Here is an example of how balancing the freedom users desire for their downloads, while providing the security to music labels that they demand, can go wrong. Possibly due to a rush to market, early customers at Buy.com have found they can't transfer the tunes they buy on BuyMusic.com to digital portables. Even the players passed out to the press during a promotional campaign failed to get any toes tapping.
"We're working on this," says Buy.com's Scott Blum, who says the company will have the glitch fixed today and that customers who have bought tracks will receive an e-mail offering free re-downloads. The problem: Unlike MP3 music tracks plucked from the Net from pirate sites such as Kazaa, music on BuyMusic is encoded in Microsoft's Windows Media Audio format. The "digital rights management" coding limits what can be done with the files. The files will be recoded to allow for transfers, Blum says. It's an early embarrassment for BuyMusic, which rushed to be first to offer song sales without subscription fees to users of Windows PCs. The Net retailer made a splash with a 160-foot-high Times Square billboard featuring a near-naked Tommy Lee. It sells MP3 players by Creative Labs and others. "It's unfortunate they had this glitch," says Creative's Craig McHugh, adding that many customers have been calling seeking help. "We've been really excited about BuyMusic and its potential." |
Those who contacted tech support staff Thursday were greeted with an e-mail that said: "We are unable to provide technical assistance after you have downloaded the music ... to your primary computer. In addition, we are unable to credit you back for failed or damaged copies once you have successfully downloaded the music."
Off to a very rocky start, BuyMusic is being coy about their sales figures, but "it's not millions," Blum says. Read the full article here.
Source: usatoday.com
