===================================================
==================
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, November 14, 2000
TOP STORY:
* The Myth and Magic of Music Communities
NET NOISE:
* Bandname.com
BEATS:
* Bertelsmann's Making Eyes at EMI
* SDMI admits 2 methods hacked
* Dot Dot Dot: MP3.com Settles ... ICast Seeks Buyer ... ArtistDirect
Revenues Up, Losses Down .... Universal Bands Top of the Pops
...
Listen.com Is Branching Out
SOUND OFF:
* What makes for a good music community online?
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement
=-=-=
JUPITER ENTERTAINMENT FORUM * December 7-8 * Los
Angeles, CA
Keynotes include: Jeff Berg, Chairman & CEO, ICM, Inc.
Christie Hefner, Chairman & CEO, Playboy Enterprises, Inc.
Ted Leonsis, President, Interactive Properties Group, AOL
To register visit: http://www.thestandard.com/account/magazineter ,
e-mail mailto:customerservice@jup.com or call 800-722-7373
x6424
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=/
TOP STORY
~~~~~~~~~
The Myth and Madness of Music Communities
By Julene Snyder
Is there such a thing as a real online music community? Sure,
Napster
describes itself as "the largest, most diverse online community of
music lovers in history," but when it comes down to it, Napster is
less a community than a group of scattered, downloading millions.
On
the other hand, there are some digital music communities
(besides fan
lists, which have flourished for years) that live up to the term. Of
course, no one seems to have figured out how to make any money
from
these efforts, but at least the conversation flows.
Take the Velvet Rope. Founded by Julie Gordon in 1993, the
community
serves as a virtual gossip parlor for music insiders. Nasty little
secrets, like which publicists are rumored to be sleeping with their
clients, or exactly why that big-name producer is widely reviled,
keeps a cadre of Webheads coming back every day. In the site's
heyday
several years ago, Courtney Love would even pop in and drop
long,
misspelled screeds about whatever was yanking her chain that
week.
As the group's name implies, part of the reason the community
has been
so successful lies with its exclusivity. Moderated by Gordon, you
had
to register with your real name and meet a number of unspecified
conditions before being allowed in. Currently, the Velvet Rope has
given up such ambitions. While still moderated by Gordon, it's
been
acquired by Tonos Network and is now open to the world via the
Web.
Gordon sounds a bit wistful when talking about the good old days
of
the Velvet Rope. "I did like that exclusive feeling," she says. "When
I started the Velvet Rope, I never did it because I thought I'd make
one penny. I think that fact is what made it a real community. When
you're trying to make a buck, it's not real," she explains. "A lot of
the stuff that you do to promote traffic, well, I was never thinking
about any of those things. I just wanted to enjoy myself."
Enjoyment was also part of the genesis of the "pho" mailing list.
(Pronounced "fuh"; it's a type of Vietnamese soup favored by list
co-founder Jim Griffin). The e-mail list began when a group began
getting together every Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles for pho
and
conversation about issues surrounding digital entertainment.
"There
was a desire to keep the conversation going after lunch," recalls
Griffin. Now groups meet weekly in cities ranging from New York to
London to Nashville and tens of thousands of e-mail messages
go out to
subscribers over the course of a year. Pho allows anyone who can
figure out how to subscribe to join in, although Griffin admits that
some people find the automated directions confusing.
Subscribers have
reached about 1,000, though only a fraction post on a regular
basis.
Anonymity is somewhat rare among the regulars, although some
do opt
for a pseudonym.
Griffin bends over backward to let the conversation roam where it
will. "I don't expressly do much," he says. "It's not over-regulated."
Loosely, the most popular topic of conversation is "monetizing the
digital delivery of art," he says, although the recent presidential
election threatened to derail the list for days.
David Greenfield, author of the book "VIrtual Addiction" and CEO
of the Connecticut-based Center for Internet Studies, says that
while
one of the greatest strengths of the Internet is to connect people of
like minds and interests, he's skeptical of whether people can find
true community online. He also raises the typical criticism about
how
it affects offline existence. "The big issue is that being involved
with online communities eats time," he says. "We still live in the
real world, and to be noticed in these communities, you have to
spend
time there, and those are hours that you aren't spending with your
family and friends."
