Thinkcorps

There’s a new kid on the block, Audio Lunchbox. Cast in the same mold as Apple’s Music Store but tailored to indie labels, Lunchbox sheds a slightly clearer light on the whole a la carte MP3 business model (no Apple worship).

Now, I really like the presence of Lunchbox in the market—diversity is good. Their site has some design issues, but those can be worked out, and its library is small, but that will grow. My main issue is that I just don’t think their product is that good a value.

Now despite all the talk of market-making for digital audio downloads, we’ve really got 3 camps: Apple DRM, Microsoft DRM, and no DRM. And these 3 camps can really be broken down into 2: proprietary and open formats.

The Apple Store sells protected AAC files, which only work through iTunes or on the iPod. Not so flexible, even with the loose DRM. You also can’t resell your tracks, which is HUGE.

Buymusic.com, Musicmatch, and others all sell protected WMA files, which don’t work in iTunes or iPod and pretty much lead you into the waiting arms of Windows Media Player 9, which I’ll let others argue about. The DRM here can be more restrictive than Apple’s.

Now, for my money, the best of the lot are Emusic and Audio Lunchbox, both of which sell unrestricted MP3 files. Emusic used to have a monthly “all you can eat” plan, now a monthly fixed # downloads plan (which is still damn good). Lunchbox is a la carte—.99/track and $10/album on average.

On quality, I can speak only to these two stores, since I have yet to find an album I want on Apple’s store. Emusic sells VBR MP3’s which tend toward 160Kbps (my experience only), while Lunchbox sells 128Kbps MP3’s (no VBR).

Of course, I also like the indie bands and labels these two services cater to. If you’re a BigMusic fan, then you’re out of luck. Still, you should take the time to peruse their aisles, you still might dig up something good.

Can you float my boat for .99 cents?

When choosing where I shop, I have to rule out the stores selling DRM-protected files.
1. Proprietary formats preclude me from using files on whatever device I choose. MP3 is the most open solution right now. Hopefully, Ogg will follow.
2. Cost is just too high. I will pay $1 for my musical freedom in a CD.
3. Quality is questionable. Why not sell higher bit-rate files (or higher quality in general)? Fear. The industry is still short-changing you, you just don’t realize it. I will pay $2 for the best available quality song.

So, I’m pretty much back buying CDs now. I hate myself for saying this, but check out the online shop at MTV.com. They actually have some really good deals on CDs (<$11 for some titles).

For downloable music, I like the Emusic model best. It fits my tastes, my budget, quality is good, format is ubiquitous, and my consumer rights remain intact.