Posted: 15th Jun, 2009 By: MarkJ
Cable operator Virgin Media UK has partnered up with Universal Music to launch a new
DRM-free music download and streaming service. It's hoped that the move will give illegal file sharers (P2P) a worthwhile legal alternative to piracy. The new development also includes vague plans to impose a temporary suspension of Internet access upon persistent illegal downloader’s.
The service will enable any Virgin's broadband customer to both stream and download as many music tracks and albums as they want from Universal Music's entire catalogue, in return for a low monthly subscription fee (price not stated). An "
entry level" offer will also be available for customers who download music regularly, but may not want an unlimited service.
Commenting on the new service, Virgin Media's CEO, Neil Berkett, said, "In terms of both convenience and value, our new music service will be superior to anything that's available online today and provides a fair deal for both consumers and artists. There is no better example of Virgin Media's commitment to harnessing digital technology to give customers what they want, when they want and how they want."
The service is intended to launch later this year and Virgin Media is currently negotiating with other UK major and independent music labels and publishers to ensure it can offer a more complete catalog by the time it launches.
Lucian Grainge, Chairman and Chief Executive of Universal Music Group International, said, "Britain has a world-class reputation for artists and music. Now British consumers will have access to a world-class digital music service. I believe this puts all of us at the forefront of a new era."
It's also understood that both Virgin Media and Universal Music will work together to protect intellectual property. This will involve implementing a range of different strategies to educate file sharers about online piracy and to raise awareness of legal alternatives. They include, as a last resort for persistent offenders, a
temporary suspension of Internet access; it's not clear how they will define "
temporary".
Virgin states that no customers will be permanently disconnected and the process will not depend on network monitoring or interception of customer traffic. Concerns will no doubt also be raised over precisely how Virgin Media plans to identify those they suspend, especially with IP addresses being so unreliable. Some degree of interception is usually required; otherwise innocents could risk being caught out in place of abusers.
Precise service details and prices remain unknown, although Sky Broadband (BSkyB) recently hinted at plans to introduce a similar product -
Sky Songs (
original news). This was rumoured to have a maximum price of £11.99 per month for 20 music track downloads or two complete albums and unlimited streaming.
UPDATE - 17th June 2009:We've managed to squeeze a few more details about the service from Virgin Media. They claim that it will launch during the winter and be "
better value than anything available online today". The unlimited downloads tier will apparently cost less than the price of a couple of albums a month.
Virgin wouldn't say how long its temporary suspension of illegal file sharers would last, noting instead that "
A range of different options will be trialled – but remember, suspension is a last resort." The ISP confirmed that it would identify illegal users through rights holder tracked IP's combined with date and time logs.
Virgin Media said: "We are confident in the accuracy of the independent technology that identifies the IP addresses in the first place, but will nonetheless put in place a robust mechanism for dealing with complaints and shall review the matter on an ongoing basis."
This is a very limited check and perhaps not a fool proof way of identifying illegal downloader’s, though it's good to see that Virgin won't just take the data at face value and will check it. The introduction of a complaints handling scheme is also a welcome move.