Ad-Supported MP3s: Is It For You?

[Suhit Gupta]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070430-peter-gabriel-shakes-the-tree-ad-supported-mp3s-fall-out.html' target='_blank'>http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070430-peter-gabriel-shakes-the-tree-ad-supported-mp3s-fall-out.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Peter Gabriel is one of the founding investors of a new music download service that offers tracks for free to users who are willing to listen to ads. The service, called We7 for some reason, offers MP3 versions of tracks with advertising attached to the beginning of songs. Four weeks after downloading the track, the user can then download a version without the ad. Artists get paid by the advertisers, music lovers get free tunes, and advertisers get to reach music lovers. While the idea sounds cool, it also sounds like something ahead of its time. Major music labels are only beginning to experiment with DRM-free downloads, so We7 may run into difficulty in signing up major artists. That's not to say that We7 can't succeed, but that it will have to build interest by first offering independent acts."</i><br /><br />Hmm, I don't think this is a service I would use for the same reason that I don't listen to radio stations that are ad supported, or even watch shows on TV that haven't been DVR'd first. There are just too many ads. I would much rather pay extra money required to not have to listen/watch ads. Rhapsody, at $8/mo. is perfectly fine, thank you.

[Felix Torres]

Sounds perfect for Google.
Ad-supported content is their bailiwick, after all.
If internet radio is really killed off with over-priced royalties, this might replace it.
Of course, it would be a piece of cake for somebody to write software to strip the ads right off the content. :twisted:

[Suhit Gupta]

Sounds perfect for Google.
That is exactly what I thought when I read it. In fact, I though I had even written it in my post earlier but I guess I didn't. I guess they will take anything that can put an ad somewhere.

Ha-ha, just had an evil thought - I wonder if Google will be more synonymous with ads than with search. We will soon have to create a Google-blocker instead of an ad-blocker.

Suhit

[Felix Torres]

Well, Google's core competence is ad-delivery and drawing people to comercial sites.
Problem is, they're starting to become a threat to at least some of their "customers".
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2007/04/29/sanar-google-skyfacet-tech-cx_ag_0430googhell.html
The gaming of their algorithms has been making their search engine less effective than it used to.
Another reason for Google to branch out into other forms of ad delivery, so ad-supported content (ala You-tube) is a natural. Just a matter of time.