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THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
A Weekly Report on the Convergence of Music and the Net
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| http://www.thestandard.com |
Tuesday, March 21, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Why did AOL pull Gnutella? MP3 swapping program vanishes without
explanation
NET NOISE:
* Operadio.com: Where the Fat Lady Sings
UPBEAT/DOWNBEAT:
* Major labels support 3rd generation Rio digital audio player
* Hip-hop online; Chuck D. and Russell Simmons announce new projects
* Say what? RealNetwork teams up with Microsoft, licenses Windows media
SOUND OFF:
What's the most logical way to compensate artists for downloading
their music?
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TOP STORY:
~~~~~~~~~
Why did AOL pull Gnutella?
MP3 swapping program vanishes without explanation.
By Julene Snyder
It's been a week since America Online abruptly pulled the plug on
Gnutella, the MP3 file-swapping software that was supposed to give
Napster a run for its money. Within 24 hours of the program's going
public, there was little evidence that Gnutella ever existed. Confused
music fans are still looking for an explanation about what happened to
a beta version of the program, which was briefly available online via
Nullsoft, a subsidiary of AOL.
AOL offered an official statement - not quite an explanation -
authored by Josh Felser, general manager of Spinner and Nullsoft.
Felser's statement explains that the Gnutella software was "an
unauthorized freelance project, and the Web site that allows access to
the software has been taken down." A conversation today with Ann
Burkhart, PR manager of the AOL group that includes Nullsoft, Spinner
and Winamp, provided little new information beyond the news that the
"g" in Gnutella is not silent. She hastened to add that there was no
"official pronunciation."
From the beginning, Gnutella was a noisy raspberry in the face of the
recording industry, which associates file-sharing programs with music
piracy. The site invited users to "not only leech, but also share
that lovely archive you're building," until "Voila. You are now
spreading good karma."
The good karma that Gnutella advocated is probably not on AOL's to-do
list, given its pending merger with Time Warner, which owns Warner
Records, which is a member of the Record Industry of America, which is
apoplectic over anything that might possibly encourage music piracy.
The RIAA is currently suing Napster for launching "a service that
enables and facilitates piracy of music on an unprecedented scale."
Gnutella's innovation over Napster was a decentralized approach to
sharing MP3 files, which would make it hard for system administrators
to block the program.
The official statement, says Burkhart, makes it clear that AOL
higher-ups were unaware of the Gnutella project in advance of its
brief public unveiling. She said that Gnutella developer - Nullsoft's
21-year-old founder, Justin Frankel - was busy working on other
projects and was unavailable for comment.
Meanwhile, a visit to the official site, www.gnutella.org, returns the
following cryptic message: "temporarily down. come back later."
Intrepid surfers can easily find the software online, although many of
the sites offering the program seem to go down as quickly as they
arise. (At press time, a variety of links and the software itself
could be found at http://gnutella.nerdherd.net/.)
According to the New York Times, someone using Frankel's handle,
"deadbeef," went online on an IRC channel and hinted that he was far
from averse to "accidentally" releasing the source code.
If that happens, stand back and watch the feathers of this Gnutella
bird really start to fly. And possibly, Frankel as well.
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NET NOISE:
~~~~~~~~
Operadio.com: Where the Fat Lady Sings
Sometimes what a person needs when slaving over a hot keyboard is a
hint of calmness, a dose of relaxation, a modicum of tranquillity.
While it's possible to get that feeling with soothing instrumental
classical tracks at Operadio.com, the site also delivers its share of
the high drama of star-crossed lovers, bloody tragedies, aching arias
and soaring solos. Seven channels of music stream over 3,000 tracks,
ranging from "romantic" to "oratorio" to "bel canto" to the
ever-popular "back to Bach." The sound quality seems excellent, and
downloading the player is a snap. (Users need to install Realplayer G2
or 7.) On the downside, you must have Windows; there's currently no
support for Mac users. Still, Operadio is a painless way to get a
little culcha. Knowledge seekers can delve deeper by reading reviews
and a variety of columns, listening to streaming interviews with icons
like Bruce Ford, "the world's leading Rossini tenor," and German
conductor Ingo Metzmacher. Plus, a constant stream of passionate divas
emoting from your computer speakers is bound to drive your
indie-rock-loving coworkers right around the bend. Tee-hee.
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UPBEAT/DOWNBEAT:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Such a pretty pretty Rio
Looks good, sounds cool, what's the catch?
The good news is that Diamond Multimedia's new Rio digital audio
player looks really cool, is close to being ready to launch, and has
the support of major record labels. But the bad news is that support
from major labels may well mean that those used to merrily downloading
and playing whatever they wish from the Web may find that playtime is
over. New security features built into the Rio comply with SDMI. In
other words, the device won't work unless users have the license
(read: paid money) for a particular song. The third-generation player
will come bundled with music from four of the big five labels. Warner
Bros. is the missing link here.
