in the background like radio.

Don't have a MyStrands account? No worries, just sign-up (it's free), download the client software (available for Windows, Mac, Linux, Windows Mobile and Symbian operating systems) and start capturing your playback history from you favorite media player. We'll do the heavy lifting of publishing your history and favorites to all your friends as well as offering you up recommendations of other stuff you may like and other listeners that share the same tastes. There's a ton of other features to the client too that I think you'll enjoy... instant track recommendations, community tracker, automatic playlist builder, playlist publisher and more.

Want to just try it out before deciding whether to sign up? That's cool, just type in the name of an artist and we will build a custom music video channel from that. Feel free to explore.

Have any ideas on improvements or new features? We'd love to hear them. We've got some ourselves - including better integration with the rest of MyStrands. Stay tuned.

Off Topic: AOL Already Preparing for their 4th Annual Holiday Layoff

Who says the (relatively) new management at AOL has no sense of tradition? Techcrunch is getting my former colleagues prepared for what could be another massive bloodletting just in time for the holidays.

Update On Netscape.com: It’s Done, Possibly Moving To WOW.com. Big AOL Layoffs Coming.: "We also expect to hear about material layoffs at AOL in the next six weeks, possibly as much as 15% of the 16,000 strong workforce. Next week the senior execs are supposed to be notified of the exact size of the cuts and whether they are targeted to specific business groups or across the board cuts."

Most of the people I know (that AOL should go out of their way to keep), are probably licking their chops at the opportunity to get a severance package this time around. It's like a big game... play your cards right and try to get "on the list", start looking for a new job, and if you can time the new job to start right after the layoff you have basically got yourself a nice couple of months of double pay.

Those that aren't lucky enough to win at layoff roulette will then probably ride it out until March (bonus payout time), then jump ship. The good news is that I think the market forces are aligning such that Northern Virgina may have the opportunity to become a hot bed for new media start-ups. Let's hope.

Theatrical Release Movies on your iPhone

Not that I am endorsing this, but I can verify that it works (well)....

PirateBay + Azureus (or other BitTorrent client) + iSquint (video conversion software) + iTunes = new movies on your iPhone

DVD quality copies of DieHard 4, Knocked Up, Ocean's 13, Bourne Ultimatum and more in your pocket. Or you can go for handycam versions of newer movies like SuperBad.

Me, Myself & iPhone

Yeah, I broke down and got an iPhone. There are a couple of minor things that are a bit annoying - but that is to be expected. And yes... as everyone else has already reported, I too, would love it if it used the 3G network and that it supported Flash content. But in short I think it's great. I wasn't going to get one - I was going to sit on the fence until the second generation then decide. I didn't want to be the Apple fanboy that thinks any/everything that comes out of Cupertino is the best thing ever created. I even posted that I hoped the iPhone would be a total piece of crap and that it would fail. But alas... it is not. When I went back and looked at my old posts about what I have always wanted in the ultimate phone (wifi, MP3, video, large storage capacity, *relatively* fast data network) - I realized that I was in denial that the iPhone met all of these criteria. The one it didn't meet was that It doesn't support subscription music services - but see my post from yesterday as to why this criteria no mattered for me. But in lieu of support for Windows Media DRM, it even threw a spectacular UI and a qwerty keyboard that works pretty well even though it is virtual. Not as good as my old Blackberry's hardware keyboard but it works good enough for me.

As *many* people have posted about the overall usability and UI - I will share a personal experience that I think is very illuminating. If you hand the iPhone to an adult (particularly someone from my parent's generation) - the initial response is "wow"! This is because they have been trained and beaten down over years that technology (particularly cutting-edge tech) shouldn't be this easy.

On the flipside, when I handed the iPhone to my 3 year old daughter for the first time I got *no* reaction. That's because she didn't know any better - to her it worked like it was supposed to... completely intuitive.

So, after a few weeks with it - I've compiled the list of apps and websites that I have found to be the most indispensable for you other iPhoney's.

1. Handbrake - rip a DVD then transfer it to your iPhone. Note: In Handbrake select the iPod settings but make sure that the output size is no larger than 640x480 (I had to go in and manually change this one parameter of the iPod setting). If you don't do that then the file won't sync.
2. iPhone Remote (aka Telekinesis) - Not only can you use your iPhone as a remote control for you Mac (opening applications, etc.) but you can also stream content off of your Mac to your iPhone (music, videos, snapshots from your webcam). Works great over my LAN, but not sure if/how it will work outside the house since I don't have a static IP address. Still playing with it, but has *lots* of potential. Another option is Signal, but it does less and costs more ($29 vs. free).
   
