Addendum to Last Post: Imesh isn't perfect, but is still worth checking out

As suspected, there is a catch to the imesh system I talked about last night. However, it's actually not a huge catch. For the time being - 1 to 2 months from what I've been able to gather; while the program is still in beta - you can download single tracks or entire albums from the imesh server. These songs will play on your computer (I've tested the files in Winamp, Windows Media Player, and of course the imesh software itself; iTunes will not play them) as often as you like, but you cannot burn them to a CD or put them onto an mp3 player. Once the software is out of beta, there will be a monthly subscription fee ($7, I believe) for continued access to the library of songs, and I presume, a per song charge for CD burning.

It's definitely an interesting concept imesh is trying here. I know Napster tried something similar when it first re-launched as a lawful service, but I had two big problems with that. One, the files you downloaded were in an unusual format which required you (if I remember right) to use the Napster software to actually listen to the songs. Imesh has already dealt with that....the files from them are in the popular .wmv format, which, while not one of my favorites, is pretty accessible from several different media players.

Problem number two I had with Napster - and the one I'm anxious to see how imesh deals with - was on the issue of pay-per-burning in addition to a monthly subscription fee. Again, if I remember correctly, Napster was $10/month plus $0.99 to burn a track onto a CD. I think the ability to preview an album in it's entirety is certainly a valuable service, but not that valuable. Imesh's proposed $7/month charge coupled with, say a $0.70 burn charge, would be pretty reasonable in my opinion, but let's crunch the numbers to see.

For instance, look at a CD purchase under my proposed system, and compare it with one from iTunes (which for now is still my service of choice). A typical album on iTunes will set you back $10, which I think is fair. Under my ideal imesh, a CD would hypotheically cost $7 plus the $7 monthly fee. I really don't think $14 is too shabby considering you can listen to the entire album (plus countless others) before you commit to buying it. Plus, the more CDs you purchase per month, the better the deal gets: 2 CDs $20 vs. $21; 3 is $30 vs. $28.... So if you buy at least 3 CDs a month (which I have been known to do, and even surpass at times) then imesh is looking pretty good. But notice that if imesh adheres to the industry standard $0.99 burn fee, then you just have to decide if preview ability and song portability are really worth the monthly fee as iTunes will generally be cheaper in the long run based on a strict CD-by-CD comparison. A fee in the $0.75 - $0.85 range probably isn't outragious either, but I'd balk at anything higher.

Even though I've used iTunes exclusively for the last year and half, I would welcome a little competition in this area. I think a some real competition would force every player in the game to keep their standards high, and in the long run the music consumer would definitely benefit. Remember what happened in pro wrestling when the WWF and WCW merged? Getting rid of that "we have to out do the other guy" mentality sent the whole industry right to hell. Having been generally unimpressed with Napster and Real Networks' store, I'll have to say imesh may be onto something here - if they don't price themselves out of the market.

But for now, I'm going to enjoy the multitude of albums I've downloaded with imesh so far, even if that means being glued to my computer in the process. There are already several I've decided to buy outright when I get the cash (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's debut disc IS as good as the hype says; Shout Out Loud's Howl Howl Gaff Gaff is also excellent), and a few others I'll probably hold off on for a while (Idlewild's Warnings/Promises actually disappointed me a little).

By the way, as an undergrad, I had to create a business model as a project for one of my classes. My proposed business was a music downloading service where subscribers would pay a monthly fee to access a database full of songs, with proceeds going to the record labels/bands. That was back in 2000 when there was still no such thing as legitimate music downloading, and Napster (the original one), Kazaa, and a dozen other similar networks were in their prime. My professor didn't like my idea at all and gave me a C on the project.

Ha.