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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, April 11, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Look, Listen, Then Leave MP3.com invites the industry to an
orchestrated shindig.
NET NOISE:
* Indie's the focus at Insound.com
UPBEAT:
* Sony and BMG to start selling digital music online
* Ruling doesn't keep Microsoft from trotting out new platform
* One-stop shop launches for Gnutella
SOUND OFF: Is it possible to be too much of a music geek?
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TOP STORY:
~~~~~~~~~~
Look, Listen, Then Leave MP3.com invites the industry to an
orchestrated shindig
By Julene Snyder
SAN DIEGO - The road to MP3.com is under construction. Cars are
directed to navigate between orange cones, over rough pavement and
past sullen flag-wavers cautioning a slow approach. At the
unremarkable parking lot entrance, visitors avert their eyes as the
glare of San Diego sun reflects back from the shiny pair of buildings
that house the firm.
Last Thursday's open house - a first for MP3.com - was billed as a
sneak peek inside the company's glassy walls. At the front desk, for
instance, a receptionist asked guests to sign a release agreeing not
to reveal trade secrets. In fact, no surprises were revealed during
the carefully orchestrated event. But the lunchtime gathering offered
a vivid snapshot of how the Internet's most-watched music company
would like itself to be seen.
A hundred or so visitors and employees milled about the swank employee
lounge, which looks as much like a hipster nightspot as a place of
business. Lavender lights protruded from wall sculptures and black
velour love seats hugged the wall. As speakers blasted music from
unknown bands, a few scruffy young men huddled over the game machines,
taking their chances at Mortal Kombat II and Ghosts 'N Goblins.
The only recognizable celebrity in attendance was Dom from "The Real
World - Los Angeles," who works for "Hits" magazine and apparently
retains his scruffy fading-rock-star persona by keeping a "don't mess
with me" sneer glued in place. After a suitable interval devoted to
schmoozing, scarfing and swilling, an MP3.com executive addressed the
crowd, said something about how the company embodied "a culture of
respect for persons," and introduced the face of MP3.com, Michael
Robertson, CEO and chairman of the board.
As the perennially boyish Robertson took the podium, he joked that he
hoped guests had "found the Kool-Aid fountain and had big cups." He
spoke about My.MP3.com, Beam-it and the company's "pay for play"
feature - all of this recent, and none of it new. The crowd did learn
that Robertson's favorite musicians include Alabama, Bad Company and
The Fixx. (We also learned that his cordless mouse was "a piece of
sh*t.")
During a Q&A session, the only hard questions came from entertainment
attorney Josh Leopold. "How can artists who are signed to deals get
paid even though they're all signed to major labels?," he asked. "I've
checked, and all my bands are up there {on Beam-it.}"
Robertson adroitly parried, "When we look at how people get music into
the My.MP3 account, the consumers have already paid for it."
"That's transmission, and that ad revenue that's being driven when I
visit this page is not paid for," Leopold shot back.
"What we have here," Robertson responded, "is a CD player that doesn't
live in your house."
The exchange was interesting because these are just the sort of issues
due to be raised this Friday in a New York federal courtroom when a
judge will hear a motion for summary judgment in the copyright
infringement lawsuit the RIAA and major labels have brought against
MP3.com. MP3.com's position boils down to this: Consumers have paid
for the music they "beam" to their My.MP3.com account. The industry
says the very database on which My.MP3.com is built is illegal.
After a tour of the facilities - including the "musicology"
department, which sports sequin-clothed mannequins, faux-leopard
beanbag chairs, Lava lamps and several genres of music - we were
thanked for coming and sent on our way. Robertson lingered in front of
the building, talking one-on-one with a few lingerers.
When asked if there was any significance to having an open house the
week before the RIAA hearing, he said, "No, not at all. We just
decided to have an open house to show people what we're about."
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NET NOISE:
~~~~~~~~~~
Indie's the Focus at Insound.com
Bands with names like "Death Cab for Cutie" and "Crawling with Tarts"
may be reason enough to visit Insound, which proclaims itself "the
leading music and film content/commerce site for the independent
lifestyle" (whatever that means). Streaming audio offerings include
"Transmission from Venus," a radio station that asks the ageless
question, "How can you not want to come listen to the only station
that's proud to say that we took Internet radio, and stuck it right up
our a**!?" Nearly 100 zines are on the virtual shelves of the
"zinestand," ranging from print-based glossies like "Bunnyhop" to
online-only offerings like "DrawerB." I cast my vote for "Chunklet,"
whose current issue includes articles like "Sad Freaks of Nature,"
which asks, "Pollard or Kirk? Trekkies or Blowfish? Spit or swallow?
Whatever. Remember: fanboys are fanboys. Even when they're girls."
Also find an "underground video gallery," chats, message boards and
underground film resources. All in all, thumbs up.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
UPBEAT:
~~~~~~~
Faster Than a Speeding Sea Slug!
