NexTune launches desktop music player that cracks Apple's iTunes DRM
Everyone knows you can’t play the songs you’ve downloaded from the iTunes Music Store in any other application, right? Well, unless you burn them to a CD and then re-rip them, of course.
But US firm NexTune says its new desktop music application CAN play songs bought from the iTunes Store, as well as songs bought from other download stores that use Microsoft’s DRM protection. The app was launched yesterday, alongside NexTune’s own Music Store, and an online music recognition service.
Meanwhile, the company is also giving away $50,000 worth of music to people who sign up for its new service – the currency is a giveaway sign that this is US only, folks. Users who download the NexTune desktop app get 15 days of access to the company’s Music Profile database, and then 10 cents of credit every time they add information to the database.
Intriguingly, NexTune’s application also lets users buy or sell physical CDs, making it a bit like the Notting Hill Music Exchange crossed with iTunes. I said a bit. People who sell their old CDs using the application get credit they can then use to buy new songs on the store.
“All the noise about digital music technology has frustrated and confused the traditional music buyer, and even driven them away from buying music,” says Michael DuKane, NexTune’s CEO and founder. “We wanted to bring back simple enjoyment of the personal music experience. We set out to develop a digital music application that was easy to use, that related to music consumers in a way that mirrored a CD collection, and most of all, gave them playlisting tools never before available to the general public.”
The NexTune application is available now, for both PC and Macs. Give us a shout if you’re using it, to give your verdict.
NexTune website
