More details on Spiral Frog's file restrictions and up-front payments in a transcript of a KCRW broadcast by industry consultant Celia Hirschman. She adds a dose of disgust to the additonal details. (Bold is mine.)

"Have the major labels finally caved to the notion that illegal downloading cannot be stopped? Is this the beginning of the end of the record business as we know it?

Not at all. Rather, this is classic Record Business. Read the fine print of the Spira lFrog deal, and the hairs on the back of your neck will stand up. First of all, when consumers download the track, they'll be subjected to a 90 second audio advertisement embedded at the beginning of each track. That's 90 seconds of advertising for every song downloaded. And the downloads will only be available to the listener for six months, where upon the song will be erased from their libraries like a Mission Impossible espionage tape."

In addition, Hirschman said the majors each negotiated with Spiral Frog to get a $2 million upfront payment. Previously, News.com reported that Universal's deal "is initially for just one year, though Universal may look to extend it if it proves viable."

(Thanks, Dennis)

Update: Most reports indicate the 90 seconds of advertising for each track must be watched before the track is downloaded. There's no indication the advertisement will be embedded into each file. This Reuters article reports that users "must view a 90-second block of advertising before the download starts." While that's better than enduring 90 seconds of advertising each time the song is played, that's still 15 minutes of advertisements for a ten-song album.

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