Hip to the hippity-hop don't stop
Chuck D's new e-hip-hop news show; Russell Simmons to launch online
portal
A new hour-long radio show hosted by Chuck D debuted last Saturday at
www.BringTheNoise.com, featuring commentary, board readings and music
from the Public Enemy front man. An archive of the show found Mr. D in
fine form, rapping, playing his favorite tracks, giving a glimpse into
the week's happenings and plugging all kinds of other hip-hopcentric
sites with a delivery that was alternately relaxed and passionate.
Besides his new show, "Beats, Rhymes and Life," Chuck D does a weekly
countdown of each week's top 10 hip-hop records and plays indie and
unsigned band submissions on his "suitcase radio" show, "When the Sh*t
Hits the Fans." Bring The Noise is affiliated with Atomic Pop.
Another old-school hero, Russell Simmons (cofounder of Def Jam)
announced last week that he'll soon be launching 360Hiphop.com, which
is described as the "definitive destination point for hip-hop
culture." Planned offerings include news, fashion, music and political
commentary.
Real surprising
Microsoft's deal with RealNetworks a big shockeroo
RealNetworks' announcement on Wednesday that the company's RealJukebox
would add Windows Media Audio to its list of supported formats would
have been shocking if Microsoft hadn't announced the deal the day
before. Microsoft spun it as a way for Windows Media to become the
"universal" digital audio format. Real's announcement played the
unlikely pairing as a way for RealJukebox to "support an additional 2
percent of audio programming available on the Internet," a rather
different way of looking at things. ZDNet quoted RealNetworks
executive Steve Banfield calling Microsoft "disingenuous." Ouch.
Further volleys will doubtless follow.
SOUND OFF:
~~~~~~~~~
This Week's Question: What's the most logical way to compensate
artists for downloading their music?
E-mail your opinions to julene@well.com with "sound off" in the
subject line, and we'll print a selection of the responses in next
week's newsletter. Letters may be edited for clarity and length, so
keep them short and include your name and affiliation, if any.
Last Week's Question: If the only way to get the music you want
digitally is to resort to criminal behavior, would you do it? Why or
why not?
"Surely there are different types of criminal behavior, the 'soft'
kind that is technically illegal but morally fine and you are unlikely
to be caught. Then the 'hard' kind that has some moral basis and
punishment severe enough to act as a deterrent. Ripping CDs,
infringing copyright and building music collections feels 'soft' to
most people. Until monitors come with flashing blue lights, expect
more music lovers to turn criminal."
-Dan Channer
"I'd like to think I wouldn't, but past behavior tells me I probably
would. Not that I've been a criminal, or a chronic shoplifter, but
I've bought used records, taped copies of my friends' albums and
bought bootlegs, so it's tough for me to claim the moral high ground.
But I'm not sure the industry has much of a leg to stand on either.
All of the above were once feared and demonized - and for much the
same reason as Napster and the like - loss of royalties, etc. The
music industry still stands, and will remain standing after the dust
settles on digital music."
-Steven Mirkin
Freelance journalist
"Yes. We have the right to access and define our culture as we see
fit. No corporation can deny us that, nor succeed if they try. It is
fundamental to who we are. Creating and sharing culture is what makes
us human. To stand against that is to stand against the tide. This is
nature at its most determined and divine. This is human nature."
-Kevin Doran
"If in fact the only way to get music digitally was to be illegal, I
for one would have no problem breaking the law. It would only mean
that the powers that be were slow to respond to new technology once
again, and that's really what's going on here, isn't it. Consumers
have figured out the benefits of digital delivery, (and) they possess
the equipment to facilitate it, but the powers that be can't figure
out how to provide the content to us, because they can't get beyond
the old business models of selling it. I don't know what the new
system will be; subscriptions or what have you. Once the labels and
licensing folk figure it out, the majority of the consumers will pay
for it. Until they do, many consumers will continue to break the law.
We don't have time to wait for the big ships to turn around, we want
to enjoy our music, and use the technology that we have to do it. Once
they figure it out, I'll gladly pay for it. Just like I pay for
cable."
-Neil Maiers
Crash Films
"Yes, I would. Why? Because our laws are lagging behind both consumer
desire to access music digitally, and technology's ability to satiate
consumer desire. The fundamental issue here is NOT piracy - it is
consumer desire to manipulate musical content, once they have obtained
it. The only reason most people pirate is because, if they want to
access and manipulate music in digital format, they must do it
'illegally' for free. No one has made it easier to access it
digitally, and pay for it. Digital mogul continually counsels its
entertainment clients to focus on removing the MOTIVE to pirate,
rather than removing the MECHANISM - because removing the mechanism
does not address the real issue: consumer desire to access music
digitally."
-Lisa Voldeng
Publisher and editor in chief, Digital Mogul/Mogulwars
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder. Send newstips and press releases to
julene@well.com.
Edited by Lori Patel (lorip@thestandard.com).
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