SanDisk Corp. is baffling observers with its introduction of a new physical format for music retailers, intended to replace CDs on shelves in big-box retail stores. Why in the world would the company expect people to buy music in a new, unfamiliar physical form when so many listeners are moving toward paid downloads with no physical media, not to mention various free models?
SanDisk's SlotMusic format -- a MicroSD memory card that comes pre-loaded with a full-length album and whatever other content the label and artist might choose to include -- has the support of all four major labels, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co. Inc. The cards will come with USB adapters so that the music can be loaded onto laptops, desktops, MP3 players and mobile phones, and the music will be free of digital rights management copy protection. The format is built for flexibility, and will probably be priced between $7 and $10 for a full-length album, according to reports. It can't be plugged directly into an iPod or iPhone, but can be loaded onto one via a PC.
While customers are rapidly losing interest in buying music on physical media, I wouldn't count out SlotMusic just yet, although I don't expect it to be around forever. I suspect that a lot of the albums sold at Wal-Mart and Best Buy are bought on impulse and/or as a gift. A memory card filled with music could make for a more attractive stocking stuffer than a download card, or could provide instant gratification to people looking to load music onto their phone as they leave the store. Even downloading music takes longer and requires more steps than plugging a tiny chip into the side of a mobile phone or MP3 player. And the still-dominant physical medium, the CD, is starting to seem as clunky and inconvenient as a VHS tape.
Still, there were plenty of reasons why MiniDiscs or CD3s should have sold better, and the album-on-a-stick format hasn't proven itself yet (although it really shouldn't cost $35, I'm sure). Having two of the three largest music retailers on board could boost holiday season sales, but no new physical medium seems likely to survive for more than a few years -- especially one you can't plug directly into an iPod or iPhone. You can't gift-wrap an MP3, but music on a chip isn't too satisfying of a replacement. -- Paul Bonanos
See press release from SanDisk
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