BBC: "Online music lovers 'frustrated'"...

'What people don't understand is that when they buy an iPod or other digital music player, they're being tied into a system,' believes Deputy Labs Editor, Nick Ross. 'Many of our readers have already been caught out, buying tracks but being unable to play them on their player.'

One PC Pro reader spent £40 downloading music from an online store only to find that although his MP3 player played Windows Media Audio (WMA) files that he created, it wouldn't play the copyright-protected WMA files he'd bought. 'What was I supposed to do,' he said, 'take them back to the shop? It's way too confusing.'

To make matters worse, we report that people are paying too much for tracks. 'Digital music only accounts for 2 per cent of the market because the stores and music industry are being greedy, paranoid and treating customers with contempt,' according to Ross . 'A song bought in the USA on iTunes or Napster costs 79 cents but in the UK costs 79 pence - ridiculous when the exchange rate is almost $2 to £1.'

In our conclusive round-up of the online sites, we found that the only online store worthy of recommendation was an American site - www.audiolunchbox.com - that had struck deals with independent music labels. 'Its prices are reasonable, as you can buy in US dollars, there's no restriction on what you can do with the music, and it's high quality encoding too,' said Ross.

But PC Pro believes the best business model comes from Russian site, www.allofmp3.com. 'This sells a huge variety of music, in the format and quality of your choice. Unfortunately, the royalties it pays are miniscule making it little better than illegal file swapping. However, where the illegal Napster pioneered the world of online music delivery, allofmp3.com is pioneering the business model that big business should follow.'

The venting at the end of the BBC piece is worth a skim.