Sony BMG trades cards for downloaded tunes

January 7, 2008 at 07:57 AM

Sony BMG trades cards for downloaded tunes

By David Lieberman, USA TODAY

NEW YORK — Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Jan. 15 becomes the last major record company to sell downloads without copy restrictions — but only to buyers who first visit a retail store.
The No. 2 record company after Universal Music will sell plastic cards, called Platinum MusicPass, for individual albums for a suggested price of $12.99. Buyers enter a code from the card at new Sony BMG (SNE) site MusicPass.com to download that card's album.

"The bigger picture is to make our music available in many different formats, through many different channels, in many different ways," says Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG's global digital business and U.S. sales.

Best Buy (BBY), Target (TGT) and Fred's (FRED) stores will be first to sell them. By Jan. 31, they'll be in Winn-Dixie, Coconuts, FYE, Spec's and Wherehouse. Like gift cards, MusicPass cards are activated at the store.

Sony BMG initially will offer cards for 37 albums by performers including Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Jennifer Lopez and Santana.

Buyers also can download a digital booklet like those with CDs and material such as bonus tracks and videos.

For a suggested $19.99, Sony BMG also will offer cards for Kenny Chesney's album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates and Celine Dion's Taking Chances that let users download a second album by the same artist.

"I'm excited that Taking Chances will be included in the launch of these new cards, and I hope that my fans will see it as a great Valentine's Day present," Dion said in an e-mail.

The cards come as music sales continue to fall. Sales of 584.9 million albums or their digital equivalents last year were off 9.5% from 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The outlook remains cloudy as retailers cut space for CDs, and online piracy continues.

Other record companies have already thrown in the towel and sell music without copy restrictions online, where sales were up 45% last year. Lifting copy limits lets fans listen to their songs on any PC or player. Warner Music (WMG) joined the bandwagon in December with a deal to sell on Amazon's MP3 service.

While conventional download services, such as iTunes, (AAPL) make impulse music buying easier than the cards, Sony BMG feels "strongly that there's a group that will enjoy carrying the imagery of an artist they love around with them, or sharing it with their friends," Hesse says. Cards allow one download, though they have a provision for a backup.

He says that Sony BMG would like other music companies to offer album cards. It also expects to sell MusicPass cards in additional stores and possibly at concert venues.

[

USA Today]

January 7, 2008 at 09:35 AM

NEW YORK — Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Jan. 15 becomes the last major record company to sell downloads without copy restrictions — but only to buyers who first visit a retail store.

The No. 2 record company after Universal Music will sell plastic cards, called Platinum MusicPass, for individual albums for a suggested price of $12.99. Buyers enter a code from the card at new Sony BMG (SNE) site MusicPass.com to download that card's album.

"The bigger picture is to make our music available in many different formats, through many different channels, in many different ways," says Thomas Hesse, president of Sony BMG's global digital business and U.S. sales.

Best Buy (BBY), Target (TGT) and Fred's (FRED) stores will be first to sell them. By Jan. 31, they'll be in Winn-Dixie, Coconuts, FYE, Spec's and Wherehouse. Like gift cards, MusicPass cards are activated at the store.

Sony BMG initially will offer cards for 37 albums by performers including Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Bruce Springsteen, Chris Brown, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Jennifer Lopez and Santana.

http://i.usatoday.net/money/_photos/2008/01/07/musicx-large.jpg

Buyers also can download a digital booklet like those with CDs and material such as bonus tracks and videos.

For a suggested $19.99, Sony BMG also will offer cards for Kenny Chesney's album Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates and Celine Dion's Taking Chances that let users download a second album by the same artist.

"I'm excited that Taking Chances will be included in the launch of these new cards, and I hope that my fans will see it as a great Valentine's Day present," Dion said in an e-mail.

The cards come as music sales continue to fall. Sales of 584.9 million albums or their digital equivalents last year were off 9.5% from 2006, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The outlook remains cloudy as retailers cut space for CDs, and online piracy continues.

