Goat: Virgin Digital

I have approached music download services with extreme caution. I still go out and buy the CD and then rip it for my MP3 player. I don't like buying things and then being told what I can do with (i.e. DRM = Shite)

But recently I bought a pack of AAA batteries and there was a code for a free track from Virgin Digital in it.

Well - worth a go thought I. It isn't gonna cost me anything.

So I created an account, which was an easy mellow experience. I dug around for a track I would like to download. Even though it was going to be encumbered with DRM at least it hadn't cost me anything.

I settled on The Sisters of Mercy Neverland (full version) from the recently re-released Floodland (the original only contained a track called Neverland - A fragment).

This epic goth track stretches to around 11 minutes. So I checkout, enter my code and hey presto it appears in 'My Stuff' at a cost of 0p.

I download it. Hmmmmmmm..... What's this? 4Mb? For an 11 minute track - it must be shit quality. That's not it my good friends. I'm happily listening away and the quality is pretty good. 4 minutes in - where the fuck has my song gone?

Now we see why it's only 4Mb. So I tried again - same result.

Time for the contact us link. Two days later a helpful e-mail arrives telling my how sorry they are etc. But not to worry - they've fixed the problem. It'll all go fine now. Just download again.

So I did. 4.5Mb. Fixed my big hairy arse.

So I emailed them again. This time they just ignored me. No reply. Nothing. Not even 'Shut up you whinging fucker - it was free anyway'.

I left it a month or so and tried to download again. No joy. Same problem. So I emailed them again. A week later I'm still waiting for a response.

On the strength of this experience it'll be CDs for me until they stop producing them. Honestly, if they want to get people switched on to this stuff they need to do a couple of things:

1. Drop the DRM - no one should be told what they can do with a track they've paid for.

2. Customer service. Sort out the fucking problems and quick. I'm a potential customer they've lost.

Stay grumpy ladies and gentlemen. Until next time.

Update:

After some e-mails fired off to 'technical support' at Virgin Digital, which went unanswered (no suggestions, ideas or even a plain 'Sorry') I received an e-mail saying I would receive a full refund shortly. Of a free track?

So I fired some e-mails back to Marcus (who was the guy sending the refund messages) and he basically responded with an email that ended up with this quote:

Downloads work for around 97% of
all our users but for some users it will not
work, no matter what they try. The only thing
we can suggest (as you say you meet the PC
requirements) is to just test again.
Sometimes things do go wrong.

So basically if you're one of the 3% you are FUCKED and they can't do anything to help you. This sounds like they couldn't give a shit, or they are just technically incompetent.

My advice is to stay away from this steaming pile of horse shit. No technical support. Lame excuses. Apathy towards 3% of their customers. Brilliant.