Universal Set to Offer Free mp3 Downloads
Universal Music Group, one of the world’s largest music labels, announced that it has reached an agreement with SpiralFrog that will let the company offer free mp3 downloads of its licensed music later this year. The internet community has been fighting with music labels for years to get free music downloads. While this finally marks an important cornerstone for the online music industry, it’s not as rosy as the headlines make it out to appear.
There really is no such thing as free lunch, or free mps3’s for that matter, since the service is planned to show ads to users as they download the music. It will also make users login each month to validate their previously downloaded music. One of the biggest drawbacks will be that people will not be able to burn CD’s or download the music to their iPod, which accounts for 70% of the portable mp3 market.
Me? Until they come out with something that doesn’t include DRM, or is overly restictive, I’m going to stick with CD’s – no restrictions, can be downloaded to your iPod, and have much better music quality. Plus there’s good ways to get CD’s at $5.99 apiece.
Related: Universal Deal, SpiralFrog
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