Other record companies have already thrown in the towel and sell music without copy restrictions online, where sales were up 45% last year. Lifting copy limits lets fans listen to their songs on any PC or player. Warner Music (WMG) joined the bandwagon in December with a deal to sell on Amazon's MP3 service.

While conventional download services, such as iTunes, (AAPL) make impulse music buying easier than the cards, Sony BMG feels "strongly that there's a group that will enjoy carrying the imagery of an artist they love around with them, or sharing it with their friends," Hesse says. Cards allow one download, though they have a provision for a backup.

He says that Sony BMG would like other music companies to offer album cards. It also expects to sell MusicPass cards in additional stores and possibly at concert venues.

January 7, 2008 at 09:46 AM

That's cool. only that I don't have a computer.

January 7, 2008 at 10:22 AM

that's really wise

January 7, 2008 at 10:35 AM

Dion said in an e-mail.

That's the most funny quote ever. As if Celine uses email. :sofunny: The quote is so not her. I bet she has no idea what's download without DRM at all.

January 7, 2008 at 11:12 AM

That's cool. only that I don't have a computer.

You don't have a computer?! :xmas_wacko: :xmasblink:

January 7, 2008 at 12:44 PM

"I'm excited that Taking Chances will be included in the launch of these new cards, and I hope that my fans will see it as a great Valentine's Day present," Dion said in an e-mail.

I thought Céline doesn't use a computer?? Otherwise where's our email or message??

January 7, 2008 at 12:46 PM

Thats cool. Aren't those cards are like the ones that are used for the iTunes store?

January 7, 2008 at 02:00 PM

Starbucks has been selling iTunes "Digital Releases" like this since October. Basically, instead of buying the actual CD, you purchase the card, go to your computer, and download the album, digital booklet, and videos.

Interesting gimmick, but I don't know how successful they will be long term once the novelty wears off. If I have the choice of buying the physical CD with ACTUAL booklet for the same price as this digital release card to download the album (usually at a lower sound quality), I'm gonna opt for the real thing.

Thoughts?

-Tim

=)

January 7, 2008 at 05:16 PM

Dion said in an e-mail.
That's the most funny quote ever. As if Celine uses email. The quote is so not her. I bet she has no idea what's download without DRM at all.

That was the first thing I thought too! Maybe René got the email, read it to her and then she asked René to answer something for her...

Starbucks has been selling iTunes "Digital Releases" like this since October. Basically, instead of buying the actual CD, you purchase the card, go to your computer, and download the album, digital booklet, and videos.

Interesting gimmick, but I don't know how successful they will be long term once the novelty wears off. If I have the choice of buying the physical CD with ACTUAL booklet for the same price as this digital release card to download the album (usually at a lower sound quality), I'm gonna opt for the real thing.

Thoughts?

-Tim
=)

The same as yours! I prefer to have a physical CD in my hands than having to download and then printing the booklet and yada yada yada. It's much more practical.

January 7, 2008 at 07:02 PM

Shame on you for not splitting my post from the other topic..

January 7, 2008 at 07:13 PM

I don't get this either. As I see it, the main benefits of downloads are lower price, instant gratification, and zero physical space consumption. The main benefits of CDs are perfect sound quality, no fast internet connection required, and full cover art.

This seems to offer none of the benefits of either. It's priced the same as a CD, but it's an imperfect, lossy MP3. You have to go to a store to buy the card, then you still need to download all the music. You end up with a physical object that you may want to keep, but it's not the full cover art. If you just throw away the card, that's just creating waste for no reason at all.

I suppose some might regard this kind of "middle ground" between buying and downloading as desirable, but I see it as the worst of both worlds. I hope they're successful with it, but I strongly suspect they won't be.

If Sony BMG wants to be successful in selling music online, they need to get with the program: offer MP3s through established online retailers, such as Amazon in the US and Puretracks in Canada, and offer DRM-free AACs through iTunes Music Store.

If they want to experiment with other concepts like this, that's fine. But I hope this isn't the sum total of their plan for DRM-free online music.

