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Shouldn't music videos be free?

post #1 of 41
8/16/08 at 11:02am
Thread Starter 
Recently, if I'm not mistaken, Warner Music signed a deal with Microsoft to offer up tons of music videos on Xbox Live Marketplace. But, these aren't going to be free downloads, you'll have to pay if you want to watch them. Obviously companies are going to charge money for things if they think they can get away with it, but are people actually buying freaking music videos? It doesn't make any sense, because

#1. You can't setup a playlist

#2. The audio/video quality isn't even very good


I've downloaded some of the free music videos off the Video Marketplace, and the video quality and audio quality left alot to be desired, so it's not like your getting the videos in High Def or 5.1 sound or anything. I'd say the video and audio quality is better than what you'd get off youtube or yahoo music or something like that, but a little worse than what you'd get off Direct TV or Comcast.

Thing is, I'd actually be really into this, if:

1. The music videos were in High Def

2. You could set up a playlist

3. It's 99 cents or less per music video. Maybe say 49 cents for standard def and 99 cents for high def.


If they actually had high def videos for 99 cents, and you could set up a playlist, I would buy alot of them. I know it sounds kinda dumb, but I have a really kick arse audio setup, in a dedicated theater room, and watching music videos is pretty cool in there. Whenever I get a concert on Blu Ray or something, it's pretty darn sweet.
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post #2 of 41
8/16/08 at 11:07am
i agree its kind of a stupid idea
who watches music videos anymore anyway

the only time they are on, on either CMT, bet or mtv is at like 4am

obviously those stations can tell videos are a thing of the past, i just cant see anyone paying to watch a video

maybe teenage girls to see chris browns awesome dance moves, but thats it
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post #3 of 41
8/16/08 at 5:32pm
Why would anyone pay for a music video? Dumb.
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post #4 of 41
8/16/08 at 6:27pm
Music videos are ads to sell the music and/or the artist. It's retarded that they are charging for them and I really hope no one is stupid enough to buy any. Just turn on MTV or MuchMusic (in Canada).
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post #5 of 41
8/16/08 at 7:04pm
how much do they charge for them? in points and aprox. dollar value?
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post #6 of 41
8/16/08 at 9:21pm
I think that most of them are like 150 points can't remember exactly though kind of funny when I can watch most of them on TV or the internet for free
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post #7 of 41
8/16/08 at 9:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by ultracat View Post

Music videos are ads to sell the music and/or the artist. It's retarded that they are charging for them and I really hope no one is stupid enough to buy any. Just turn on MTV or MuchMusic (in Canada).

Alas what I'd really like to see are high-def music videos like those shown on MHD in the US. We don't get MHD in Canada but I have caught some of their HD videos on display at shops like Best Buy/Circuit City in the US. Music videos in HD are quite enjoyable, although I am a fan of music/concert videos anyhow.

Regardless, I do agree that they are basically an ad for the artist, hopefully enticing you into buying their albums. I can only hope that they would eventually be free.
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post #8 of 41
8/16/08 at 9:45pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by celluloideyes View Post

Why would anyone pay for a music video? Dumb.

I'd be willing to pay 99 cents for a High Def music video with 5.1 sound. Just cause I would probably get enough of them for an hour or so of play. Certainly, I'd need to have the playlist feature, so I could put them in the exact order I want. I know that it seems really dumb to buy music videos, but I actually enjoy kicking back and watching music videos every now and then. I try to catch them on TV, but it seems all the music channels very rarely actually show videos, and I don't like watching all the damn commercials, etc, etc. Plus the video quality is pretty lame, and the sound quality isn't always up to par.

There is a kids movie on Blu Ray called "Underdog". One of the special features on this Blu Ray is a music video from some kid. It's a goofy music video, not my type of music or anything, but the video quality is un-freaking believable, and the sound was absolutely amazing too. If I could see all my favorite music videos in that kind of video and sound quality, I would be pleased as punch. Unfortunately, what I seek is actually not available anywhere, not even on MTV's High Def channel.
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post #9 of 41
8/17/08 at 7:44am
I think you're forgetting that people spend money on ringtones, and to vote for American Idol. Multiple times!

People pay to be walking billboards for Nike. People will spend money on many things that aren't worth it.

I'm pretty sure you're not their target market.
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post #10 of 41
8/17/08 at 4:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by HDgaming42 View Post

I think you're forgetting that people spend money on ringtones, and to vote for American Idol. Multiple times!

People pay to be walking billboards for Nike. People will spend money on many things that aren't worth it.

I'm pretty sure you're not their target market.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

Anthony, you're just not their target audience. Apparently there are people (quite a few people) who'll pay money to download a music video that's viewable not only on MTV, but also most likely easy enough to find in a quick search online.

