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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, January 16, 2001
BEATS:
* EMusic Singing Those Corporate Restructuring Blues, Again
* Whole Lot of Napster Goin' On
NET NOISE:
* PeteTownshend.com
DOT DOT DOT:
* RIAA, Party Animal ... BMG Execs Exit Stage Left ... Take That,
Ingalls Family
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BEATS
~~~~~
EMusic Cuts Staff by 36 Percent
It's singing those corporate restructuring blues, again.
There are many reasons I exult in being an offsite, work-at-home,
bunny-slipper wearing kind of gal. These days, it's sort of swell not
to start my day surrounded by the empty desks of laid-off co-workers.
Those intrepid souls still remaining at EMusic.com have got to be
getting used to that feeling right about now; last week, the company
eliminated 66 jobs (36 percent of the staff remaining after the 40
layoffs in June) due to the ever popular "corporate restructuring
designed to reduce expenses." A statement by CEO Gene Hoffman
explained that the staff cuts would help the company "withstand the
combined effect of widespread illegal distribution of digital music
and the significant market decline for Internet advertising." While
the stock is up, trading at 75 cents a share last time we checked,
that's a far cry from its 52-week high of $11.
Read more at
http://www.thestandard.com/article/display/0,1151,21484,00.html?nl=bts
Whole Lot of Napster Goin' On
The latest version of Napster's software was released last Thursday,
the first where changes reflecting the involvement of Bertelsmann are
apparent. For the first time, there's an e-commerce option for
file-swappers in the form of a prominent button inviting them to hop
on over to Bertie-owned CDnow. The hope is that enough of the 50
million registered users will buy records to convince the other major
labels that they should jump on board the gravy train, but CNET quotes
an anonymous major label exec as calling the link a "weak attempt" to
win their graces. ... Meanwhile, Vivendi Universal CEO Jean-Marie
Messier doesn't sound like there's much likelihood of Universal caving
anytime soon; he told Reuters on Thursday that it's unlikely the
company would settle with Napster before the court weighs in on the
issue of copyright infringement. ... A terse press release on the same
day announced that a new lawsuit is being brought against Napster,
this time by the San Francisco-based Internet Lawyers Group on "behalf
of independent musicians for infringement of copyright." The release
asks that anyone who believes that their music is being traded without
their consent contact their office. ... Last but not least comes the
news that Napster's first major-label record promotion is underway - a
single from the Dave Matthews Band titled "I Did It."
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NET NOISE
~~~~~~~~~
PeteTownshend.com
One could argue that it takes an old coot to show the young 'uns how
to put together a rock 'n' roll Web site. Pete Townshend is here to
prove it. Just glancing through the opening list of songs available on
the site - from "Acid Queen" to "The Kids Are Alright" to "Won't Get
Fooled Again" - is enough to make a person marvel. And that's just the
intro. Tucked away in the site's audio vaults are a pair of demos of
"Behind Blue Eyes" recorded in 1971 for download, along with a
half-dozen samples from various songs. While the history area was
apparently added under duress - the Webmaster explains, "I had to
twist Pete's arm to include this section. His view, and rightfully so,
is that he would rather concentrate on now and the future rather than
look back at his past" - we're treated to an extensive bio that's not
only exhaustive but well-written. There's a sense of accessibility
here that goes beyond the crisp, eye-pleasing design; witness the
section dubbed "Pete's Diaries," which is added to frequently. Last
week's missive about Napster is an entertaining read indeed: "My son
regarded what we did as illegal. He kept saying it was wrong to steal
the music. I told him we were listening to it, just that. When we were
finished we could trash it if he preferred. If he wants to fight for
my rights he could call up BMI and ask them why my broadcast-related
payments were so low during the years The Who were in the top 10 AOR
playlists."
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DOT DOT DOT
~~~~~~~~~~~
RIAA, Party Animal ... BMG Execs Exit Stage Left ... Take That,
Ingalls Family
As we gear up to party all night long in celebration of Inauguration
Day, many of us already find our party plates full to overflowing. If
you've still got space on your dance card, drop on by the Hard Rock
Cafe in Washington, D.C., to take in the bash co-produced by the
Recording Industry Association of America and the "Austin City Limits"
PBS TV show. Along with performances by Lee Ann Womack and Asleep at
the Wheel, we're promised "incoming Administration officials, Members
of Congress, celebrities and music industry executives." ... A pair of
brief press releases early last week announced that BMG Entertainment
has parted ways with Chief Marketing Officer and President of New
Technology Kevin Conroy as well as Executive Vice President and CFO
Tom McIntyre. The latter exec won't exit the building until "BMG's
pending negotiations with EMI" have concluded. ... When we think of
pioneers, at least some of us conjure up visions of Pa, Ma, Mary,
Laura and baby Carrie, but we're obviously behind the times. A press
release announcing DreamWorks Records' deal with Listen.com to offer
free online samplers lets us know that this, my friends, is a
"pioneering move." So forget trudging across the prairie looking for
that next 40-acre parcel to homestead; this millennium's pioneers
package together Papa Roach, Nelly Furtado and Elliott Smith.
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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