=====================================================================
THE INDUSTRY STANDARD'S
B E A T S H E E T
A Weekly Report on the Convergence of Music and the Net
=====================================================================
| http://www.thestandard.com |
Tuesday, June 13, 2000
TOP STORY:
* Start Making Sense
The real deal behind the MP3.com settlement
NET NOISE:
* Net4Music
DOWNBEAT:
* Busy Busy Busy
RIAA asks judge to block Napster's major-label content
* Dot Dot Dot
Musicbank hooks up with BMG ... Streaming audio vs. traditional radio
... Yahoo's Online Music Awards ... It's a bird! It's a plane! It's
Dogstar!
SOUND OFF:
* Would you pay a fee to listen to music you’ve already paid for once?
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\
Check out the Standard's all new Job Shop! Come browse the hottest job
opportunities in the Internet Economy. Our new posting service brings
together the top employers and the top candidates in the Internet
business space. Find your next gig right here or post a job in front
of the best web minds in the world. Your next career move could be a
mouse click away. Visit JOB SHOP today.
http://www.thestandard.com/people/recruitment/?nrc=nhsr
\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
Start Making Sense
The real deal behind the MP3.com settlement
By Julene Snyder
Paying tens of millions of dollars to settle a lawsuit doesn’t sound
like a reason to celebrate. Not in most industries, anyway. But tell
that to some of the outlets covering the MP3.com settlement. According
to them, this is good news for the San Diego -based company. Party-hat
news. Break-out-the-bubbly-and-let’s-kick-it- news.
The stock market seemed to feel the same way, driving up the firm’s
price substantially before the market closed on Friday.
But how many reasons are there to celebrate? We’re trying to count the
ways. And we’re not coming up with too much.
True, MP3.com is now unlikely to be driven out of business by damages
that could have reached the financial stratosphere had a judge ruled
against the firm. (The company is widely reported as having about $360
million in cash available, with $100 million of that said to have been
set aside for damages.)
But now that Warner Music Group and BMG Entertainment are slotted to
receive anywhere from $15 to $20 million each for licensing agreements
(in addition to licensing fees such as an estimated 1.5 cents per song
for tracks stored at MyMP3.com ), it’s a safe bet that the remaining
majors – Sony, Universal and EMI – will demand at least as big of a
slice of the pie if they elect to settle. Settlement totals could add
up to MP3’s entire damages kitty, and that doesn’t even include
potential fees to publishers or expenses like royalty tracking and
database storage.
Myplay.com’s David Pakman, who as a competitor is not exactly an
objective source, thinks that MP3.com shouldn’t be rejoicing about
this. "The per-use fees are high enough that it basically guarantees
that MP3.com will have to charge their consumers for the service, or
they’ll operate a service that never is profitable." Myplay offers
users a service similar to the litigated MyMP3.com service; the
difference is that users have to upload songs into a "locker" before
they can listen to them.
On MP3’s message boards, the mood was less than sanguine. One poster
asked, "OK, so what's it to me? Am I going to have to PAY to listen to
my own CDs now?" Another said, "Once again RIAA and the big labels
have won." Yet another weighed in with, "Goodbye MP3.com. So long
Napster. Helloooo Gnutella!"
But not everyone is pessimistic. Bruce Haring, author of "Beyond the
Charts: MP3 and the Digital Music Revolution" sees the settlement as
vindication for MP3.com honcho Michael Robertson. "Given MP3.com’s
cash-rich position, (the terms) don’t seem overly damaging to them.
While this may be the most expensive cover-charge in history to get
them into the major-label nightclub, it may be money well-spent," says
Haring.
An almost plaintive note was struck by Warner Music Group’s Paul
Vidich in the press release announcing the agreement: "This settlement
ends an unfortunate period in our history with MP3.com. We are pleased
that, having entered into a license agreement, MP3.com can now move
forward and offer Warner Music Group's recordings on its popular
My.MP3.com system. The settlement agreement clearly affirms the right
of copyright owners to be compensated for the use of their works on
the Internet." We think it’s great when past adversaries can link arms
and sing the Barney theme song in three-part harmony, but this
particular singalong could get expensive for MP3.com. And when money
gets tight, the champagne budget could be the first to go.
Find more at http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,15884,00.html?nl=bts
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement =-=-=\
Exclusive New E-Commerce Reports
from The Standard E-Commerce Consumers:
What, Where, and Why They Buy, Spring 2000, a series of 12 reports
from The Standard and Odyssey, provides a fresh perspective on the
broad E-commerce market, branding, vertical markets and demographic
usage.
Available only at http://www.thestandard.com/store/econsumers/?nst=nhsr
\=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=/
NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
Net4Music
Web users: Does it sometimes feel like you're paddling upstream in a
sea of effluvia with a broken oar and a nasty dose of seasickness?
Have you ever wondered how you can possibly manage to navigate the
overflowing river of information that floods your e-mail box, your Web
browser, your very soul? Yeah, me too, bunky. Too bad for us, because
Net4Music won't help to turn that deluge into a trickle. At least the
site, which is aimed at musicians, is useful. A few of Net4Music’s
offerings include "access to the largest catalog of digital
downloadable sheet music and MIDI files available on the Internet,"
original editorial content such as advice from other musicians, sheet
music commentary and much more from a worldwide network of players.
