Latest music file could succeed the MP3

By Nicola Brittain on Jan 23, 2010 7:22 AM
Filed under Software

Touted as the answer to piracy.

Norwegian technology company Bach is to launch a new digital music file which will have additional content including lyrics, news updates and images embedded.

The file, called MusicDNA, is touted as a successor to the MP3 file.

MusicDNA will only be available from legitimate sites, and is an attempt to counter piracy in the form of illegal downloads.

Essentially it is an MP3 player with extras, and can be downloaded onto fans’ computers, where it will be updated when labels, bands or retailers send out information. This might include future tour dates, interviews or updates to social networking pages.

If the file is downloaded illegally it will remain static and not receive these updates. Bach are willing to partner with retailers, rights holders and technology companies and will provide the technology to others for use under their own brands.

Bach also has outlets in Germany and China and partners with the German Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology.

The file can be used on any MP3 player, and in an interview with Reuters, Bach chief executive Stefan Kohlmeyer said: “The service would hark back to the time when music fans enjoyed looking at the lyrics and artwork on an album almost as much as they enjoyed listening to the music itself.”

itweek.co.uk @ 2010 Incisive Media

9 comments in this discussion

"..or one other alternative. Make some decent music/movies! The overwhelming level of crap being dribbled out of Hollywood and various music studios is appalling. Then, they want Australians to ..."

By Ace

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Comments: 9

brownbear Jan 23, 2010 9:26 AM	Now am I missing something or are these guys telling me that if I buy the music in this new codec they will spam me with advertising for ever after using my internet bandwidth. If I pirate the music I will still have the music but will be spared the spam. If this becomes widely adopted watch the piracy rate bloom. I wonder how long it will take for an exploit to be injected in to an update. What a stupid idea!!!!
Slatts Jan 23, 2010 10:19 AM	Nicola Brittain wrote: The file can be used on any MP3 player. So it's still in MP3 format? And brownbear? I couldn't agree more.
deonast Jan 23, 2010 12:31 PM	I must be missing something "Essentially it is an MP3 player" yet they say "The file can be used on any MP3 player". Well a MP3 file can't act as a program to download updates on its own. I'm assuming there is still some specific program required to update the file with this additional content, or some API that is required for third party applications to do this. Very confusing article or is it just me.
Slatts Jan 23, 2010 7:46 PM	I see what you mean deonast. The thought that an MP3 file that I may or may not have downloaded from the internet is capable of being made to download content from the internet and still be playable on an MP3 player makes me a tad nervous. Or does the vendor just take your email address on purchase, sell you an MP3 and as brownbear suggested, spam you?
Ace Jan 25, 2010 2:52 PM	I think there is a typo. It should read 'Essentially it is an MP3 file...' (not 'player'). Amusingly one of their first outlets is in China, the very nemesis of DRM and copyright! What they need to do is publish the format and how they plan to keep it safe. If it stands up to 3 minutes of public and hacker scrutiny, it might just work.
gonny Jan 25, 2010 4:56 PM	Sounds like a manufacturer press release that has been modified slightly and copied into iTnews CMS. I agree with you all, but an addition. How would a file only be available from a legitimate site? Unless it is somehow SaaS. Once the file is out there it could be distributed by anyone to anyone. Very confusing.
Daveh Jan 27, 2010 1:21 PM	If it works with existing software it would likely be a wrapper. Simply an MP3 with some additional content and a wrapper around it. Updated content and online verification have been seen as being a great defense to piracy. But the caviet there is that the online content needs to be worthwhile. What these groups need to take on board is the statement made by Jim Warren in 1976 "There is a viable alternative to the problems raised by Bill Gates in his irate letter to computer hobbyists concerning 'ripping off' software. When software is free, or so inexpensive that it's easier to pay for it than to duplicate it, then it won't be 'stolen'." Simply put, price it right and the pirates wont have the ability to function.
FrankJackson Jan 27, 2010 2:24 PM	I think its pretty rich for someone to name themselves the mp3 killer when they are not even out in the market. Consumers do not like to be told what they will like and wont like... But yeah, think someone has been counting their chickens in egg form. Another thing to mention is that these "features" which adds a level of intelligence (or at least code execution) means that there is a potential security issue attached to mp3 files. I am not aware of any "real" mp3 files that ever contained a virus, malware etc. The format itself does not really allow for attachment & execution of malicious code. This format however - from information in this article - seems to be an ideal candidate for the distribution of security threats. Oh, before you play this music you will need to execute this bit of code ... Its DRM but worse actually.
Ace Jan 27, 2010 2:31 PM	..or one other alternative. Make some decent music/movies! The overwhelming level of crap being dribbled out of Hollywood and various music studios is appalling. Then, they want Australians to pay about 3 times as much as Americans pay. Besides, I think we all know what a***holes companies like Sony 'root kit' BMG are. Maybe the internet could save music by allowing decent artists (who may not have great videos and who may actually wear knickers from time-to-time) to publish and sell their music without being crushed by Sony/Capitol Records/RIAA etc. Let the uprising begin! I need a coffee....