Over at the Well - which I've been a happy member of for many
years -
people truly believe they're part of a real community and discuss
everything from MP3s to kids to sex to copyright law with an
unusual
degree of civility. That doesn't mean that the discourse doesn't
heat
up. Rik Elswit, co-host of the Well's music conference says that
that's exactly what happened in the wake of the Napster brouhaha.
"Things got pretty contentious," he recalls. "We have a lot of people
into new technology along with a lot of professional musicians
who've
found their income severely diminished. It erupted into
name-calling."
Unlike many other online communities, anonymity isn't an option
at the
Well, where the motto is "You Own Your Own Words." While there's
a
significant population of lurkers, people stand behind their
statements, at least in part because everybody knows precisely
who
they are.
Greenfield might be happy to know that one reason people seem
to find
real community at the Well is because it encourages offline
gatherings. Elswit says that music conference regulars routinely
get
together to go see bands, make music and hang out. Of course,
not
everybody is interested in meeting strangers face-to-face. Velvet
Rope's Gordon, for instance, laughs and says, "Posting is about
as
much interactivity as I need." But Elswit - whose only
compensation
for the time he puts in as host is free Well-time - says that the
majority of his social circle is made up of people he's met through
the online community: "It's gotten me work, it's gotten me friends
and
it's gotten me laid," he says. Laugh all you want, but ask yourself:
Can your Napster collection do that?
/=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= advertisement
=-=-=
SNAPSHOTS OF THE E-COMMERCE CONSUMER.
The Standard and Forrester Research have joined forces to bring
you a
series of EXCLUSIVE reports designed to help marketers identify
online
buyers by demographic group, market segment and attitude
towards the
key issues affecting the future of e-commerce. Each report is only
$50.00 Available now at
http://search.thestandard.com/texis/store?stype=&search=netinsig
hts/?nst=nbs
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
=/
NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
Bandname.com
The do-it-yourself contingent might find some useful tools here
after
slogging through the free registration process and getting to the
innards of the site, which bills itself as the "Worldwide Band
Registry." You'll find daily updated classified ads with a certain
amount of inadvertent hilarity sprinkled about (see Narkoleptik
Willie, a "mild punk" band who cautions, "We are a Christian band.
If
you can't deal with that ... too bad. We play for Jesus," and the
weekend vocalist looking for a "songwriting partner such as a
Lennon/McCartney team." Hey, try not to snigger out loud; we've all
got to start somewhere). Also find lists of publicists, venues,
publishers and managers for those looking for a signpost pointing
toward stardom - or at least a gig at the local dive bar. Other
offerings include the meaty Bandmagazine area, which has a
wealth of
resources ranging from instructions on how to get signed to free
advice from an entertainment attorney to counsel from such
luminaries
as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet. Sure, veterans already know
most of
this stuff, but neophytes can get a crash course in the intricacies of
the star-making machinery before selling their soul to the man.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
BEATS
~~~~~
Bertelsmann's Making Eyes at EMI
Word came in late last week that German media conglomerate
Bertelsmann
- which has been in the news because of the recent joint-venture
deal
with Napster - has approached EMI "regarding a possible
combination of
Bertelsmann Music Group with EMI." If such a deal takes place -
and no
one will confirm much of substance - the result would be the
world's
largest music company. EMI told The Industry Standard that no
detailed
discussions have yet taken place. The New York Post reported on
Friday
that Bertelsmann has put discussions with Sony on hold to focus
on the
possible EMI deal, and that Bertelsmann Chairman and CEO
Thomas
Middelhoff's remarks to analysts regarding EMI gave the latter
firm's
stock a nice boost. Hits Daily Double calls the deal "not just
obvious, but inevitable."
