Posted on 03/19/2005 5:22:19 PM PST by SamAdams76
Since getting my iPod in September, I've spend about $300 on downloading music. About the same amount I would have spend buying CDs back in the old days. The only difference is I got 300 songs I really like as opposed to getting maybe 100 good songs by buying CDS (with 200 songs being filler I don't want). That I can live with. And I can keep those songs forever.
The subscription model really scares me. $15 a month doesn't sound like much to download anything you want. But will it stay $15 a month forever? Don't count on it. I remember when my cable bill was $15 a month. Now it's nearly $100 a month and it's only that low because I don't have all the premium channels! And remember, when you cancel your subscription, you lose all your songs forever. So you are locked into this monthly payment for life.
My music is too valuable to me to risk losing it all because my financial situation might someday change and force me to cancel my subscription.
Also, as the article states, not all songs on Napster are part of the subscription service. Some of them you have to buy separately. So you are paying the $15 a month PLUS you have to purchase some of the songs anyway! What kind of deal is that!
I'd rather purchase my songs and own them forever and not be at the mercy of that monthly payment that will only go up and up and up.
Here, here, SA. I completely agree.
I dont want to rent my music. Paying Apple 99¢ for songs that I can do what I want with is what I prefer. Plus there is no better combo than iTunes and the iPod.
Ping
I wish iTunes had more artists I'm interested in, tho'.
It can best be summed up as follows:
Napster: You rent the music, and if you ever stop paying it disappears.
Apple iTunes: You own the music. Period.
I have a whole bunch of music ALREADY. So the $$ to fill my iPod was ZERO dollars and ZERO cents.
This is such a joke. Do you need another month bill jsut to listen to your music? Don't pay and you can't listen. No thanks. Besides, new music is horrible, so I'm happy listening to what I alreayd have.
And here you have the REAL reason why the music industry can't sell as many CDs as it used to...
In those cases, I feel no guilt whatsoever in downloading for free off Kazaa or some other "illicit" file-trading service. I prefer not to have to do that but if the record companies think I'm going to buy that $15.98 CD on the strength of one track, they'd better think again. So far as I'm concerned, the CD has gone the way of the 8-track tape. Music downloading is here and it's here to stay.
There's also option #3. Download the music from Napster, convert it to WAV with Winamp (requires extra plugin), and stop paying the $15.
Most importantly, I often burn CD's with Itunes to play in my car. You can't do that with Napster.
Listening to iTunes music right now through the computer speakers. And when I take off, I never leave without the iPod. It rules. I hardly ever download 15 or more songs a month from iTunes. It's great because when I hear a great song on tv or the radio, I just write it down and download it when I get home. iTunes all the way.
When I first read about this Napster business model, I couldn't figure out how they could sell it to intelligent people.
Now I realize they intent to try to do it by misleading advertising.
Won't work, though. Simply put, the deal sucks.
Maybe I am being lame here but what is to stop me from going to half.com and buying old CD's at the cost of maybe $5 and ripping them to MP3's?
Absolutely nothing. I buy used CDs myself and do the same thing. Perfectly legal too.
OK, how does the free IPOD offer work?
And is it worth it?
If you want to give it a shot, please sign up here to help me get a sweet 16 present for my sis. :) I appreciate it.
Napster doesn't allow unlimited download, not legally. Neither does anyone else.
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