3. Facebook Mobile - If you love Facebook, then the iPhone optimized version of the site is a must-bookmark.
4. Seeqpod for iPhone - MP3 search engine optimized for iPhone. Search for a free range MP3, and stream directly to your phone. Obviously better to try when on WiFi. Another great option is Grabb.it's iPhone interface.
   
5. TinyBuddy IM - A web-based AIM application (built by folks at AOL) using the "standard" iPhone UI. The other option is Meebo which also works well.
6. Netvibes - I actually just went through the pain of migrating all of my feeds from Pageflakes to Netvibes just so I could get the same content on my iPhone. It takes a long time to load over EDGE, but when on WiFi it works very well.

What are you guys using?



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Now playing: Weezer & Soul Coughing - American Girl
via FoxyTunes

The King Has No Clothes (and is Dead). Long Live the King.

I have been on both sides of the subscription music business. I led the product group at AOL that acquired/relaunched AOL Music Now (unfortunately dealt away to Napster) - and I have subscribed to virtually all the competitors. I have been a big fan of the value proposition that subscription music business brings - in spite of itself and all the hoops it makes consumers jump through. If you haven't already, you should read some of my (ever-evolving) thoughts about the state of the market in some of my older posts.

But, as a consumer I have recently sworn off DRM (and Microsoft products/technologies in general to a large degree, but that's a different story) - after years of trying to convince myself and others that DRM is "no big deal". Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right? The turning point for me was the realization that people (like my wife) would have a portable player full of content (that I had to put on there for her) that would never play because all of the licenses were expired. With her being only a part-time computer user, the job would then fall on my shoulders to continually manage her player, download the tracks she wanted and keep it all working. Major pain in the ass.

And yes... Apple obviously uses/has used DRM for a long time too - but to their credit, they simplified the model so that you would never run into the issue of "dead" content on an iPod (since they don't do subscription they don't have to worry about renewing the licenses on a monthly basis).

I still give Rhapsody my $15/month - although I'm not sure for how long considering I broke down and got an iPhone (more on that later). Their issues (and those of the new "Rhapsody America") are the same as they have always been... subscription content doesn't play on an iPod/iPhone. And who in the marketplace doesn't want/have an iPod or iPhone? It's like the kids 30 years ago who's parents bought him a "Magnavox Odyssey2" video game system when the rest of the planet had an Atari 2600 (unfortunately, that was me).

I truly believe that a marketplace with ubiquitous high-speed IP access and multi-function mobile phones solves all of theses issues - but realistically that is still a couple of years off (keep an eye on Sprint... uh, I mean "Xohm"... and their 4G/WiMax rollout) for early adopters and probably 5+ years for the mass market.

So, until then my new digital music M.O. is iPhone + eMusic + DRMless MP3 purchases (some from iTunes even they are actually AAC files, some from gBox, some from Amazon) + free-range MP3 streaming and "acquisition" (SkreemR, Hype Machine, Seeqpod, etc.) + library sharing (via Simplify Media) + personalized streaming services (more on that soon). What the market really needs is a destination that aggregates all these options into a single place - there are a couple that are starting to do this now - and I'm sure more will follow (will it be Google?).

The two year AT&T contract that I had to sign for my iPhone will expire just as it is time to move back to an all-you-can eat subscription model....

Rhapsody mUrge-r Follow Up

More details came out late yesterday about the corporate and financial structure of the new "Rhapsody America". I've got to say that my hopes were that basically Urge subscribers would be rolled into Rhapsody and that Real's existing management team would run the business (similar to the way Napster acquired the AOL Music Now customers basically in exchange for a large ad-buy commitment). But, now I see that it is a true JV with new management team and it's own currency.

OK, I don't know Michael Bloom (announced as CEO of the JV) at all. He may be a genius and a hell of a guy that just got dealt a losing hand with Urge. But from afar, it seems odd to me that you take that guy that was running a failing service and make him the CEO instead of guys from the Real side who are running a (somewhat) successful business.

Is it just me?

And a parting thought.... what's up with that name?! I sincerely hope that is the name of the corporate entity and not the service's brand....

"Hey, did you get that new album on iTunes?"
"No, I got it on Rhapsody America!"

Ugh.

Rhapsody and Urge Merge

Big news. The subscription music consolidation continues with MTV rolling it's over-hyped under-delivering subscription service, Urge, in with Real's Rhapsody service - this follows Napster's acquisition last year of both Virgin Digital and AOL Music Now's subscribers.