Not my cup of tea, but hey, I was one of those suckers who bought the horser armor in Morrowind!

-JR
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post #11 of 41
8/17/08 at 11:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony1 View Post

Recently, if I'm not mistaken, Warner Music signed a deal with Microsoft to offer up tons of music videos on Xbox Live Marketplace. But, these aren't going to be free downloads, you'll have to pay if you want to watch them. Obviously companies are going to charge money for things if they think they can get away with it, but are people actually buying freaking music videos? It doesn't make any sense, because

#1. You can't setup a playlist

#2. The audio/video quality isn't even very good


I've downloaded some of the free music videos off the Video Marketplace, and the video quality and audio quality left alot to be desired, so it's not like your getting the videos in High Def or 5.1 sound or anything. I'd say the video and audio quality is better than what you'd get off youtube or yahoo music or something like that, but a little worse than what you'd get off Direct TV or Comcast.

Thing is, I'd actually be really into this, if:

1. The music videos were in High Def

2. You could set up a playlist

3. It's 99 cents or less per music video. Maybe say 49 cents for standard def and 99 cents for high def.


If they actually had high def videos for 99 cents, and you could set up a playlist, I would buy alot of them. I know it sounds kinda dumb, but I have a really kick arse audio setup, in a dedicated theater room, and watching music videos is pretty cool in there. Whenever I get a concert on Blu Ray or something, it's pretty darn sweet.

I'm going to disagree a bit here with the majority here I guess. For many songs I'd rather own the music video than the MP3. I don't view it as an ad for the music but as the music itself and also the video presentation added.

I can of course always pull the audio from the video if needed for portability but if you have a nice home theater setup don't you want the expensive video production visuals to go along with the music on your nice HD big screen?

I agree it's a disapointment that these videos aren't being made avaliable in a good solid 720p HD and playlists would be great. The odd thing is that when the 360 service launched early on music videos were being released in 720p but when they finally went to real video store they dropped down to standard def.

I do find that the standard def quality on many of the Xbox MP videos is pretty good however but it really should be HD for $2 a pop. Not a price I'd mind however since if the audio alone is worth $1 then I'd say the audio and video together should be a bit more.

The music industry is still struggling to figure out how to get paid in the age of lower sales revenue (.99 downloads hasn't made up for lost CD sales) and common music piracy.

Better use of music videos may be part of what they are considering.
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post #12 of 41
8/18/08 at 5:07am
If it also came with an MP3 that you could put on a CD or mp3... then I could understand the $2.00 charge.

Otherwise, it seems like an overcharge. Do the videos come in HD?
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post #13 of 41
8/18/08 at 7:10am
I agree with what most have said, paying for them is kind of lame. If I would pay for one it would HAVE TO BE HD.

Also you can usually find videos on bit torrent sites and just stream them via the 360 anyway.
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post #14 of 41
8/18/08 at 12:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tqlla View Post

If it also came with an MP3 that you could put on a CD or mp3... then I could understand the $2.00 charge.

Otherwise, it seems like an overcharge. Do the videos come in HD?

Yes, it would be a better deal if they authorized an MP3 download with it.
They might even get by with $2.49 on such a deal.
The music industry hasn't figured this online marketplace out yet.

I guess they need Apple to do it for them.
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post #15 of 41
8/18/08 at 3:34pm
You know I'm kind of confused about free music videos. Don't you have to pay a cable/satellite provider get MTV, BET etc.? Or did those become free OTA channels? I'm guessing that's probably the real reason you have to pay to get the downloads.

And why not offer them in HD and 5.1? Because probably most people don't own HD sets/5.1 setups. I have about 95 friends on Live and probably less than 5% own an HD/5.1 setup. I have MHD and a couple of HD sets and they never are playing any videos I want to see in full HD.
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post #16 of 41
8/18/08 at 4:09pm
Why do folk want 5.1 music video's? 99% of music is still mixed/performed in stero, as is playback in mobile devices.
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post #17 of 41
8/18/08 at 11:17pm
i know the quality is lacking but youtube is just about the ideal place for videos. everything is cross referenced with lots of entertaining comments.

for live to win me over the music videos would have to be free and hd.
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post #18 of 41
8/19/08 at 12:52am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ileff View Post

i know the quality is lacking but youtube is just about the ideal place for videos. everything is cross referenced with lots of entertaining comments.

