USB a better alternative for music

September 29th, 2008 by admin

Forget buying an album on a USB stick, SanDisk just convinced the big labels to release (DRM free, thankfully) music on a 1 GB 15mm x 11mm x 1mm microSD card. And then they convinced Best Buy and Walmart to sell these things. Check out slotMusic for more. I wish wish wish I could see the power point presentation SanDisk used to pitch everyone on the idea.

The New York Times says a source puts the album price at $7-$10, which is amazing given that the retail price of the SanDisk microSD card alone is currently about $8.50. Sansa Deals says included with every purchase is a USB converter, which adds more to the price. Sure, profit margin is built into that price, but it still doesn’t leave much for the labels. My suspicion is the price will be higher, perhaps even more than actual CDs.

USB drives seem like a much more reasonable way to distribute music. All computers support USB, and they’re a lot harder to lose than a fingernail sized flash drive. But the people behind slotMusic are betting that mobile phones, many of which have microSD, will drive sales. Buy the album at Walmart and listen to it as you leave the store.

Posted in Technology