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Resources - Digital Music Glossary
vForward
| The
Consumer
Checklist for Downloadable Music
| Acronyms
Associated with the Retailing of Downloadable Music
| The
NARM Digital Music Glossary
Forward
The
National Association of Recording Merchandisers is pleased to present
this glossary containing generic definitions for basic terms related
to the specialized field of distribution and sale of downloadable
music. NARM's two
primary purposes for developing this glossary
were to:
1) Create
a common language for use by retailers and their vendors/channel
partners in conducting business; and
2)
Encourage
consumer adoption of commercially downloadable music by reducing
consumer confusion through the use of common terminology on all retail
websites.
In
the interest of creating a common language, every effort has been made
to eliminate mention of branded or proprietary technologies, except as
examples of general concepts that apply to the industry as a whole,
and to avoid terms affiliated only with branded or proprietary
technologies.
Where
possible, definitions were written based on information drawn from US
and global standards organizations
and industry groups including IFPI, ISO, SDMI, and WIPO.
Additional sources included ASCAP, bitlaw.com, BMI,
Britannica.com, Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS), findlaw.com,
Harry Fox Agency, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, Microsoft’’s
Manual of Style for Technical
Publications, Random House
Webster’’s
Unabridged Dictionary, RIAA,
U.S. Copyright Statute, and Wired
Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age. No
copyrights have been infringed in the creation of this document.
The
digital download market is in its infancy, and commerce terminology
that serves the physical world well does not always adequately address
digital distribution issues. This glossary attempts to define terms
based on their predominant use in electronic commerce without seeking
to resolve underlying legal issues that may be in dispute. For
example, there is general consensus that "fair use" of
copyrighted material is permitted even though there may be
disagreement concerning whether certain activity constitutes fair use.
Similarly, there is general agreement that a copyright holder has
certain rights established by law, yet disagreement as to the scope of
those rights or what the legal limitations on them may be.
Many
of these definitions are context sensitive. Content,
for example, has a distinct definition in the digital download world. Portable
media in the wider world could be a CD; here it has a more
restrictive definition, associated with portable devices and media
storage. Our purpose is to explain the download world's
specific usage of common terms, and to allow people to
use these terms with comfort and confidence.
Special
thanks to Supertracks and Reciprocal for coming up with the idea and
for crafting the first draft of the glossary.
Forward
| The
Consumer
Checklist for Downloadable Music
| Acronyms
Associated with the Retailing of Downloadable Music
| The
NARM Digital Music Glossary
The
Consumer's Checklist for Downloadable Music
The
downloading consumer will benefit from understanding digital music
terminology. The terms below represent the basics for consumer
knowledge. The term Consumer
Rights is defined under Rights
in the glossary; all other terms can be found in alphabetical order.
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Content
type (video, music, software)
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Consumer
rights (see rights)
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EULA
(End User License Agreement)
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License
(permit, digital license)
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Distribution
format
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DRM/container
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compression/codec
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File
extension
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System
requirements for downloading, storage and playback
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operating
system
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processor
speed
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software
player
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minimum
connection speed
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Delivery
method
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download
page
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other
access (examples)
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Fulfillment (guarantee of successful delivery)
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Reinstall (guarantee of persistent access)
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Disclaimers (limits on return policy, privacy guarantees on
player registration via third parties, etc.)
Forward
| The
Consumer
Checklist for Downloadable Music
| Acronyms
Associated with the Retailing of Downloadable Music
| The
NARM Digital Music Glossary
Acronyms
Association with the Retailing of Downloadable Music
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API
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Application
Programming Interface
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ASP
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(1)
Active Server Page
(2) Application Service Provider
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B-2-B
or B-to-B
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Business
to Business*
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B-2-C
or B-to-C
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Business
to Consumer*
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CD-R
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Compact
Disc-Recordable*
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CD-RW
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Compact
Disc-Rewritable*
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DDM
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Digital
Distribution of Music (See DMD
and EMD.)
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DMD
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Digital
Music Distribution (See EMD,
DDM.)
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DRM
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Digital
Rights Management*
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DSL
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Digital
Subscriber Line*
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DSP
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Digital
Service Provider*
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EMD
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Electronic
Music Distribution (See DMD
and DDM.)
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ESD
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Electronic
Software Distribution: Digital Distribution of Software
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EULA
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End
User License Agreement*
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HTML
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Hypertext
Markup Language
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IFPI
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International
Federation of the Phonographic Industry
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IP
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(1)
Intellectual Property*
(2) Internet Protocol
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ISRC
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International
Standard Recording Code*
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ISWC
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International
Standard Work Code
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LAN
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Local
Area Network*
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MP3
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MPEG
1 Audio Layer 3
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MSRP
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Manufacturer’s
Suggested Retail Price
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PD
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Portable
Device; Personal Device*
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PII
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Personally
Identifiable Information*
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RIAA
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Recording
Industry Association of America
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SCMS
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Serial
Copy Management System*
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SDK
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Software
Development Kit
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SDMI
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Secure
Digital Music Initiative*
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XML
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Extensible
Markup Language*
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WIPO
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World
Intellectual Property Organization*
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*
= Defined in glossary
Forward
| The
Consumer
Checklist for Downloadable Music
| Acronyms
Associated with the Retailing of Downloadable Music
| The
NARM Digital Music Glossary
The
Narm Digital Music Glossary
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A
collection of tracks arranged together, available as one unit.
