April 29, 2003

The AAC File Format.

AAC is the file format used by the iTunes Music Store. It has restrictions built into it for purposes of copy protection. Tomorrow I’ll be addressing the three leading questions I, for one, had about this format, namely:

• Does it really sound better than MP3s?
• Exactly what restrictions does it have on playback?
• Can you convert it to AIFF for use in a normal CD player?

The answers are all good. Details tomorrow.

ITUNES MUSIC STORE: QUICK REVIEW.

Pros:

• It’s amazingly fast and responsive. After double-clicking a song, the excerpt starts playing immediately – as fast as if you had the CD right there. (I’m using a DSL modem. I’m curious to find out how fast the store is with a dial-up connection).
• The interface is very well-designed. It’s easy to find the singers and tracks you’re looking for.
• The excerpts make browsing easy. I’ve already found tracks I like by groups I’d never heard of before.
• The AAC file format appears to be considered superior to the MP3 format – i.e. considered to sound better. It also produces smaller files than MP3 does.
• Being able to purchase on the spot, usually on a track-by-track basis, is great.

Cons:

• Very few current hits are available. For example, there’s nothing yet from Eminem’s last two CDs, or Missy Elliot’s last two CDs. I expect this to change as the service becomes accepted.

Bottom Line:

• The days of paying $18 for a CD with one or two tracks you like, are numbered. This is the future of how we’ll all buy music.

ITUNES MUSIC STORE: SCREEN SHOTS.

This is so Windows users can see what they’ll be getting later this year. Mac users who haven’t yet installed the free iTunes 4 and QuickTime 6.2 (required for using the store) may find these of interest as well.

Home screen:





Album – excerpts from every song are available:





Search – note the Search box in the upper right-hand corner. Double-click the song to hear a 30-second excerpt.





Genre Pull-Down menu:

MP3s and The Record Biz: A Survey

There is a lot of talk about how File Sharing of music files (or MP3s) is changing the record business.

What effect is File Sharing having on the record business? Here’s a quick survey survey to help us find out. It’s just two questions. The results will be posted here at a later date. Thanks in advance for telling us your thoughts!

1. Would You Say that You…

<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="1" NAME="1">Buy More CDs Now Than You Did Before There Were MP3s
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="2" NAME="1">Buy About the Same Number of CDs Now As You Did Before There Were MP3s
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="3" NAME="1">Buy Fewer CDs Now Than You Did Before There Were MP3s

---

2. How Often Do You Burn MP3s to a CD to Listen to On a CD Player?

<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="1" NAME="2">All the Time
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="2" NAME="2">Often
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="3" NAME="2">Sometimes
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="4" NAME="2">Rarely
<INPUT TYPE="radio" VALUE="5" NAME="2">Never

---

Click this button when you are done taking the survey. Thanks!