Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI to Launch iTunes “Cocktail” Album Competitor?
According to Times Online, It now seems as if Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI are putting the finishing touches on their new album format, CMX, and are ready to do battle against Apple’s rumored “Cocktail” enhanced album format.
It was just last month we reported about Cocktail, which would feature new interactive booklets, sleeve notes and other features alongside music downloads in an attempt to lure consumers into making more full album purchases. Now, while it looks like “Cocktail” does exist, it seems that none of the record labels had any hand in creating it. According to this story, record labels first approached Apple 18 months ago to see if they wanted in on this new CMX format and Apple politely refused. Apple then created “Cocktail” in order to compete with Sony, Warner, Universal and EMI.
One senior record label insider said: “Apple at first told us that they were not interested, but now they have decided to do their own, in case ours catches on.
While most of us here at TiPb have no major quarrels purchasing our music digitally, there are a lot of people out there who feel when purchasing digital albums over the internet you are not getting the full album experience. Would this new format make purchasing digital albums any less painful for you? And would you rather go with Apple’s “Cocktail” or the music industry’s CMX?
August 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Neither, most whole albums suck.. When the artists decide to write mire then 2 or 3 good dongs per album then I may consider..
August 11th, 2009 at 4:21 pm
More
songs (really it choose dongs over songs) haha
I hate the dishwasher iPhone pretype sometimes
August 11th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I think this would be great for those albums designed for beginning to end listening.
The days when albums designed for full-album listening seem sadly past. Mostly reserved for Classical Music, this mode was fairly common a few years ago and still is with some Trance mixes, but your average mainstream album releases are simply “collections” these days and seldom are even half the tracks any good at all.
Still I do buy full albums on iTunes more often than I would have imagined. In fact I find myself re-purchasing full albums I bought years and years ago, because those albums were designed for end-to-end listening and my vinyl collection disappeared. (I was amazed to find Quicksilver Messenger Service albums still on iTunes).
But mostly I just want the music. Maybe the cover artwork. But all the rest of the stuff, the inserts, the posters, adds very little.
Let see, buy Apples format or Record company format…. Which will be dead in two years?
August 11th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Consumers will see CMX as another lame attempt to lock consumers in to a closed proprietary digital format. Spectacular fail!
August 11th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
“The days when albums designed for full-album listening seem sadly past. Mostly reserved for Classical Music, this mode was fairly common a few years ago and still is with some Trance mixes, but your average mainstream album releases are simply “collections” these days and seldom are even half the tracks any good at all.”
what the hell kinda music are you guys listening to!?
All good bands create albums. Perhaps you should re-evaluate your taste in music. All these cocktails will do is make the tweens buy the whole Jonas Brothers album instead of the singles.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:20 pm
Both will fail. Who wants all that extra ****? Just give me the tracks. Album art already comes with iTunes songs anyway.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Personally I still refuse to purchase music sold in someone’s predefined compression with inferior sound quality for the same price as a CD with superior sound quality. I can rip it myself to something that sounds better. Sell it uncompressed and DRM free and I’ll be all over it. Until then I find all this rather laughable. And like others have already stated. Music for the past decade has not been worth buying entire albums which is the prime cause of the music industry failing to sell decent amounts of albums or singles in the first place. Nuf said.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
@Elric:
You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.
So do all cRappy bands. What’s you point?
Most albums are just a collection of songs, often unrelated, meant to be played in a mix rather than from first to last. They have to fill both sides. Therefore, lots of marginal songs and lame covers of old songs end up on the album these days. So Why buy the **** when all you want is the three good cuts.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
Agreed with every post above.
It’s nice being able to grab music instantly considering that b&m stores that carry a wide variety of music are quickly dwindling. Yet, the cost is still not much bang for the buck.
Sadly, I also expect this new format to also drive up the cost of online purchased music : /
August 11th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Wow. I’m sure Sony will enjoy the same raging success with this new proprietary format that they did with ATRAC. I’ll be sticking with MP3, thanks.
August 11th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
While I agree that most artists have some lousy fillers on their albums, in all fairness, it’s not always because the artists don’t care to make a better effort. Artists have ten, fifteen, perhaps twenty years or more to write their first album while they struggle the club scene… but once they’re signed, they have to crank out one every year (unless of course they’re Boston
)
As for the topic at hand, I’m just too old to be buying full albums anymore. Back in the vinyl days I loved all the artwork, credits, lyrics, etc… but who has time anymore?
@icebike:
Exactly.
August 11th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
I always have time for a great “album”, not a collection of “singles”, there IS a difference, a HUGE difference. Mainstreams with great “albums”? Kings of Leon and MGMT, but that’s it. Great “albums” of the past decade, all of Modest Mouse, every John Frusciante, Moby, Buck 65, Radiohead, Clutch, Razorlight, Magnetic Fields, Ratatat, Vampire Weekend, Eels… I could go on all day, there are 10 great albums for every crappy Eminem type “singles” collection. You just have to know what you like, and for god sakes, turn OFF the radio. Turn on Pitchfork and Metacritic, Last.fm can help, Sirius Sat Radio is worth every penny if you are sick of the one song wonders…. I’m here for councelling if need be.
August 11th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
wait wait is this CMX and Cocktail another is going to be like mp3 or something ? or is it something else? and i agree…some albums aren’t worth buying only bcoz of one or two good singles. made that mistake once
August 11th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
ignore the another lol
August 11th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Knowing the record labels and their inherent greed, CMX format will only allow you to play the album through your computer with a specific format, you won’t be able to download it your iPhone or car stereo. I can see the record labels imagining you using your iMac like a boom box with no other way to enjoy the song…
Can you really see the record labels not locking this format down hard?
August 12th, 2009 at 12:33 am
To Eric. Great taste in music!!!
August 12th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
I couldn’t agree more with Elric. If a band can’t consistently put together a proper album they generally aren’t worth my time any way. There is just too much good music out there.
October 24th, 2009 at 7:21 am
The only way I would support the CMX format is if these things happen: