Official Slacker Forums

[acedoc]

Are the two portables identical in their licensing agreements? That is, do we have the same access to singles on both players?

[celticsfan]

I was told by customer support that the g1 licensing on the g1 is different than the g2 licensing

[radio88]

I might have to get a G2 if the licensing is different. I am sick of the repetition on the G1. I have recently purchased a subscription to Rhapsody which also has online channels and channels you can create but it wasn't nearly as good of a feature as it is for Slacker. And using it portable on my mp3 player sucked. I'm hoping that they have the repetition problem fixed in the G2 because then I would definitely buy it.

[JAdamz]

I was told by customer support that the g1 licensing on the g1 is different than the g2 licensing

Very interesting information. Guess that answers my question from a few weeks ago regarding hearing the likes of Metallica on my G2...

[acedoc]

I would be surprised if it is different. I hope we'll hear some official word on this, and an explanation, if so.

[celticsfan]

IT is different they said it.s the firmware and licensing next update might be better but would not gurantee it would every be the same as the g2

[Sarah]

That is so unacceptable. It doesn't make me want to purchase a G2. It makes me want to no longer be a customer at all. I'd like an official word on this also.

[Sarah]

Seriously, no official response on this yet?

[PatentGuy]

That is so unacceptable. It doesn't make me want to purchase a G2. It makes me want to no longer be a customer at all. I'd like an official word on this also.

Licensing is a legal issue that is negotiated with the record labels. I bet the record labels would be willing to grant a very broad license, for a price. How much are we willing to pay for a music service?

Based on past responses from Support, I don't think Support has any detailed license information. They know how to solve problems with the players and portable. They are at the mercy of others for detailed license info.

I hear songs from artists on my G2 that I don't hear on my G1, for example, AC/DC, Zeppelin.

[Sarah]

How much are we willing to pay for a music service?

I paid at least $50 more for my G1 than the G2 costs. I expect Slacker to go to bat equally for their G1 customers concerning licensing.

[celticsfan]

like i said thats what they told me. if you notice very few new songs added to the g1

[acedoc]

Both units are portable players sold by Slacker. There should be no difference in either unit from a licensing perspective. Slacker should be paying a specific fee or percentage, for all portable licensing regardless. It makes sense that there are different licensing and rules from the internet player to the portable, but between the players? That's just odd to me.

I do not need to know the agreements for every single artist, just a simple explanation as to if and why there would be a difference in the G1-G2 licensing.

If there are differences, and more artists will only be available on the G2, then the G1 is truly obsolete, and we should be informed as such. By keeping G1 users in the dark, Slacker is making it very difficult to determine if the G2 "upgrade" is needed.

[Sarah]

If this is true, it's essentially relegating customers who bought an expensive product from you less than a year ago to second class. I'd really like an official response.

[celticsfan]

there offical response is buy a g2 if you want to hear new music or artists not on the g1 which sucks for people who bought the g1

[shakes]

I just heard about this product when seeing a commercial on VH-1 Classic which I record every morning. I went to this site to get more information as everything seemed good up until now. Reading this thread is disturbing though. It seems like Slacker just makes it's players obsolete soon after your buy it. No wonder the downloads are free! The service should be the same no matter when you bought your player. Thanks for the heads-up guys! Sorry the early adopters are getting the shaft though... It does say something about the future direction of this company though.

[Sarah]

Here are my responses from support:

My question:
Hello. Are you still acquiring licenses for new music for the G1? Are you acquiring licenses for songs for the G2 that you are not acquiring for the G1?

Answer:
Thank you for contacting Slacker Support. We are continuously working on licenses for all aspects of the Slacker Services. This is an ever changing process as we continue to work with the record labels, artists and publishing companies.
Thanks,
Rome E
Slacker Support

That was a little too vague for me.

My follow up question:
Thanks for the reply. Have you acquired licenses for songs for the G2 that you have not gotten for the G1? If so, why?

Answer:
Thank You for contacting Slacker Customer Support,

We do not have different licenses for songs that are on the G2 as with the G1. We have different licenses in the way the songs can save Web Player as compared to the Portable Players.

Best Regards,

Charles B.
Slacker Support

[DaMenace]

I just heard about this product when seeing a commercial on VH-1 Classic which I record every morning. I went to this site to get more information as everything seemed good up until now. Reading this thread is disturbing though. It seems like Slacker just makes it's players obsolete soon after your buy it. No wonder the downloads are free! The service should be the same no matter when you bought your player. Thanks for the heads-up guys! Sorry the early adopters are getting the shaft though... It does say something about the future direction of this company though.

It's kind of hard to make a bold statement like "makes it's players obsolete...". The main point that should be taken from this thread is that Slacker continues to expand the licensing agreements they have with labels and artists. I have used the G1 and the G2, but I can't say that I can truly compare the content because I haven't used the G1 in quite sometime. The content I have heard on G2 that I didn't hear on G1 is a function of Slacker working hard to provide more and more content for the users. People also need to keep in mind that there are many different types of licensing levels for the Slacker service --- ranges from songs that only play on the web player to songs that can be played AND saved onto a portable player.

I think Slacker has done a great job of listening to the suggestions and feedback from the early adopters to make the service and functionality better for not only the portables but the overall listening experience.

[acedoc]

Here are my responses from support:

My question:
Hello. Are you still acquiring licenses for new music for the G1? Are you acquiring licenses for songs for the G2 that you are not acquiring for the G1?

Answer:
Thank you for contacting Slacker Support. We are continuously working on licenses for all aspects of the Slacker Services. This is an ever changing process as we continue to work with the record labels, artists and publishing companies.
Thanks,
Rome E
Slacker Support

That was a little too vague for me.

My follow up question:
Thanks for the reply. Have you acquired licenses for songs for the G2 that you have not gotten for the G1? If so, why?

Answer:
Thank You for contacting Slacker Customer Support,

We do not have different licenses for songs that are on the G2 as with the G1. We have different licenses in the way the songs can save Web Player as compared to the Portable Players.

Best Regards,

Charles B.
Slacker Support

Thanks for posting that, Sarah. It makes sense that there would be one licensing agreement for all portable players, otherwise every portable product would be different in how it plays customized channels. Now, if we can just get a software update.... :)

[gorran]

Now that I have the G2, I am seeing some of my favorite artists play on stations that have NEVER played and still don't play on the G1. If the licensing is the same, then the G1 is broke and it needs fixing.

[Sarah]

Would you mind posting the names of the artists, so we can do a little independent experimenting?