Read more at
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20125,00.html
SDMI Says 2 Out of 5 Ain't Bad
While many of us were glued to CNN wondering who would wind
up as el
presidente last Wednesday, SDMI executive director Leonardo
Chiariglione's statement that only two of the five technologies
made
available in September's "Hack SDMI" contest were successfully
cracked
darn near escaped our attention. While not quite as momentous
as the
shenanigans down Florida's way, the news contradicts previous
assertions from the hacking community that all of the technologies
would be easily bypassed. An SDMI press release on Friday
stated that
"of the five proposed technologies that SDMI has under
consideration,
only one of the technologies was subject to an attack that appears
not
to have degraded audio quality and that appears to be repeatable
on
multiple works of music." But a team at Princeton University led by
computer science professor Edward Felten issued a statement in
the
wake of the announcement reaffirming previous claims that the
team had
defeated four of the technologies: "Our focus has always been on
the
scientific question of whether the SDMI's technologies, if deployed,
could be defeated by pirates. We demonstrated that they could be
defeated, by making small modifications to the music files so that
the
watermarks were no longer detectable but the sound quality was
still
acceptable."
Read more at
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20052,00.html
Dot Dot Dot
MP3 Settles ... ICast Seeks Buyer ... ArtistDirect Revenues Up,
Losses
Down ... Universal Bands Top of the Pops ... Listen.com Is
Branching
Out
Add Universal to the list of labels with which MP3.com can now call
it
even. The San Diego startup announced it will pay $53.4 million to
the
company, as much as $200 million less than what experts thought
the
figure might be. The announcement, says The Standard's Ben
Hammer and
Andrew Morse, "was termed a judgment but apparently had the
agreement
of both sides." Read more at
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20178,00.html
...
Yesterday, CMGI announced that it would "wind down" its
entertainment
property iCast if a buyer can't be found in the next few months.
Hane
C. Lee reports at
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,20166,00.html
...
ArtistDirect announced a significant revenue gain for the third
quarter last week, rising to $5.6 million compared with $2.7 million
for the same period in 1999. That means a net loss of a hair more
than
$17 million, as opposed to the corresponding loss of $26 million
for
that period last year. Employees might want to hold off on the
champagne, though. It seems that an announced plan to "evaluate
its
strategic plan in order to improve operational efficiency and focus
on
accelerated profitability" might translate to staff cuts. ...
Universal Music Group announced the largest single-week market
share
of current albums: 37.5 percent, for the week ending Nov. 5 with
four
albums from the label in the top five. ... Listen.com launched
Listen
Radio last week, hyping it as just one of the "products and
services
that the company is offering as part of its new syndication focus."
Company President and COO Sean Ryan explained in a
buzzword-laden
press release, "As evidenced by our purchase of WiredPlanet and
our
offer to acquire Scour, we are focused on creating and integrating
the
best online music products for our partners through internal
development, acquisition or partnership."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOUND OFF
~~~~~~~~~
This week's question: What makes for a good music community
online?
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.
FEEDBACK:
Last week's question: Should other major labels make a deal with
Napster?
It seems that a deal between the labels and Napster would be in
everyone's best interest. Obviously, Napster would be able to
continue
operating, the labels would save a gazillion dollars in R&D and all
of
that corporate crap, and Napster's users would be able to continue
to
use it in it's full capacity. I think that if each label were to set
up its own online service they are destined to fail. There needs to
be
one centralized place for online music that can be immediately
realized in Napster. Hammering out that deal is a whole different
story. Good luck you greedy bastards.
- Michael Lupo
IndiePULSE.com
Widely available and inexpensive technology always changes the
dynamics of any market. The major labels should realize that one
way
or another MP3, CD burners and the Internet are going to
irreversibly
change their business and work with Napster to create a win-win
situation.
- Brian Matthewson
Toronto, Canada
STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder (julene@well.com).
Editor: Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Deputy Editor: Michele Keller (mkeller@thestandard.com).
GET THE MAGAZINE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
4 RISK-FREE issues at this URL:
http://www.thestandard.com/account/magazine?SK=
7ANL&PSK=7ZP6
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
Amy Kastrinos (mailto:akastrinos@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 |