January 7, 2008 at 07:27 PM

Shame on you for not splitting my post from the other topic..

Unfortunately, I'm not a mod of the English Section. Sorry, I didn't see your post.

then "shame" for what?it could happen...it's not the end of the world

January 7, 2008 at 07:43 PM

Celine Dion and email in the same sentence... :eek:

Topic split and merged

January 7, 2008 at 07:57 PM

Celine Dion and email in the same sentence...

Topic split and merged

Great Vic! :xmas_tongue:

January 7, 2008 at 07:59 PM

Topic split and merged Mathias banned

Yes yes yes! :clap:

Edited January 7, 2008 at 07:59 PM by Céline's Blues

January 7, 2008 at 09:22 PM

People...you are started to really annoy me with the comments about Celine and email. Why do we treat her like she's some music robot who has no capability of exploring technology. Perhaps she has said in the past that she doesn't occupy herself with the computer, but who's to say that over the holidays she didn't sit down and figure out how simple it is to send an email...and maybe even type a few words and hit SEND people. Come on now...

January 8, 2008 at 12:06 AM

i think that concert tickets could use this technology...

so you go to the concert and download the album after...

about celine x internet:im sure she has a notebook to talk with her mom,family and her friends trough skype hahaha

and maybe some important emails too...

i think she could be here hahaha

so heres a message to celine haha

I LOVE YOU CELINE!

why dont you create your blog during the tour?

it would be nice...see some cool photos, stories...

January 8, 2008 at 12:10 AM

Yeah, she surely checks Internet everyday looking forward to the news about nominations and performers list to MTV VMAs! Each year!

January 8, 2008 at 05:08 AM

The Celine sentence sounds so weird LOL

BTW it's too expensive.. iTunes still the best choice for me

January 9, 2008 at 09:21 AM

Here you are th web promo with a promo video http://gift.musicpass.com/ they put celine with a world to believe in !!!

January 9, 2008 at 09:26 AM

Here you are the content for the Céline pass:

January 9, 2008 at 11:28 AM

thanks Fran! OMG they wrote CELENE! :sofunny:

January 9, 2008 at 01:13 PM

Celine Dion and email in the same sentence...

Yeah... weird. :ermm:

January 10, 2008 at 10:25 AM

'Taking Chances' Available Soon on Musicpass!
January 10 , 2008

Starting January 29, ' Taking Chances' will be available on Musicpass throughout North America! Musicpass is the new digital download card that plays on iPods and all MP3 Players. The 'Taking Chances' Musicpass contains the whole album, plus extras such as the "Taking Chances" video, behind-the-scenes in-studio footage from the "Can't Fight The Feelin'" recording session, the "Taking Chances" remix and a digital booklet! A special edition of the 'Taking Chances' Musicpass will be available in the US and will include a second Celine album of your choice. Visit Musicpass.comto find out more.

celinedion.com

January 10, 2008 at 07:18 PM

Nice but it really should be less priced as the physical audio because of the loosy format the MP3 is!

And what I don't like about it: the good thing about downloads is that you can get the song/album almost immediately to your PC/Mac at home without going out so the idea of first buying a card in a regular store is kinda weird IMO.

Anyways, do you know if they are going to do the same thing in Europe?

January 11, 2008 at 03:38 PM

Yay! Sony has just announced that it's also offering it's entire catalog at the Amazon MP3 Store. But until Amazon starts selling outside the US, that still doesn't do a lot of us much good.

Hopefully they'll also start selling MP3s through other stores, like Puretracks.

January 22, 2008 at 09:55 PM

The card edition of Taking Chances will be available also in Germany on Jan. 25:

http://stuff.sonybmg.de/Image/celine_dion/dion_packshot.jpg

January 22, 2008 at 10:01 PM

Wunderbar!

February 11, 2008 at 02:29 PM

http://img260.imageshack.us/img260/9917/cardfpv5.jpg

http://i26.tinypic.com/15dm4xs.jpg

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