I got this e-mail today; i'm not sure how they got my address, but there was an offer for a downloadable version of Linkin Park's From The Inside single. The price was £1.99 when you use some BT pay method (you have to register tho and obviously it can only be used by uk residents) or £3 if you used sms. I opted for sms, as i couldn't be bothered to register for the bt thing. How it works: using sms, you text the word "LINKIN" to the number 84133 (NOTE: don't do this if you don't have the web address to enter it into to actually get the music, as you'll have paid for nothing) and within seconds you get two replies - one saying the PIN will follow in another message and then the PIN itself (it actually took a something like £3.17 from my balance but anyway)
You have to enter the PIN first on the site, then again once you've downloaded the music files, in order to get a license for them. Yep, they're .wma files! tbh, i like this method of purchasing music online. It effectively cost me just over £1 a track, plus i got to see 3 streaming videos, the digital rights on the music files aren't very restrictive (unlimited plays and transfers to mobile devices, but only 3 copies to cd), and i didn't have to go thru some arduous registration process that would have meant some record company knowing all my intimate personal details.
The tracks themselves are:
From The Inside (Live)
Runaway (Live)
From The Inside (Album Version)

it just so happens i am a fan of most of Linkin Park's stuff, otherwise i would've been unlikely to bother with this. However, liking their stuff, and not having the recent album (Meteora), i decided to go ahead and buy it. The live and album versions of From The Inside, whilst not differing greatly (what did you expect?), are different enough to warrant a listen to both. Ditto the live version of Runaway compared to its album counterpart. Of course, i hadn't heard From The Inside until now - it's one of the more usual Linkin Park tracks - similar enough to their other tracks that you know it's them, but different enough not to be boring. The trademark screaming and scratching is there, although the latter is not nearly so abundant as on many of their other tracks. All in all, i'd say it was worth the just-over-£3. My one gripe with the system they used for this is that the video files are not downloadable, and i even tried using a couple of stream capture programs with no luck - the streams are copy protected - but this is a little puzzling. I'd have preferred to have JUST the video for From The Inside, in downloadable form, than also having the live videos for Numb and (preview version) of Live In Texas but only as streams. Ah well. It is a shame, though, that whilst Kerrang TV have been playing Faint to death, From The Inside has been left out. Hell, there are probably other tracks on the new album that are good too, but have been ignored in order to push just one track.
Of course, people who aren't fans of Linkin Park probably won't have read this far, but there is another issue here aside from the music itself - we've already seen iTunes, and now a number of copycats, offering a service where users can pay to download single tracks. Given the choice, there are many albums from which i'd like just one or two tracks - that's partly why filesharing networks are used when used for music (or at the least, you'll download a full album but mostly listen to just one or two tracks from it). Are the bands (and their labels) going to sit up and take notice? quality really does rule over quantity. I'd much rather have a few great tracks from a band than lots of mediocre ones.
Oh yeah, i'm sorry but i lost the URL to purchase this single from. If you find it, by all measn post it.