Most artists release albums (as opposed to just singles), but
albums can contain tracks by a number of different artists.
Historically, album size has been limited to the physical
capacity of a CD, cassette or LP; this limitation disappears
with digitally distributed albums. (See single
and track.)
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A
solution to a problem that uses a mathematical formula or a
finite number of steps expressed in either spoken language
(e.g. English) or programming
language (e.g. C++). An example of how algorithms are used in
digital music distribution is the encryption process. Each
incoming music file is broken down into bits of data that are
encrypted according to a set mathematical procedure (i.e. an algorithm) and come out as encrypted string of digits.
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3.
broadband
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Generally
used to refer to high-speed Internet connection technologies,
the term has become synonymous with high bandwidth. The term
originated in the telephone industry, where it refers to
connections with wider bandwidths—thus high transmission
speed—than standard phone lines. Cable modems, DSL, and
fiber optic systems are referred to as broadband technologies.
(See minimum connection speed.)
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4.
burn
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The
process of writing information, such as a music file, onto a
CD. A CD Burner is a
device that writes information onto (usually) blank CDs.
Note:
CD-ROM
means CD Read Only
CD-R
is recordable, but once only
CD-RW
means CD Rewritable, and can be rewritten (re-recorded), which
means it can be added to over time.
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8.
channels (of distribution), channel partners
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The
digital music
distribution channel includes everyone involved in
bringing digital music to market (artists and record labels,
distributors, retailers, et al.). Channel
partners are companies which work together to achieve
distribution within a given segment of the market by providing
goods or services essential to getting the music to market.
The consumer may be considered part of the channel,
particularly if s/he is participating in superdistribution or
viral marketing
(see
peer-to-peer, superdistribution
and viral
marketing). Many companies become part of the channel by
providing technologies or services that contribute to or
enable digital distribution; these companies offer such a wide
range of differing products and services that it is difficult
to categorize them. One noteworthy category is Digital Service
Providers. (See digital
service providers.)
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9.
check-in/check-out
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The
capability and practice of “moving” music from a computer
to a portable device (checking-out),
and then returning it (checking-in).
Although the music is not actually moved (it is copied to a
new medium, but no more than the authorized number of copies
are accessible at any one time), this duplicates to some
degree the physical mobility of CDs and cassettes.
The purpose of check-in/check-out
systems is to allow consumers to use their music on a
variety of digital devices, ranging from computers
to portable devices.
*The
SDMI definition for check-out includes “…the number of
permitted copies is decremented by one.”
*
The
SDMI definition for check-in includes “(when) the number of
allowed copies is incremented by one the checked-out copy
shall be rendered unusable.”
©1999
SDMI (Portable Device
Spec Part 1 Version 1.0)
SDMI’s
intent is to constrain the number of “simultaneously usable
copies” to the number permitted by the usage rules
designated by the copyright holder.
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11.
client (consumer) DRM utilities
(
license manager, license management software, license
management tools, customer license tools)
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In
the Internet lexicon, a client is usually a
consumer’s computer. A client DRM utility is a piece
of software that keeps track of the licenses on the
consumer’s computer. The client DRM utilities can be built
into a player, or can be a separate piece of software. Some
client DRM utilities let the consumer back up and restore
his/her licenses by copying them to a floppy disk or some
other storage media. It’s useful to have a backup license in
case the authorized copy of the sound recording is lost, for
instance if a hard drive crashes or needs to be reformatted.
If a consumer has questions about the information in a
license, the DRM utility is the program s/he uses to open and
read the license.
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12.
codec
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Any
hardware or software that compresses
and decompresses
data as part of the conversion of sound, speech, or video to
digital code and vice versa.
Also a synonym for coder-decoder
technologies. There are several different codecs for music
(including AAC by Dolby, MP3, AATRAC3 by Sony, and EPAC by
Lucent) with differing characteristics and strengths.
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13.
compression
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Uncompressed
music files are large, take up memory and are slow to
download. Compressing the files (with the use of a codec)
makes them easier to transmit and store. Typical audio codecs
use compression schemes that remove inaudible or redundant
data (the human ear doesn't hear this anyway) in music files
to reduce file size.
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14.
container
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A
digital software device that provides online distributors with
a way of transmitting digital products. The container is
analogous to a CD’s jewel case. The music that the case
holds can come in different genres and styles just as
different codecs and DRMs can be applied to the music. The
jewel case can contain other items in addition to the music,
such as liner notes or art.
The content owner decides what items will go into the
container, and whether to allow the retailer put anything else
in. In the digital music world, the container also contains
information about the company that makes the music (here
it’s separated from the liner notes, although it may be
embedded into the music itself). Just as some jewel cases
contain security devices, containers may include security
measures that require several keys (rights, license, and
decryption keys) to open the container. (See
license.)
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22.
digital
distribution master
(
electronic master, emaster, parent file)
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The
stored file that is copied (or mirrored) in fulfilling orders
for digital music.
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