Legal music downloads increase

[rpm]

http://mybroadband.co.za/nephp/?m=show&id=1736

 

[stoke]

Bwaaaahahahahahahahahaha.
Despite everything the record companies were scared of and all the carp they spewed about download piracy ...

 

[JStrike]

On an interesting note, I have been buying quite a lot of music and tv shows off of iTunes. It is going to be the one thing that saves the music and tv industries. If they dont try and mess with the system that is

 

[supersunbird]

______________
|.......SAVE.......|
|........THE........|
|......PIRATES....|
|_____________|
||
||
||
(\ /)
()
(> <)​

 

[CathJ]

On an interesting note, I have been buying quite a lot of music and tv shows off of iTunes. It is going to be the one thing that saves the music and tv industries. If they dont try and mess with the system that is

Can you buy from iTunes if you're in SA? I didn't think you could...

I would happily buy music off the net (seeing as I wouldn't then have to buy an entire CD for the one song that I like), except:
1) Bandwidth
2) No local providers - musica does sell online, but with ridiculous restrictions (see my blog for more of my thoughts on musica, if you're interested)
3) DRM - I don't want to be locked into a specific player, and I don't want terms & conditions that can change on me. If I buy a song, I want to have control over my copy of it (and see another of my blog posts if you want more of thoughts on DRM).

This is something I've thought about a lot. I truly believe that digital sales are the way to go, but not with the current restrictions. And not in a country where the *lucky* ones have a 3 gig cap, and the average internet user is on dial-up (and the average person can't even afford a phone line).

 

[JStrike]

Cathryn : Unfortunatly not. I am lucky enough to have a USA credit card. iTunes Music Store SA is being held up by SonyBMG (As they have in every other region) Apple may release without them though. So there should be something in the next 6 months or so.
Unfortunatly for me, this means I dont have access to some the great SA bands until iTMS SA is launched. By it really is such a pleasure to use.
DRM : DRM is a good thing. Something is needed to prevent people from distributing lossless copies of copyrighted work illegally. As long as the DRM doesn't infringe on your rights too heavily, it is a compromise that most people can live with.
Apple's DRM in iTunes is pretty liberal.

 

[bwana]

Can you buy from iTunes if you're in SA? I didn't think you could...

You can if you purchase an iTMS Voucher. I dug this out of a recent thread - http://www.capsule-productions.com/ - I havent tried them so caveat emptor.

This news just goes to show that given the right environment people will inherently do the right thing. Unfortunately SA doesnt have that sort of environment

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

The prices for individual songs will probably be higher than other places even though we don't have as high tax rates at the UK.

Will be interesting to see how many songs they have in relation to the iTMS US.

 

[JStrike]

It will be interesting to see the price in SA. The Rand dollar exchange rate (PPP) is about R2.50 = $1 last I saw, so we would hopfully get it somewhere there. R6 - R7 is about the highest I will pay

 

[JStrike]

bwana : Great find BTW!!

 

[telkomsuig]

You can if you purchase an iTMS Voucher. I dug this out of a recent thread - http://www.capsule-productions.com/ - I havent tried them so caveat emptor.

This news just goes to show that given the right environment people will inherently do the right thing. Unfortunately SA doesnt have that sort of environment

I tried it ... no problems. Just bear in mind there is a handeling fee..

 

[sybawoods]

Also been using them for months - no problems. Handling fee is about $4 for a $20 voucher tho.

 

[Perdition]

Cathryn : Unfortunatly not. I am lucky enough to have a USA credit card. iTunes Music Store SA is being held up by SonyBMG (As they have in every other region) Apple may release without them though. So there should be something in the next 6 months or so.
Unfortunatly for me, this means I dont have access to some the great SA bands until iTMS SA is launched. By it really is such a pleasure to use.
DRM : DRM is a good thing. Something is needed to prevent people from distributing lossless copies of copyrighted work illegally. As long as the DRM doesn't infringe on your rights too heavily, it is a compromise that most people can live with.
Apple's DRM in iTunes is pretty liberal.

DRM is NOT a good thing, it is merely a tool for media companies to squeeze more cash out of consumers. You can't tell me that limiting content so you can only watch it x number of times or limiting content to certain devices is a piracy prevention measure. Pirates will ALWAYS find ways around DRM technologies and in many cases before they're even released. Jon "DVD Jon" Johansen is already gearing up to crack the AACS protection of HD-DVD and Blu-Ray.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060116-5989.html

The media companies are an insidious bunch, though people will only open their eyes when it's too late and they have to pay EVERY single time they want to listen to a song or watch a movie.

 

[nocilah]

______________
|.......SAVE.......|
|........THE........|
|......PIRATES....|
|_____________|
||
||
||
(\ /)
()
(> <)​

godamn what a brilliant thing to put on a t-shirt. tks.

 

[Darth Garth]

It would love having something like Yahoo Music or Napster ... a subscription model say like paying R80 per month per household and the ability to d/l or stream any track to your PC or MP3 player subject to DRM restrictions.

 

[TMoose]

It will be interesting to see the price in SA. The Rand dollar exchange rate (PPP) is about R2.50 = $1 last I saw, so we would hopfully get it somewhere there. R6 - R7 is about the highest I will pay

Last one I saw (12 January) PPP was R4.30-R4.40, relatively unchanged from R4.56 in June 2005... so the rand is still pretty undervalued compared to the dollar (despite our economists and government nagging that it's too strong). If only e-commerce worked on the PPP rate

 

[kilps]

Last one I saw (12 January) PPP was R4.30-R4.40, relatively unchanged from R4.56 in June 2005... so the rand is still pretty undervalued compared to the dollar (despite our economists and government nagging that it's too strong). If only e-commerce worked on the PPP rate

bit off topic but for exporters it is a bit strong ....

 

[TMoose]

bit off topic but for exporters it is a bit strong ....

You're right, it is off topic, but I'll answer anyway. They seemed to survive just fine in the 1980's when it was R1.00-R2.50 to the dollar, or 1990-1995 when it was R2.50-R3.60

I'm a supporter of the strong rand, feel that a strong currency helps competitiveness and boosts economic growth (stronger currency = lower inflation = lower interest rates = higher consumer spending), and I feel that exporters that can't adjust to the new levels are probably better off closing doors anyway, because they're being badly managed.

And it would still be cool if e-commerce happened at PPP levels, cheaper everything on Amazon

 

[kilps]

You're right, it is off topic, but I'll answer anyway. They seemed to survive just fine in the 1980's when it was R1.00-R2.50 to the dollar, or 1990-1995 when it was R2.50-R3.60

I'm a supporter of the strong rand, feel that a strong currency helps competitiveness and boosts economic growth (stronger currency = lower inflation = lower interest rates = higher consumer spending), and I feel that exporters that can't adjust to the new levels are probably better off closing doors anyway, because they're being badly managed.

And it would still be cool if e-commerce happened at PPP levels, cheaper everything on Amazon

true but it is called inflation ... I have family who farm and they export the fruit they produce - it is difficult with a strong rand as their is alot of competition ...

 

[nocilah]

It would love having something like Yahoo Music or Napster ... a subscription model say like paying R80 per month per household and the ability to d/l or stream any track to your PC or MP3 player subject to DRM restrictions.

dunno about streaming... not in this country but yeah cool idea!