Music files have to be 'wrapped' by Sony software in order to be played on a Sony music player.

It is possible, however, to backup 'My Library' and import it into another installation of SonicStage on a different computer. SonicStage will not allow transfer of tracks from the player to another computer. SonicStage ties the DRM license of each track to the hardware of the computer from which it has been transferred. The software strictly enforces digital rights management through its use of OpenMG.Some earlier models (such as some of the Net-MD line) could not even transfer voice recordings made by the user (with the player's microphone input) to their PC.Ĭopy restriction is provided by a group of design features and software limitations. Somewhat similar to an Apple iPod, it is not generally possible to move tracks from the music player to the PC hard drive, and thereby from one music player to another.

Sony music players have a write-only design. SonicStage is closely tied to a requirement that the program guard against copyright infractions. Japan exclusively uses the mora service, and SonicStage continued to be released for Japanese customers until it was superseded by x-APPLICATION in 2013. It was expected that Sony would launch bandit.fm globally, however Sony never did this and closed the store in 2016. In late 2008, Sony launched a new online music store called ' bandit.fm' on a trial basis for a small number of markets. However, Sony announced that on 31 March 2008, its CONNECT download site would be going offline, affecting SonicStage users. The Sony Connect service was used to purchase recordings online, and could be accessed from within the SonicStage program. Version 2 was found on 2004 model products, and Version 3 on 2005 model products (Sony introduced native MP3 support on its music players in 2005). SonicStage was first used in Vaio PCs put on the Japanese market in October 2001, and superseded OpenMG Jukebox. SonicStage was required to transfer and manage music on all Network Walkman, NetMD and Hi-MD players, and the Clie handheld, before the product was dropped entirely outside of Japan in 2007. It is used to manage the library of ATRAC (.omg and. It comprises a music player and library manager, similar to iTunes, Windows Media Player and RealPlayer.

SonicStage is a discontinued software product from Sony that is used for managing portable devices when they are plugged into a computer running Microsoft Windows.

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