It's dense, it's jam-packed with goodies and yes, it’s more than a bit
overwhelming. Choose from one of five languages (yup, including
English), find musicians who share your sensibilities, or just sit
slack-jawed and marvel at the sheer glut of information.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
UPBEAT
~~~~~~
Busy Busy Busy
RIAA asks judge to block Napster's major-label content
This week, the industrious folks at the Recording Industry Association
of America and the National Music Publishers Association filed a
motion for preliminary injunction against Napster. A dense press
release outlines the action, which includes declarations from people
like MP3.com Chairman and CEO Michael Robertson, Motion Picture
Association of America President and CEO Jack Valenti, EMusic.com
Chairman Robert Cohn and others. All outline their objections to
Napster and cite "widespread copyright infringement and industry harm"
as the reason they've banded together to snuff out this insidious
threat to the traditional music industry. A study conducted by Field
Research Corp. claims to have found "a direct correlation between
Napster use and decreased CD sales." Reports say that Napster will
fight the preliminary injunction in court and that any ruling can be
appealed by either side. With blazing swiftness, Napster CEO Hank
Barry responded with an extensive prepared statement that disputed the
Field Research study and said that Napster has a "primarily
promotional" impact on record sales. For those of you who just can't
get enough, find a complete list of public documents relating to the
case at: http://www.riaa.com/Napster_legal.cfm.
Dot Dot Dot
Musicbank hooks up with BMG ... Streaming audio vs. traditional
radio ... Yahoo's Online Music Awards ... It's a bird! It's a
plane! It's Dogstar!
Recent startup Musicbank announced a deal with BMG Entertainment last
week to license "secure, on-demand streaming access to BMG's entire
music catalog," allowing customers to "store, manage and listen to
their entire CD collections via the Web without having to encode or
upload the content." Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar. ... A recent
report from Nielsen Media Research and NetRatings says that there's
been a 38 percent jump in the number of streaming media users at home
during the past six months, posing a possible threat to traditional
radio stations. The increasing use of high-speed connections is said
to be one of the reasons for the jump. ... Yahoo Internet Life’s
Online Music Awards nominees were announced this week, with 50 sites
nominated in 10 categories. Among those who made the grade are
stalwarts like SonicNet (Best Overall Music Site), RollingStone.com
(Best Reference Site) and MTV.com (Best News Site), along with some
less predictable nominees like Atomic Pop (Best Label Site) and the
International Lyrics Server (Best Reference Site). The awards, which
take place July 24 at Studio 54 in New York City, will be cybercast
live on VH1.com. ... How does one portray a lump of petrified wood in
cyberspace? Find the answer a month from today on Eonline when
renowned thespian Keanu Reeves does a live Webcast to promote his band
Dogstar's upcoming album "Happy Ending," which is scheduled for
release on July 11. Mark your calendar!
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week’s question: Would you pay a fee to listen to music you’ve
already paid for once?
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: Would security concerns prevent you from sharing
music files?
" Within the next 12 months we will see a Trojan horse virus released
through Napster. The intended targets will be the fan base for an
artist whom the creator detests (’Nsync?), but I am sure the Big Five
will be implicated by conspiracy theorists. Since I use Napster to
find obscure music and not flavor-of-the-day singles, I'm not too
worried."
– Bob Hendrickson
"If you are concerned enough about security, you will be comfortable
sharing files and music. Gnutella and Freenet will require people to
get as paranoid as they should have been all along. Unfortunately, it
will probably take some OEbad’ news before the average Joe buys a
firewall and learns how to use it. Early adoption can be treacherous –
just look at all the poor cads who are now stuck with MP3 players that
only store 32MB. Ha ha ha, I told 'em so!"
– Ron Butler
"Fears over security breaches would definitely weigh heavily on my
mind. I would demand an application that lets me track who is
extracting what from my hard disk. Perhaps a feature that allows me to
accept or deny requests before processing them. I don't mind the
sharing of music files or even of image files, games, etc, however, if
it's a PC that stores a lot of confidential work, I would definitely
err on the side of caution and not subscribe to any file-sharing
programs."
– Mark Pui
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder. Send news tips and press releases to
julene@well.com.
Edited by Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Copyedited by Elese Veeh (eveeh@thestandard.com).
GET THE MAGAZINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 RISK-FREE issues at this URL:
http://www.thestandard.com/account/magazine
GET MORE NEWSLETTERS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Industry Standard newsletters cover the media, stock market,
e-commerce, music, law and more. Enter your e-mail address at the
following URL and select the newsletters you wish to receive:
http://www.thestandard.com/newsletters/
To UNSUBSCRIBE to any newsletters, log in at the following URL and
select the newsletters you wish to cancel:
http://www.thestandard.com/account/newsletters/unsubscribe
GET MORE NEWS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Go to http://www.thestandard.com for more coverage on the Internet
Economy.
ADVERTISING INFORMATION
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more information on advertising in The Industry Standard
Newsletters, contact:
West Coast
Connie Elliott (mailto:celliott@thestandard.com)
East Coast
Norma Wesolowski (mailto:normaw@thestandard.com)
FEEDBACK AND PROBLEMS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Send letters to the editor to letters@thestandard.com.
Please contact us with any problems that arise:
http://www.thestandard.com/service
You can also contact us via phone or mail:
The Industry Standard, Customer Service
(402) 293-0386 (phone)
(402) 293-0794 (fax)
The Industry Standard, Production
315 Pacific Ave.
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 733-5400 (main)
(415) 733-5401 (fax)
Copyright 2000 The Industry Standard |