Free Article - WSJ.com: "In a bid to create a stronger competitor to Apple Inc.'s market-dominating iTunes Store, Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks is set to announce today that it is merging its online digital-music offerings into a joint venture with RealNetworks Inc., the company behind the Rhapsody subscription digital-music service, according to people familiar with the matter."

A couple of more moves are needed until Real has got a realistic shot a making a dent in Apple's marketshare.

1. First, the market needs Napster (or at least their customers) to be acquired by Rhapsody too. Then, the market confusion will start to clear a little (iTunes needs one strong competitor, not a bunch of tiny ones) - then they can easily position A vs. B in their marketing messaging.
2. Offer DRM-free a la carte tracks (which they are going to do) - word is that they will be really high bit-rate (upwards of 256kbps) MP3s. Sell them for $1 each.
   
3. Introduce an ad-supported streaming service - with an upsell tier to ad-free listening.
   
4. Partner with every "music 2.0" site out there and syndicate their free play web player - support *lots* of external communities, not just their own - cut affiliate relationships with them all.
   

Now they have a basic value proposition that the market can understand - "we are just like iTunes but instead of 30-second samples you can listen to the whole song". Songs you buy can be imported into iTunes and sync'd with an iPhone (iPod sync is supported by other players, but if you want to sync your contacts/calendar with your iPhone then currently can only do that with iTunes). You also have a great web-based streaming experience that doesn't require a fat media player client.

Over time they could move towards "package" download tiers (like eMusic where you can download x tracks/month). I would personally like that model, but I actually think they should refrain from offering that as it confuses the marketing message. Once people understand it is "just like iTunes only better", then they can move on and try some new models.

All that being said... there is nothing keeping Apple from doing all this themselves if/when the Rhapsody plan started getting some traction.

Plug-ins to Share iTunes Tracks

A few months ago I told you guys about the AIM plug-in that enables any/all of your buddies music libraries to show up in the "Shared" node of iTunes. Essentially tricking iTunes into thinking that these buddies are on the same subnet (local network). The result is a streaming-only experience that you are familiar with if you already use the shared library function of iTunes - no copying, no ripping. These ideas actually aren't all that new, but they are now resurfacing after several dormant years. The AIM one works pretty well (still basically alpha therefore buggy at times). But, now that a Mac is my primary machine I have switched to Adium for my IM client and therefore I'm now out of luck.

Well, in steps Simplify Media with their iTunes plug-in that does essentially the same thing (with claimed support for Winamp and Windows Media Player coming soon). It allows you to invite up to 30 friends to join your "Media List". Technically, the number of people that can stream simultaneously off or you machine is limited by your bandwidth (combined with the bitrate of your tunes). Realistically, probably only a couple/few at one time. The 30 person limitation seems to be little more than trying to get protection under Fair Use?

I am using Simplify Media to give my friends and family access to my music library. Set up is fast, and the software is integrated with Apple iTunes.
To play my music, download Simplify Media for Mac or PC from:

http://www.simplifymedia.com/welcome.html

Once installed, click the 'invite' button and use my screen name: jherskowitz

It's simple, safe and free.

Currently I am trying it out to get access to my home library when I'm not on my LAN (also see my posts on Streampad, Orb/Winamp Remote and other remote access products). Anyone else out there using it? If so, hit me up so I can try it out.



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Now playing: Okkervil River - Love To A Monster
via FoxyTunes

iTunes Annoyance of the Day

All I want is a simple "enqueue" function. I don't want to build a playlist... I just want to be able to find a song and either "play next" or "put at end of current queue". Winamp is great at this, but alas... I'm on a Mac and I'm not going to run Parallel's just for this purpose. I think Songbird probably does this, but I've got an iPhone and Apple has been smart/underhanded enough to use iTunes as the sync agent for not only your music but also as the conduit into you calendar and contacts.

So... yes, Apple has once again used a proprietary system to lock me into a sub-optimized experience in my opinion. Fool me twice...

Anyone know of any hacks or tricks to get iTunes to queue up songs?

Hypothetical: Pay For One, But Take Another

I'm on a large listserv that is haunted by a wide range of professionals and artists that discuss many of the issues and opportunities that currently present themselves to the digital media market. I started a thread last week that simply posed the following hypothetical:

Someone pays a subscription music service for their "to-go" plan in perpetuity ($15/month for life) but instead of downloading any of the DRM'd content from that service they "acquire" DRMless MP3 versions of the same songs.

Is this deemed "illegal"? They are paying the labels their per month minimums which in turn are paid out to the rights holders (assuming the user is only acquiring content that is also licensed to the subscription provider they are paying) - and since they are paying in perpetuity then the issue of "owning" versus "renting" (and the 30-day licenses) is a non-issue.

