The combination of great music sites, innovative record labels, advanced technology and new portable players is shaping a new era of connecting people with music, worldwide. And for the first time, users will be able to take advantage of advanced compression to download songs twice as fast as comparable-quality songs compressed with MP3 technology. Top music sites and independent record labels will begin to offer full-length digital downloads to users during the beta period. Some sites will offer promotional tracks for free to their registered customers, and others will charge per download. MusicMatch and Sonic Foundry have each announced personal jukebox software that transfers songs from conventional music CDs onto users' Windows-based PC, where users can build a creative playground of their favorite music with fast access, play lists and more.
Users can also mix and match songs from their CDs with downloaded music.
Windows Media allows twice as much music to be stored on a portable device with comparable quality to music compressed with MP3. Other leading manufacturers are evaluating incorporating Windows Media Rights Manager and compression technologies into their next-generation devices. Leading Software and Service Vendors to Offer Extensions and Solutions Great tools are critical to enabling content creators and providers to keep up with the hunger for new music on the Internet. Leading software, service and solution providers have announced plans to offer enhanced products and services that take advantage of the functionality in Windows Media Technologies to help make the production of downloadable music faster and piracy-resistant. Piracy Concerns Microsoft has met with various leaders in the music industry to learn their needs for security and rights-management technologies.