Sony and BMG to start selling digital music online
Sony Music Entertainment promised earlier this week that at long last,
music lovers would have a legal way to download music by artists like
Lauryn Hill and Pearl Jam via a secure format through retailers like
Tower Records. The tunes will be priced at a whopping $3.49 a single,
although a "special introductory price" of $2.49 will launch the
service. That's a lot of green compared to sites like Emusic, where
singles typically go for 99 cents a pop. Reuters said that a Sony
spokeswoman defended the price, which "reflects high costs for
technology, customer service and support." Last week, Bertelsmann's
BMG label promised that it would also sell music digitally by this
summer. Sure, you could probably get the same music for free from
Napster, but that would be wrong. As Sony partner Howie Singer, senior
veep of Reciprocal, told Reuters: "It's true that virtually every song
is available for free ... it's important to get people to think that
music has value."
Monopoly, Schmonopoly
Ruling doesn't keep Microsoft from trotting out new platform
Seemingly unfazed by last week's legal decision that Microsoft used
its superpowers to "illegally intimidate other firms to preserve that
monopoly," the monolithic company yesterday announced a new "Internet
broadband-ready digital media platform." Microsoft previewed Windows
Media Technologies 7 at the National Association of Broadcasters
Conference 2000. A press release detailing the product promises
ease-of-use with an "all-in-one, customizable player that provides
{consumers with} one place to find, organize and play digital media on
their PCs." It's scheduled for beta release in May, with final release
coming this summer. Intrepid sorts can download a "technology preview"
now, but are cautioned that it's currently only "recommended for
technical evaluators and software developers."
Gnew Gportal for Gnutella
One-stop shop launches for all things relating to the hot application
Less than a month after the MP3 file-swapping software Gnutella was
yanked from Nullsoft, a subsidiary of AOL, it's become the focus of a
well-designed site (http://gnutella.wego.com). This Monday, cryptic
messages at www.nerdhead.net were replaced by the new portal, which
promises an upcoming announcement of "two new Gnutella clients (one
for Windows, one for Unix)" along with source code. A ZDNet story
paraphrases one Nerd Head developer as stressing that "the goal of the
team and the site is to spread as much information about Gnutella as
possible to make it, and its various clones, the dominant file-sharing
applications on the Internet." Apparently, the original developers
from Nullsoft are not involved with the site. Currently, you'll find a
chat area, client software downloads and support pointers.
SOUND OFF:
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: Is it possible to be too much of a music geek?
Do you know anyone who falls into this category?
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: Do you listen to Internet radio at work? If so,
does the boss know or care?
"Internet radio is a godsend in our neck of the woods (Bedford Hills,
NY). We're in the deadest of FM dead zones. Plus, metro NYC radio
stations that reach northern Westchester are so commercial-laden and
lame that silence is preferable. FINALLY, recently, the best little
station in metro NYC, WFUV-Fordham U. public radio, started
Webcasting. It's always my go-to when I'm sick of our MP3 collection
and whatever CD's I've lugged in. Seems to work fine over our 200 kbps
DSL line. That was not the case with any Net radio over the old 56K
dialup. So far, no complaints from office mates about bandwidth or
music choice. Life is good."
-Tom Fine
Managing Editor
"Beverage Digest"
"I try to listen to Web music everyday, but the quality is horrible,
and never sounds like radio, and then there is Net congestion every
few minutes and the sound cuts out all together. I find it to be more
annoying then it is worth on most days." - Michael Goldstein
"Yes, I listen to the radio over the Internet at work. I work for an
online Internet community and spend a vast majority of my day using
the Web. Therefore adding a radio station to the collection of open
applications is not a problem. I think it's great that distance no
longer separates me from great tunes."
-Erin Michelson
Director of Operations
Reelmind
"I would love to be able to listen to music online while I work, but
our company's firewall does not permit download or streaming audio.
Imagine the load on our servers if even 100 people in our company of
2,500+ decided to listen to streaming audio during the day! It sucks,
because the Kansas City market does not have any traditional radio
stations that meet my interests and musical tastes (techno/dance
music) so I am forced to listen to tapes and CDs all the time."
-Robin Urmanic
Marketing Communications Specialist
Cerner Corporation
"Internet music keeps me sane. As an escape from the penetrating
chatter from surrounding cubicles and the sometimes mundane tasks,
streaming sound allows me to be more productive. At my first job it
was somewhat frowned upon as slacking by senior management but they
were not the ones dealing with the distractions and the boring work.
Now I stream freely with a new job that hands out headphones to the
employees. My new agency understands that it is the work produced that
matters."
-Randy Jensen
"I'm lucky to work in the music industry and use Internet radio
applications like WiredPlanet and NetRadio throughout my work day.
Though some forms of music are distracting to the workplace, most
music opens up the mind providing emotional stability. We are not
machines or cubicle rats! In the long term, I feel company policy will
shift from a quasi-militaristic mindset that limits Internet radio
access to a more liberal listening policy."
-Rod Martin
Web Content Manager
E-MU / ENSONIQ
"I listen to dublab, which offers a live video stream of rotating DJs
all day, every day. The boss and all of my co-workers love it. I only
run into trouble when the phone rings and potential clients ask if
they have the correct office."
-Eric Shorter
"Yes, I listen to Net radio. About 12 to 15 hours per 40 hr. week. I
work at a Department of Energy National Laboratory and share a 10 mbps
connection with about 12,000 other employees. I've been told that our
network technicians are pulling their hair out about the fact that our
lightning quick network's primary use is entertainment rather than
research."
- Chad Kieffer
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder. Send newstips and press releases to
julene@well.com.
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