Major Labels

WMG To Unveil New Music DVD Format

Wmg_22According to today’s Wall Street Journal, the Warner Music Group is set to unveil a new DVD music format that will "…sell a bundle of music and extra features on a single DVD…The DVD would include a music album that plays in both stereo and surround-sound on a standard DVD player — plus video footage that plays on a DVD player or a computer. There will also be song remixes, ring tones, photos and other digital extras that can be accessed on a computer."

DvdSounds like exciting stuff until you read the fine print. "The new discs would not play on normal CD players, meaning consumers could not simply pop their new discs into their car stereos or other players. And users would not be able to copy the main audio mix onto their computers. On the proposed DVD album, the main audio mix is to be protected by the same software that already protects the content on normal DVDs. The DVD album would include "preripped" digital tracks of the entire album, ready to be copied onto a user’s computer — a totally separate set of data from the higher-quality, DVD-audio sound that users hear when they slip the DVD in a player. The lower-quality, "preripped" tracks could Cd_many_26 be copied to a CD."  Apparently negotiations are ongoing to also have tracks pre-ripped in iTunes’ is proprietary format which would be an industry first.

It’s a creative solution aimed at making music worth paying for again and struggling retailers are sure to embrace it.  But it is far from revolutionary.  The array of content on the disc sounds almost confusing and how high will WMG go with the price?  We’ll find out in October when the DVD disc debuts.

Full WSJ here via Coolfer.

Bruce Houghton on 08/04/2006 in Major Labels | Permalink | Comments (5)
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5 Comments

  1. lol
    and this gonna fly how? It can’t play on portable CD player.
    Anybody have a guest how long this latest desperate scheme will last? 4 months? 6 months? Just before Apple release iPod upgrade?

  2. Let’s see. I buy DVDs of concert performances by my most beloved artists, and I watch them once, at most. I’ve decided that whole product category is a loser.
    DVD Audio and SACD, which similarly discourage portability and ripping, aren’t going anywhere. At one point there was a claim that vinyl LPs were outselling these new-format digital discs.
    From this cranky consumer view, this looks like an effort to return to the LP era, where the listener had to be yoked at home in order to get any decent sound quality. So many of the innovations in the last 25 years have damaged that paradigm; I just don’t see anyone outside of the fanatical audiophile community buying this format.

  3. Forgot to mention: DualDisc!! The new Talking Heads reissues contain some songs I’ve wanted to own for YEARS. But reports are that DualDiscs won’t play reliably in slotted car players because of their extra thickness.
    A music disc which can’t be played in the car is almost worthless to me.
    Portability has been the most important characteristic of music media since the cassette Walkman and the car tape player.

  4. The new iPod reportedly will support lossless compression. (ie. it’ll be very close to CD quality)
    so this DVD scheme at most will only last until Apple start selling that feature. (holiday buying season)
    Combined with 80-100GB space, I wonder who will buy this DVD duds.

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