The logic (albeit many see as flawed) being that if you pay the monthly subscription fees in perpetuity (basically "renting" it for life), than theoretically the artists and labels end up making far more than they do off a one-time sale of the track. Therefore, if someone pays Rhapsody their $15/month for the rest of their life for the right to listen to a track - but then go and "steal" those tracks from somewhere else - the net net is a positive for the labels and artists. This is the "music as a utility" (some say "tax") argument that the industry has yet to embrace, although their could be grassroots movement of consumers just paying these subscription services (using them as little more than a collection agency) then going off and "acquire" all the tracks they can find off of MP3 blogs, P2P networks, etc. with a clear conscience in knowing that the rights holders are still be remunerated.

The fact is, I know *many* people that discover and listen to new music from MP3 blogs and/or The Hype Machine that also happen to subscribe to services. They find the stuff on the blogs, they listen to it there. If they like it, their choice is to either:

A). Download it directly from there
B). Copy the artist/song info, go to the store of choice (potentially
launching a big heavy media player), log in and buy it. Perish the thought
that they find *lots* of songs they want to buy. Rinse. Lather. Repeat.

The bottom line is that in the current digital music legal and business framework it is easier to steal than to buy legally.

This thread has been active for almost a week now and spun into a very lively debate that has started to cover much larger topics that I originally intended (which is great). But to boil it back down to the original question and the more relevant follow up of... Would you feel morally comfortable with this scenario?

Terrestrial Radio Worth Listening To in DC

In my opinion, D.C.-area terrestrial radio died the day WHFS went off the air a couple of years ago - at least in terms of music programming. I'm originally from the DC area (before leaving on my lap around the nation) and grew up on WHFS - or at least converted to it after discovering there was more music in the world than Pop. I can still remember going to one of the first 'HFStivals at Lake Fairfax Park - it was the first time I ever heard The Tragically Hip and have been a fan ever since. When all the other stations were playing hair metal or bubblegum pop in the mid- to late-80s, HFS was playing The Smiths, The Pixies and Jane's Addiction. Unfortunately, in their later years, HFS had morphed into an awful clone of DC101 - both seemingly playing all Linkin Park, all the time.

Well it appears that WHFS has been virtually reborn (although a bit older like the rest of us) as a new station in the D.C. area called 94.7 - The Globe. It brings back to long-time HFS DJ's in Weasel and Cerphe and plays "world class rock" - as I write this David Bowie is playing, before that I've heard 10,000 Maniacs, R.E.M, Cheap Trick, Edie Brickell, Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, old U2 and even some Zeppelin.

If you guys live in San Francisco or Boston - it's like DC *finally* got our version of KFOG or WBOS. It's about friggin' time.

Universal Decides it is More Important to Screw Apple than their Customers

It has taken longer than I had hoped, but finally some more movement from the other majors on the DRMless front...

Universal To Set Its Music Free - Forbes.com: "During its trial run, the Vivendi (other-otc: VIVEF - news - people ) subsidiary said it will make 'thousands' of its albums and songs available for download without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, restrictions, to observe consumer demand, price sensitivity and the impact on piracy. The songs will be sold in the MP3 format, which can be played on any handheld music player, including the market-leading iPod from Apple (nasdaq: AAPL - news - people ), as well as on any cell phone that can play music.

The test run will begin Aug. 21 and will run through the end of January. Universal's move is significant on a number of different levels. As home to a sprawling roster of leading recording artists including Amy Winehouse, 50 Cent, Fall Out Boy, Prince, Elvis Costello and others, its U.S. unit sales last year that were roughly three times that of EMI Group, which began offering its catalog without DRM restrictions in April.

n addition, Universal is shutting out Apple's iTunes Store from its trial run. Why? Because it wants to use iTunes as a control group against which to compare its sale of DRM-free downloads elsewhere.

Among the online vendors participating in Universal's test run will be Amazon.com, Wal-Mart, Google, Best Buy, Rhapsody from RealNetworks, Trans World Entertainment, Passalong Networks and Puretracks.

A nice move all-around, the consumers get what they want (DRMless content that will still play on their iPod), Amazon can make their entrance into the market with a bang (something the labels desperately need is a strong iTunes competitor to give them more leverage with Apple) and Universal at least gets to *appear* like they are listening to their consumers.

The other piece of BIG news kind of slid into the story is the inclusion of Google as a partner that is going to sell these tracks. Is Google finally getting into the game to after years of rumors?! Check out some of my related thoughts on Google as the ultimate music mashup...

Time to fire up Winamp and wait from Amazon's or Google's store to go live - haven't we all been waiting long enough?