Youtube is definitely great for convenience, similar to MP3. To the say "the quality is lacking" is urr, an understatement. Blowing a YouTube up on a big screen HDTV is
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post #19 of 41
8/19/08 at 5:46am
Remember the days MTV actually showed music videos? Then there were the days they only showed hip hop videos. Now there's just nothing. Hmm...kinda sounds like popular music as a whole.
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post #20 of 41
8/19/08 at 6:50am
Not sure about you all, but I have On Demand service from Time Warner Cable that has several music channels. Comcast had it as well. They have hundreds of music videos for free, some in HD. I was a bit surprised when I saw that MS wanted money to watch music videos that I can watch for free anytime I want.
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post #21 of 41
8/19/08 at 9:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by klk999 View Post

Not sure about you all, but I have On Demand service from Time Warner Cable that has several music channels. Comcast had it as well. They have hundreds of music videos for free, some in HD. I was a bit surprised when I saw that MS wanted money to watch music videos that I can watch for free anytime I want.

There is similar service on FiOS which I use. I have noticed that the quality is not quite as good as the SD version on Marketplace.

These types of things are also not really "free" but actually are bundled up in the monthly cost of your television service provider.
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post #22 of 41
8/19/08 at 12:50pm
What if you could transfer these videos to your Zune? Could it be that Microsoft has something more planned for this than what meets the eye?
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post #23 of 41
8/19/08 at 4:15pm
they were originally planning to merge platforms, but last i heard they changed on this to have two separte ecosystems. which i think is big mistake, to be able to plug your zune into xbox and download content would be nice feature.
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post #24 of 41
8/19/08 at 7:03pm
Only the very latest videos would be available in HD all of the older ones are shot and edited at most in 480p making it impossible to get HD out of them and all of them are mixed in stereo meaning that 5.1 mixes are near impossible without lots of time and money (unless you coun't reverb type 5.1 which is easily done with PLII on any receiver)
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post #25 of 41
8/19/08 at 9:18pm
First of all I agree that music videos should be free....

BUT, they're never going to be available in HD as they aren't mastered/transferred this way to begin with. They're always mastered to NTSC Digital BetaCam.

No way am I paying for an upconverted video!
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post #26 of 41
8/19/08 at 9:22pm
Yes they don't have to charge for everthing especially when you can see videos on you tube
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post #27 of 41
8/19/08 at 9:27pm
that's the thing... youtube actually made videos somewhat relevant again. The problem is that the delivery is poor; highly compressed flash video the size of a matchbox.

Xbox live has the capacity to one up youtube and offer NTSC video quality downloads but shoots itself in the foot by making people pay. There is a reason why youtube is so successful and its not because of the quality!
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post #28 of 41
8/20/08 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taubs View Post

they were originally planning to merge platforms, but last i heard they changed on this to have two separte ecosystems. which i think is big mistake, to be able to plug your zune into xbox and download content would be nice feature.

Yes, MS has been dropping the ball here in terms of taking advantage of the the marketplace meda and integrating with Zune. They had opportunity in fact to do better with integrating with hd dvd and apparently didn't smell enough money so they dropped it. While Sony is clearly continuing to work to integrate the PSP with PS3, MS doesn't seem to be giving nearly the same level of effort with Zune+360.

Quote:


Yes they don't have to charge for everthing especially when you can see videos on you tube

Quote:


Xbox live has the capacity to one up youtube and offer NTSC video quality downloads but shoots itself in the foot by making people pay. There is a reason why youtube is so successful and its not because of the quality!

YouTube is actually getting by only because of legal loophole. Illegal material is commonly available on YouTube but they "can't police it all" so they are able to take advantage of it. Microsoft could never pull that stunt on Xbox Marketplace. The material is not free but at best they could bundle it as part of the gold subscription fees they collect.

Quote:


BUT, they're never going to be available in HD as they aren't mastered/transferred this way to begin with. They're always mastered to NTSC Digital BetaCam

.

So you're saying that all music videos are shot in standard def? What is MTV HD using?
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post #29 of 41
8/20/08 at 10:03am
Quote:
Originally Posted by klk999 View Post

Not sure about you all, but I have On Demand service from Time Warner Cable that has several music channels. Comcast had it as well. They have hundreds of music videos for free, some in HD. I was a bit surprised when I saw that MS wanted money to watch music videos that I can watch for free anytime I want.

Unless you are stealing your cable service then your On Demand is not free.
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post #30 of 41
8/20/08 at 10:41am
Quote:


BUT, they're never going to be available in HD as they aren't mastered/transferred this way to begin with. They're always mastered to NTSC Digital BetaCam

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dahlsim View Post

So you're saying that all music videos are shot in standard def? What is MTV HD using?

I know that some of the music on MHD is shot in HD, but a lot are also upconverted. Some rather poorly at that. But true HD videos are a pleasure to watch and listen to if you're a fan of the musician and the story that their songs tell.

Alas in Canada we're always behind the times. Admittedly we're only just starting to see a variety of HD programming, but so far no HD music channels. The closest we have is HDNet which can be entertaining, but it's somewhat repetitive.

Music video channels in their prime were also repetitive, but at least you got a variety throughout the day.
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