According 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."
Sounds 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
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.
