Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index An online audio store is an Internet service that sells audio, usually primarily music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. The realization of the market for these services grew widespread around the time of Napster, a music and file sharing service created by Shawn Fanning that made a major impact on the Internet scene during the year 2000. Some services have tethered downloads, meaning that playing songs requires an active membership. Table of contents 1 Compared to file swapping 1.1 Advantages 1.2 Disadvantages 2 Stores 2.3 Audible.com 2.4 iTunes Music Store 2.5 Rhapsody (aka Listen.com) 2.6 EMusic 2.7 MusicNet 2.8 BuyMusic 2.9 pressplay (aka Napster) 2.10 Musicmatch Downloads (aka Dell Music Store) 3 Pricing 3.11 Per-song 3.12 Subscription 4 Platform 4.13 Linux 4.14 Macintosh 4.15 Windows 5 External links Compared to file swapping Much controversy surrounds this issue, so many or perhaps all of these points are disputed. Advantages More respectful to copyright law as interpreted by groups like the RIAA. Decreases chances of legal disadvantages. Avoids some social stigmas and moral regrets that some people have. Arguably promotes creation of music. More consistent and higher quality meta-data, because the entering of the meta-data is more centralized and done by groups with financial interests. Companies sometimes feel more accountable to users than other users. Higher audio quality for similar reasons as meta-data. Disadvantages Decreased selection, because of more attention paid to copyright concerns. Increased price. Some file swapping advocates claim that music stores charge an infinite number of times more because of division by zero complications. Notably Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs claimed in his introduction of the iTunes Music Store that file swappers get paid less than minimum wage for the work required to download audio. Digital Rights Management sometimes irritates consumers. The restrictions vary with the service sometimes within songs of a service. Doesn't support record labels. Criticisms of record labels include overpricing, monopolies, and lack of support for artists. Stores Along with those mentioned, companies like Microsoft, Wal-Mart, and Coca-Cola have plans for paid services as well. Audible.com iTunes Music Store See iTunes Music Store. Pricing: Cost to download, most songs cost 99 cents, most albums cost $9.99 Platform(s): Mac OS X (not Mac OS Classic), Windows 2000 and Windows XP Downloading: Yes Burning/Copying: Yes Streaming: No Radio: No Format(s): AAC/MPEG-4 Digital Rights Management: Up to 3 computers, unlimited CDs (10 with an unchanged playlist), unlimited iPods Preview: 30 seconds Trial: N/A Catalog: 200,000; 400,000 by the end of October; includes audio books Features: Allowance, gift certificates Rhapsody (aka Listen.com) See Rhapsody. Pricing: Subscription Platform(s): Windows 98 and later Downloading: Extra cost Burning/Copying: Extra cost Streaming: Unlimited with All Access Plan Radio: Unlimited Format(s): Windows Media (proprietary) Digital Rights Management: Preview: 30 seconds Trial: 7 days Catalog: 20,000 albums; 9,000 artists Features: EMusic See EMusic. Pricing: Subscription Platform(s): Microsoft Windows, Mac OS, Linux Downloading: Unlimited Burning/Copying: Unlimited Streaming: No Radio: No Format(s): MP3 Digital Rights Management: No, impossible with MP3 Preview: 30 seconds Trial: 50 MP3s Catalog: 250,000 songs Features: MusicNet See MusicNet. Pricing: Subscription Platform(s): Microsoft Windows with AOL Downloading: Yes, tethered Burning/Copying: Premium Plan only Streaming: Yes Radio: No Format(s): Digital Rights Management: Yes Preview: 30 seconds Trial: 30 days with AOL sign-up Catalog: 250,000 songs Features: BuyMusic See BuyMusic. Pricing: Cost per download Platform(s): Windows 98 and later Downloading: Yes Burning/Copying: Yes Streaming: No Radio: No Format(s): Windows Media Digital Rights Management: Yes Preview: 30 seconds Trial: N/A Catalog: 304,000 songs Features: pressplay (aka Napster) See pressplay. pressplay has rights to the name Napster, despite costing money. Pricing: Subscription Platform(s): Windows 2000, Windows XP Downloading: Unlimited tethered, extra cost for non-tethered Burning/Copying: Extra cost Streaming: Unlimited Radio: Unlimited Format(s): Windows Media Digital Rights Management: Yes Preview: 30 seconds Trial: 3 days Catalog: 300,000 songs Features: Musicmatch Downloads (aka Dell Music Store) See Musicmatch Downloads. Pricing: Subscription Platform(s): Windows 98 and later, Mac OS Downloading: No Burning/Coping: No Streaming: Platinum Plan only Radio: Unlimited Format(s): Streaming MP3 Digital Rights Management: No downloads, streaming only Preview: N/A Trial: 7 days Catalog: 10,500 artists Features: Pricing Per-song BuyMusic iTunes Music Store Musicmatch Downloads (aka Dell Music Store) Subscription EMusic MusicNet pressplay (which has rights to the name Napster, despite costing money) Rhapsody (aka Listen.com) Platform Linux EMusic Macintosh EMusic iTunes Music Store - Mac OS X, not Mac OS Classic Musicmatch Downloads (aka Dell Music Store) Windows BuyMusic - Windows 98 and later EMusic iTunes Music Store Musicmatch Downloads (aka Dell Music Store) - Windows 98 and later MusicNet - with AOL pressplay (which has rights to the name Napster, despite costing money) - Windows 2000 and Windows XP Rhapsody (aka Listen.com) - Windows 98 and later External links Indie-Music.com: Choosing a Digital Music Service This article is from Wikipedia. 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