• Tracks: $0.99CDN
• Albums: $9.99CDN
• Approx 175,000 tracks. Supposed to double in size in a month.
• Question: How much does the artist get?
• Pages do not render properly in Mozilla
• Has a wishlist - That's a good idea
• Server intermittenly crashes (they're using Microsoft) (hello load testing). I know Apple's iTunes Music Store also had issues the first day but this being a Canadian site I'd expect their traffic to be several magnitudes less.
• Has some exclusive tracks
• Burning: 'You can burn your music downloads to CD 3 times.'
• Portable players: 'You can transfer your music downloads an unlimited number of times to 3 separate portable devices'
• Portability: You cannot take songs to work or transfer between notebook and desktop machines at home. 'This license will only be active on the computer to which the song is downloaded. For this reason, it is important that you purchase and download your music using your primary computer. Once you have downloaded a song, you will be able to listen, burn, or transfer from only that computer. '
• Uses WMA format: 192kbps
  • Works only with Windows machines
  • Can only listen to (some) tracks on devices which support Windows Media. Does not work with iPods the most popular portable music device
• No indicator of how long the preview is
• They charge GST+PST (which is 15%)
• First time users get a free track with their first purchase
• You have to download and install a Moontaxi Media plugin to download your purchases
• You can download and pay for just one track.
• My order number was 4231. Did they reset order numbers after beta testing?
• Confirmation email:

  We strongly recommend that your burn your new tracks to a back-up CD for safe keeping, in the event that you experience PC failure in the future. Please see help for details. Blank RW CD discs can be purchased at any computer store

  Note that there is a levy on blank CDs so you're paying for your music twice if you backup onto CDs.
• Shows downloads progress but not the speed/rate of transfer. Feels slow.
• After downloading and pressing listen in the download manager I got an error saying that I did not have the license for the song. So I click on the help link and it gives me a HTTP 403 - Forbidden error.. Hmmm. But when I launch it from WMP it works fine.

Can non-Canadian people pay and download the songs?

Conclusion: I will not use this service since it does not support my iPod.

Coverage elsewhere:

• Fluff Globe article: Canadian firm launchs digital music service
• Slashdot: Puretracks.com Enters The Online Music Fray
• CBC: Online music downloads available in Canada...at a price
• The Star: Digital music service debuts

  More than a dozen songs randomly purchased and downloaded by the Star wouldn't play using the recommended software.

6:11:50 PM   []

Students anxious about job market:

Half of the university students polled and four in 10 college students say they anticipate having trouble finding a job.

Yes we are anticipating having trouble finding a job. It doesn't help that everyone is also moving development offshore: IT jobs contracted from far and wide

Editorial by Brain Robertson the head of the Canadian Recording Industry Association, Don't torch musicians' incomes, burn media piracy:

Canada's music industry has been the hardest hit of any country in the world by illegal file sharing. Retail sales are down by more than $425-million since 1999. In the last year, staff layoffs at record companies have topped 20 per cent. (About 45,000 people are dependent, directly or indirectly, on the recording industry in Canada.) If this decline continues, there will be less money to invest in Canadian artists and Canadian music.

Though I look forward to trying out Puretracks today.
9:29:42 AM   []