Wow, an interesting, tech-literate blog from a newspaper website? Another reason to love the Sun!

This model was tested in the college market in 2004-2006. It didn't work. The majority of it is blamed on DRM and iPod infiltration. I did the licensing and product management for it...although there is another service out there that is exactly the same. I'll decline to mention it.

I agree Spiralfrog will probably not make it but advertising supported downloaded music will succeed. People won't pay for music anymore and ad-support is the only way to give consumers what they want and artists what they need.

For full coverage of this emerging field, read the Ad-Supported Music Central Blog at: http://ad-supported-music.blogspot.com/

There are a lot of people who use MP3 players that aren't as overpriced and flawed as i-pods and zunes, and for all of us- spiral-frog is great. It's hard to complain about something that's free, especially when others pay 88 to 99 cents a piece for the same thing.

HA HA This is great i can download the songs for free and just rip the drm protection right off, I Mean it takes what all of two secs to do

Clearly ignoring 80% (70% iPod+10% Zune) of the market is a recipe for success. Oh, what, you didn't know that SpiralFrog won't work on either of those?

Wow.
Well, all I have to say is that the serverload right now is so busy from all the people checking it out, that it won't even connect within five minutes.
I just think you might be wrong.

FlyingIsFun1217

Article written like a true iPod wearing vegetarian PETA baby seal hugger.

Archer:
You've never tasted my grilled-to-perfection filet mignon.

Wouldn't the lack of iPod support be because of Apple's unwillingness to either license their FairPlay DRM or support WMA DRM? The same as it's Microsoft's fault that they chose DRM other than WMA DRM for the Zune. It's unfair to blame this on SpiralFrog.

These Corporate people will not learn and are doomed to fail...
Give the people what they want..
DRM Free files at a fair price that
can be used by all ..
The Corps. are blinded by their own
greed, and even for free this is not a viable consumer based option or a good working business model..I will not use such a service..I want music on my terms not theRIAA's...Listening
to music should be a joy and accessible to all,no matter if you
are rich or not.Apple thinks in its
elitist shell, that music should only be
for those with money.With this poor
attitude they are inviting resistance
from the people they try to alienate.
Music belongs to the people...

Why waste your time even talking about SpiralFrog? I'd guess that by November they will be another forgotten failure in the online music business.

Let's see: It's "free" if I keep my subscription up, or I CAN'T use the stuff I already got, It won't work on the player with the biggest base (Sorry, JK, there aren't enough of you to count!) and I CAN'T burn to CD? I CAN'T WAIT TO SIGN UP! THEN I'M GONNA JUMP IN FRONT OF A BUS!

Oh, Mr. James, the iPod plays regular mp3's just fine: you don't NEED support from Apple, who're trying to STOP DRM. Just sell your stuff as high-bitrate mp3's, which are harder to get for free, just like EMI is doing through iTMS, Amazon, etc.

Mr. Cohen's point, while tangential to the point of the article, is probably the way things will work out. No problems here.

I'm all for DRM-free songs. The first thing I've done to the handful of songs I've purchased online is remove the DRM. That's something I shouldn't have to do. If I purchase a song I should be free to listen to it on whatever device I have available to me. DRM prevents me from doing that.

However, I don't think the subscription model works without DRM. SpiralFrog needs to force users back to their site and are using subscription/DRM to do it. Without DRM they'd be giving away songs for the price of an ad view. I don't think the record companies would go for that.

I was a non-Apple product user. Tried every portable music player. In the end I ended up with a 60GB iPod Video, and a 6GB Nanao.

My Mac (yes I got one of those after the first iPod - PRIOR to that I was a Windows only user) is sooo much better at dealing with multimedia and especially content to fill my iPod. I have Elgato EyeTV (think DVR/Tuner on a Mac) which records ANY shows I want (including on Sat/Digital Cable boxes now with IRBlast support) for free. I'm not tied down to iTunes (other than to sync my free recorded content) and I get shows right when they come out.

So tell me how this is corporate greed? If you look at Spiral Frog clearly the media industry (think Universal and NBC) are on their own planet. Isn't Windows Media DRM a CLOSED DRM system? I have no ability to move songs to anything but a Plays for Sure device - which is a dead platform when even Zune, a Microsoft product doesn't support it.

I wish Spiral frog good luck, but I don't see how they will keep user ad revenue enough to justify running the service. They will die a slow death or have their user base acquired by someone like Rhapsody. Come on who listens to music ONLY at their PC these days.... Support for a portlable music player platform that has less than 5% of the market. SpiralFrog is a dud - free music or nut. Stop drinking the Kool-Aid and do the math - they will not be profitable unless Universal just gives away the tracks....

Prediction: SpiralFrog will go down in flames. Wonder how the legs will taste?

www.we7.com

an apple friendly, new artist friendly, frog muncher of a website. OK perhaps its too early to state that, however I am very impressed with Peter Gabriel's we7.

All Tracks are DRM free, to keep and they work with all mediums - i.e.... MACS & Ipods! I think its such a bizarre idea to cut off such a massive potential user base by only allowing windows.

www.we7.com is still very very new but the content is growing and I particularly like the new artist discovery section (the tastemaker)

For more information on spiralfrog, come and check out www.anything-music.blogspot.com/. Comprehensive reviews of the major music download services.