The Apple Music Store
Comments: 10
By now you’ve probably all seen the latest announcements from Apple. New iPods, new QuickTime (6.2), new iTunes (4), and, of course, the Apple Music Store.
I downloaded everything and headed to the Music Store, only to see this:
The iTunes Music Store is not available in your country yet. You will be able to browse music and listen to previews, but you won’t be able to purchase music unless your billing address is in the United States.
Oh well. It looks pretty exciting, but I won’t be able to give it a spin for a little while, it seems. The store appears to have a bunch of older recordings from the ’30s and ’40s, so even though it’s only a dollar per song, I can see it adding up quickly. The price is pretty reasonable, although 75¢ — 4 songs for $3.00 — would have been a nice way to do it. Got to draw a line somewhere, I suppose. I can see it being wildly successful.
While I’m waiting for access to the store, the big deal is AAC-capable iPods by way of the 1.3 updater. Better sounds in smaller files. If you have QT Pro, iTunes can encode in AAC as well. Bye-bye “.mp3,” hello “.m4a.”
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Posted to Computers • 2003.04.29 (Tue) • 13:36
Comments
Posted by jeremy 2003.04.29, 14:11
I think you can encode AAC without QT Pro. You just need the QT 6.2 update.
Posted by niji 2003.04.29, 14:11
hi, yes. i stayed up until 3 am and saw it on webcast. at 4 when i was dowloading everything i was amazed at really how simple apple has made it for us. everything just worked. no fuss. no windows frigging driver errrors. no cryptic errror messages. just a powerful user music experience. THE most powerful music user experience on the planet. i too was bummed about international users, but during the webcast steve did say that international users would be able to use iTunes store as of May 9. the new iPods are amazing, arent they? slimmer, lighter. by the way, the new AAC format is not necessarily smaller in size than mp3. a 128 bit mp3 ripped tune takes up as much disk space (that is, it is the same size-wise9 as a 128 bit AAC format. the difference is that the AAC format allows more info to be carried in that space, so it is a richer and better sound quality. i dont know if you have spent much time browsing the iTunes store yet (which you can do, and by double clicking on the song you get to hear 30 secs of it as a preview - we international users just cant buy it yet), but the catalog only has 200,000 songs in it. sounds like alot? it isnt. i doubt you will find much in there yet. i think the lack of song selection is going to hamper it unless they move it and speed up their cataloging of new material. you can also download album covers as well. and the iTunes visuals are better, too. i dont have an iPod yet. I have waited for this. I think I will get the 10 gig,and put my Chinese language lessons on it as well…
Posted by Mary Beth 2003.04.29, 15:30
I was skeptical, but I have to say I was pretty pleased with the whole thing. I downloaded five things (see my web site for the list) and spent time browsing and sampling. Steve assured us that this is just the beginning. And the international and WIN stuff will be coming soon too.
Actually I was pretty impressed with the breadth of music. I’m not really into current music so I was glad to see my favorite altan and a lot of other stuff I know and love but don’t own.
The new ipods look slick but I would need some major justifying to replace my 5 gig….
I get to work the big OT at the Apple Store event on Friday. Should be fun.
Posted by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com 2003.04.29, 16:19
Wow I can now pay Apple for the music that I was just downloading for free. I love Apple but I still hate the RIAA passionatly and if they get some of my money than I can’t morally support it. I mean if the RIAA gets a penny that I don’t want to support it.
Posted by Joel 2003.04.29, 18:01
I’m wondering about the AAC vs MP3 sound quality. I read a few articles saying Apple’s default ACC encoder is not very good and imagine it is the one iTunes 4 uses with QuickTime 6.2 standard. The Pro version seems to have a better one, the press release says the Apple Music store files are encoded with a codec from Dolby…..hum… should I invest in a OT Pro key?
Posted by jh 2003.04.29, 18:42
Niji —-
by the way, the new AAC format is not necessarily smaller in size than mp3.
Good point, you’re right. I should have been clear that it allows you to rip at smaller bit rates for a comparable sound. That was me being a lazy thinker.
And, no, I don’t think 200,000 tracks is a huge selection, but it’s not a bad start. What surprised me was that there’s quite a bit there that I’d buy —- it’s not all contemporary pop (or should that be contemptible pop? ;-). I’m embracing old-fartdom early!
Mary Beth —-
The new ipods look slick but I would need some major justifying to replace my 5 gig
It’s the Pismo syndrome, isn’t it. The other day I tried to copy something onto the old 5 gigger and there wasn’t enough space. There was a bunch of stuff on there I wasn’t listening to anymore and once I got rid of that, there was room. Of course, I’d love to not have to worry about this for a while, but it’s hardly a reason to go upgrading right now.
Jake —- About the only friends the RIAA seems to have left are those that can be given campaign contributions. I wish they’d shrivel up and die, too, but as someone who’s had enough work ripped off (photography, ad campaigns, site designs), I like the idea of artists getting paid for their work.
Not that the RIAA has ever been terribly interested in that, of course.
Joel —- I did a very quick comparison between this afternoon and I can’t say I saw a huge difference. I took a digitally recorded piece (Prokofiev’s first symphony, George Solti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, 1982 —- it was the first DDD example that came out of the pile beside my desk but it’s really a terrific recording ;-) and compared the Allegro as an mp3 (165 kbps VBR giving a file of 4.5 MB) and as AAC (160 kbps, also a 4.5 MB file). This is with QT Pro, by the way.
I listened to them through Audio Technica TH-350AV headphones (which are by no means audiophile quality but certainly good enough for the job).
The AAC sounds slightly fuller in the bass compared to the mp3, which is a bit thuddy, and the horns likewise have a bit more shape to them. I couldn’t hear much of a difference in the top end.
You’d expect better given the similar bit rates. This is only one piece, of course, but the Allegro does have a good mixture of passages to test against. I’ve got a bunch of other tracks lined up testing after dinner, but first impressions are that the codec in use might be a bit of a let down.
I remember hearing comparison files of various codecs online somewhere and the difference was noticeable (i.e., AAC sounded pretty good) but … can’t find the link.
I’ll post again once I’ve tested more tracks.
Posted by Jeff 2003.04.29, 22:02
Jeremy, I’d like to invite you to move in with us here in DC until you can purchase tunes from your own in Nihon! Of course, I have two little ones who are within the single digit age and, believe it or not, want to listen to Britney Spires, ugh! -grin
Posted by Jesper 2003.04.30, 01:32
jh — When I read this sentence — I’m embracing old-fartdom early! — I laughed out loud. I really did.
Apple, a software company, finally gets it all right with the Music Store, and although I find the iPod highly attractive, the old one is still higher on my overall list; sheer simplicity.
Posted by Jake of 8bitjoystick.com 2003.04.30, 11:38
I’ll tell you what every time Moby and DJ Shadow have a new album out I will mail them five bucks and download and burn it guilt free because that is much more than they would get from corporate rock.
Posted by Jason McLeod 2003.05.06, 23:59
I don’t suppose any of you have come across the disappointment of trying to play an m4a file anywhere other than on a Mac?
I have not been able to find a compatable player for Windowze.
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