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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, December 26, 2000
BEATS:
* And Now for Something Completely Familiar
Yet another upbeat note for MP3.com.
NET NOISE:
* NME.com
DOT DOT DOT:
* Farmclub layoffs ... RealNetworks goes south ... Music retail sales
not promising
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BEATS
~~~~~~
Now for Something Completely Familiar
Yet another story about MP3.com ending the year on an upbeat note.
Who can blame MP3.com for wanting to wind up the company's eventful
year on a high note? Thus we have the news that the once-beleaguered
but now phoenix-like San Diego firm has struck a deal with
the Warner Music Group to distribute its music and videos.
For further reading:
MP3.com in Promo Pact With Warner
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21020,00.html?nl=bs
The Other MP3.com Story
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21047,00.html?nl=bs
NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~~
NME.com
Once, you had to be a bona-fide music geek or at least British
to have heard of New Music Express, the bible of the hard-core
fan. Oh well, some say globalism is a good thing, and now everybody
and their proverbial dog can catch up on the latest new music via the
venerable magazine's Web site. When you long for a dollop of British
snark and snigger, NME.com is the place to hang out. Just peruse
features like "2000: The Year That Pop Shook The World" for a sampling
of news that will either have you smiling or scratching your head
("Eternal's Easther storms out of a recording of 'Songs Of Praise'
after a punter ticks her off for looking like a slapper in the house
of God"). Beyond the gossip and the semi-comprehensible slang, you'll
find the latest bits of music news, the delightful Classic Quotes
section ("I like to go to the graveyard, lay down on somebody's grave,
take a bottle out there, dance around naked, y'know?" Tom Waits,
1993), an easy way to check out the U.K. charts and more attitude and
sheer audacity than any reasonable person could ever want or need.
Cheerio and all that rot, eh?
------------------------------------------------
DOT DOT DOT
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Farmclub layoffs ... RealNetworks goes south ... Music retail sales
not promising
Christmas bonus? Sorry, it seems to have gotten lost in the mail. Pink
slips? Why yes, we have plenty of those. Thus went the refrain for the
tech staff at Jimmy and Doug's little online venture, Farmclub.com.
The cuts, totaling 17 employees, befell the team that helped to launch
the site but were no longer needed to run it. A company statement
fuzzily explains, "We're moving into a different phase of our
evolution, which no longer requires the same level of staffing." Don't
let the barn door hit you on the way out. ... Yikes, there's no joy in
Mudville over at RealNetworks this holiday season. Last week, after
the company warned that fourth-quarter earnings won't meet
expectations, analyst downgrades sent the stock down a whopping 55
percent. ... Doom and gloom seems to be going around Billboard
Bulletin reports that music retailers aren't singing ho-de-ho-ho for
the holidays since sales haven't been the stuff that dreams are made
of. Quotes from execs range from "a little disappointing" (Virgin's
Glen Ward) to "not horribly bad, but not great" (Musicland's Scott
Levine). Still, the final figures aren't in yet; perhaps Santa left a
nice fat boost in sales under the tree after all? ... Thanks to all
those readers who kept coming back for more in 2000! See you in the
(real) new millennium.
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STAFF
~~~~~
Written by Julene Snyder (julene@well.com).
Editor: Steven Zeitchik (szeitchik@thestandard.com).
Deputy Editor: Michele Keller (mkeller@thestandard.com).
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