Originally Posted by nordmann
How is that possible to verify? putting in your CD to show that you own the music that you are downloading?
By the way what is the name of that site you are talking about? (curious) (wink wink)
IIRC, the mp3.com business model was that you would register the CDs that you own (a CD "signature" similar to what CDDB uses) and then you could stream playlists from their website to your PC while you work. The downfall was that you could easily register all of your friends' CDs by borrowing the physical disks for the afternoon. This was pre-Napster, BTW.
The DVD-to-iPod "service" site is
http://www.ishowstogo.com/
Don't spend time trying to compress your own movies. Let us do it for you! Download a copy of your movie now, for less than $5!
You don't even have to send in your DVD - you just have to promise that you own it.
If you want them to rip a title that isn't on their site they can do that also, just send the DVD to them. This costs a dollar more.
EDIT:
Here's the wikipedia article on the MP3.com service called "my.mp3.com":
My.MP3.com
On January 12, 2000, MP3.com launched the "My.MP3.com" service which enabled users to securely register their personal CDs and then stream digital copies online from the My.MP3.com service. Since consumers could only listen online to music they already proved they owned the company saw this as a great opportunity for revenue by allowing fans to access their own music online. The record industry did not see it that way and sued MP3.com claiming that the service constituted unauthorized duplication and promoted copyright infringement.
Judge Jed S. Rakoff, in the case UMG v. MP3.com, ruled in favor of the record labels against MP3.com and the service on the copyright law provision of "making mechanical copies for commercial use without permission from the copyright owner." Rather than fight on appeal, MP3.com settled with the major labels for more than $200 million and the service was discontinued. This decision turned out to be the beginning of the end of the original MP3.com as the firm, unaware of the impending dot-com bust, no longer had sufficient funds to weather the technology downturn. To add to their woes music publishers, spurred by the success of the record label suits, also sued MP3.com with their own claims of payment due.