Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

When Dell started pre-loading digital copies of Iron Man in new systems for $19, we didn’t think that was very enticing, but at least it was a pretty good movie, right? Quite possibly encouraged by thousands of accidental purchases (we kid, sort of), Dell’s announced two new content pre-loading partnerships — Universal Music Group and CinemaNow. The music comes in 50 and 100 song bundles starting at $25, but at least it’s DRM-free, so if you don’t mind a mega mix chosen entirely by Dell it’s not all evil. CinemaNow, though, offers $25 and up bundles including (among other flicks) world-renown classics like The Fast and the Furious and the Matrix sequels. Fear.

Read - Universal Music Group
Read - CinemaNow

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Filed under: Desktops, Laptops

When Dell started pre-loading digital copies of Iron Man in new systems for $19, we didn’t think that was very enticing, but at least it was a pretty good movie, right? Quite possibly encouraged by thousands of accidental purchases (we kid, sort of), Dell’s announced two new content pre-loading partnerships — Universal Music Group and CinemaNow. The music comes in 50 and 100 song bundles starting at $25, but at least it’s DRM-free, so if you don’t mind a mega mix chosen entirely by Dell it’s not all evil. CinemaNow, though, offers $25 and up bundles including (among other flicks) world-renown classics like The Fast and the Furious and the Matrix sequels. Fear.

Read - Universal Music Group
Read - CinemaNow

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Filed under: Portable Audio

It’s taken a few months for Qtrax to actually score a contract with one of the major labels after announcing in January that it would offer free, legal downloads of over 25 million tracks, but it looks like the company has finally succeeded in spearing itself a whale. Universal is the first major on board, joining bankrupt indie TVT, and Qtrax says the deal is for “all” of Universal’s music. Of course, in true Qtrax form, there might not actually be a contract yet — Universal spokespeople would only confirm an “agreement,” but “declined to elaborate or to say whether a contract has been signed.” Sigh. Well, the first one’s always the hardest, right?

[Thanks, Steve Z.]

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Remember Nokia’s Comes with Music (CWM) service? The service which includes a full year of free DRM’d music downloads with the purchase of a CWM cellphone. Up to this point, Nokia has refused to comment on the financial details of the service. Important since “free” is expected to be anything but free with those music costs tucked neatly into the price of the handset, the carrier’s data plan, or both. In an interview published by Bloomberg, Tero Ojanpera, Nokia Executive VP, discussed CWM and says that, “In those cases where we cooperate with operators, there will be an arrangement so they can get a piece.” Something previously hinted at by Nokia’s CEO back in December. Still no word on who, beyond Universal, will offer their music on the new service or how much the new bundled handsets will cost. Ojanpera did repeat that CWM won’t be available on existing Nokia devices. For its part, Universal says that DRM is a definite component of the service — a possible deal-breaker if that DRM limits your CWM downloads to a single handset and PC for eternity.

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Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

Remember Nokia’s Comes with Music (CWM) service? The service which includes a full year of free DRM’d music downloads with the purchase of a CWM cellphone. Up to this point, Nokia has refused to comment on the financial details of the service. Important since “free” is expected to be anything but free with those music costs tucked neatly into the price of the handset, the carrier’s data plan, or both. In an interview published by Bloomberg, Tero Ojanpera, Nokia Executive VP, discussed CWM and says that, “In those cases where we cooperate with operators, there will be an arrangement so they can get a piece.” Something previously hinted at by Nokia’s CEO back in December. Still no word on who, beyond Universal, will offer their music on the new service or how much the new bundled handsets will cost. Ojanpera did repeat that CWM won’t be available on existing Nokia devices. For its part, Universal says that DRM is a definite component of the service — a possible deal-breaker if that DRM limits your CWM downloads to a single handset and PC for eternity.

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Filed under: Portable Audio

The labels and XM have been fighting it out over XM + MP3 players for a while now, but it looks like Universal Music Group is finally backing down, signing a multi-year settlement agreement covering recording-capable XM radios like Pioneer’s Inno. Terms of the agreement weren’t released, but everyone sounds happy, with XM CEO Nate Davis calling the settlement “a win for everyone involved, especially for consumers.” Of course, that means XM is now in a suit with just most of the RIAA instead of all it, but the outlook’s not all bad: Reuters is reporting that Warner and XM are close to settlement as well. No word on when that might go down, but Reuters says it’ll be “soon.” Now if only the other labels would get it together, no?

Read - XM and Universal settlement press release
Read - Reuters blurb about XM and Warner settling

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones, Portable Audio

If mama taught us one thing about free offers, it’s read the fine print. Unfortunately, it was missing from Nokia’s unusually tight-lipped “Comes with Music” announcement yesterday. Fortunately, Ars Technica unearthed the dirty details for us. Nokia’s service is actually a first to fit under Universal’s Total Music plan whereby carriers or device manufacturers tithe Universal a fee of about $5 per month for each device sold. While it appears free to end users, the cost is baked into the handset and/or data plans from your friendly neighborhood carriers. Oh, and it’s slathered in DRM — PlaysForSure DRM in fact making your tracks incompatible with both Zunes and iPods. Burning a CD will require an “upgrade purchase” for the tracks you received for free. Look, we don’t mind paying for tracks, in fact, we expect to. But all this underhanded sneakiness is just silly. This is not the future (at least we hope not).

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Cellphones

So here’s the deal. Nokia just launched a “Comes with Music” program. No, not software, but a deal which allows you to buy a Nokia device with a year of unlimited, subscription access to “millions of tracks.” Once the year is complete however, customers can keep all their downloaded music — it doesn’t disappear just because the subscription is over. What’s the catch? Don’t know yet. We know it’s limited to Universal Music Group tracks for the time being but there’s no mention of any fees, DRM, or other restrictions. We’ll update you as soon as we get more.

Update: It’s free for one year! All the Universal Music tracks you can download for 12 months can be yours. The offer doesn’t begin until mid 2008, just as long as the deal doesn’t fall apart by then.

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!

Filed under: Portable Audio

Universal has made its problems with iTunes well known in the past, and it now looks like it might be set to take things to the next level, with BusinessWeek reporting that the company is trying to enlist the support of other record labels in order to launch their own music subscription service. Apparently, Sony BMG Music has already expressed interest in being a “potential partner,” and Universal is now trying to convince Warner Music Group to come on board as well. What’s more, it seems that this potential service, currently dubbed “Total Music,” would be quite a bit different than your usual subscription model, with the groups’ current thinking apparently focused on a $5-per-month subscription fee that hardware makers or cell carriers would absorb, making the music itself “essentially free” for consumers. That, of course, would still add up in one form or another, with some “industry insiders” speculating that it could add as much as $90 to each player — based on the assumption that users hang on to their players for 18 months on average.

[Via Yahoo News/IDGNS]

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Office Depot Featured Gadget: Xbox 360 Platinum System Packs the power to bring games to life!