Cheap Songs - A Gift from Smart Music

A few weeks earlier, Smart which is the leading wireless service provider in the Philippines has launched Smart Music in partnership with MCA Music. As the two big players in their own fields unite, this project has produced high hopes not only for the corporations itself but even for the OPM bands wherein part of the revenue will still be shared with the artists.

Most of us are guilty when it comes to piracy related topics specially when it comes to music, but as for our own experiences, the only reason you'd get a customer to buy the song is if they really support the band or just because of that Last Song Syndrome which forces them to do so.

As discussed from a previous post where MyMusicStore Philippines is in the spotlight comes a competitor (Smart Music). This time, Smart has made it a lot easier for subscribers to obtain that mind bugging songs you'd die for. Since Credit Cards are something that majority of the subscribers doesn't have, Smart made it possible to directly acquire the song by paying the bill through your regular load. Though the process is nearly the same with MyMusicStore, purchasing through the use of your mobile phone's load is a lot more convenient rather than looking for a Load Central retailer to buy a MyMusicStore Credit.

The free 5 songs upon registration is a good catch already but another good thing about this project is the cost for each song where new available songs has a price of Php. 20.00 and other songs will only cost Php. 15.00. A huge price difference with their competitor.

Smart Music will be available under the Smart Telecom Umbrella which includes Talk 'N Text and Sun Cellular subscribers.

So for a summary of this article, here is a detailed list why I would choose Smart Music

• Price difference
• Convinient way of payment
• Free 5 Songs when you register
• I'm under the Smart Umbrella =)

An existing Android App was also available for download at the Play Store though it seems just like a browser which directs you to the mobile view of the portal. (Not to mention a huge amount of negative feedback)

Though the project is still in its early stage, it seems very promising and has a lot of potential. I'm sure Smart will take immediate action with those feedback that they received from their subscribers.

For those under the Smart Telecom Umbrella, have you already tried this? Share your comments and ideas with us!

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Dapat Tama - GMA Network Advocacy

The upcoming election urges one of the giant network in the Philippines GMA-7 to release an advocacy for an informed election this 2013.

Being known as listed in the corrupt countries in the world, Filipinos desired for change not only from the words that candidates proudly brag over the years but from the actions they make. From short-term to long-term goals, people desired for change all over the world and what better way to get those corrupt officials and candidates but through the internet.

As this advocacy reaches its popularity, you could reach the people behind this by placing the information you think was linked to corruption and things that doesn't comply with the set of rules presented by those who are in charge to their Facebook Page, or you could also use the famous hashtag from twitter and link it to them through the use of "#dapattama".

Included with this advocacy is the new music video of Philippine's very own Gloc-9 together with his protege Denise. You could search the video in YouTube entitled "Dapat Tama".

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Faith through Rock Music - Flyleaf

Flyleaf

Who among you guys haven’t heard of ‘em?
For starters they belong to  Rock / Alternative Genres and most likely, those who doesn’t feel like listening to rock music isn’t that familiar with then.

I started hearing them I guess, 4 or 5 years ago and found their music amusing and so powerful. At first for aspiring musicians, we didn’t easily understand the meaning of the  lyrics that they’re trying to imprint in our memories and in our hearts. We just found their music a great motivation for our dreams to gain strength. We started downloading their songs, playing them in some computer cafes and even sharing them with some of our friends. (Unfortunately, none of us were able to buy their album) If I remembered it correctly and if what I’ve read was right, the last album that they release was “Memento Mori”.

Articles say that they didn’t claim to be a Christian band but it felt like they were, specially because of the lyrics of the songs they wrote.  Another thing was that, when they combined “You are my Joy” with “From the inside out”. It was such a great piece and if I could make a request, I’d definitely want that song to be in their next album. Every part of their work was meaningful and even though there are some parts where the verse of the song was just repeated, I never felt that it was! Instead, I get the feeling that they were carving every thought, every meaning of the song to my heart and head for  me to be able to understand what they are really trying to say.

They did make a difference in my life through their music and I want to thank them for that. Hopefully sooner or later, they could perform here in the Philippines.

This was posted January 26, 2012 from my previous blog.

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Legally Downloaded - Online Music Store

This is a post from my previous blog which was posted last January 30, 2012

With all of these commotion with regards to piracy, some of our fellow countrymen thought of an idea that I thought should be shared. Here it goes.

Php. 25.00 – 35.00 to “legally” download a song.

Reported on Yahoo Philippines last January 20, 2012 is a way to legally acquire a song through the process of our very precious “downloading” technique. MyMusicStore Philippines, a website supported by 15 other group of recording companies (Based on the Partners they listed on their footer). Though there are some issues or questions that I have in mind with regards to this process, this is something that could actually change the whole thing with regards to piracy.

Honestly, I haven’t tried it yet and haven’t run a few checks on their site ( not that I’m that good on checking stuff ’cause frankly, I’m just a spectator here ) But here’s like most of the common questions I have heard when I discussed this to my friends and also some of the popular feedback on yahoo news…

• What would happen if I accidentally removed/deleted my downloaded file from the site? Do I have the rights to re-claim a copy?
• Php. 35.00 is so expensive for just one song! Could you perhaps make it a bit cheaper?
• Credit Cards? What if I don’t have one? From what I’ve heard Paypal needs to be linked to a debit card and I don’t want that.
• Why not make “prepaid cards” to top-up on an account?

I’m not even a user of iTunes so I can’t really compare the two but for some reasons, I found their feedback reasonable and worth considering. Normally, an original CD holds up to 14 songs (Just from my experiences) and if I downloaded all of them that would also cost me as much as buying an original CD or sometimes even less! But since CD sales are declining, I think this isn’t as bad as it sound. Some of us doesn’t really listen to all of the songs listed there anyway. There is always one song that tops the whole album. Besides, though not practical, the amount of one song doesn’t seem like it was too much. Some of us could actually spend Php. 40.00 and above for cigarette packs (a day) or even other vices.

Still, the decision is up to us users… Which one will we consider worth buying? Which is more practical or more appropriate?

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