Scanners
point way to e-commerce shopping future -March 31, 2000 -CNET
Scanning the milk carton before dumping it out could be the next big thing
in e-commerce. Pens, Palm pilots and general digital devices could
revolutionize the way we shop and get information--not because they'll
connect us to the Web, but because they'll connect our everyday world to
the Web. Such devices, built with scanning technology, will read bar codes
or UPC numbers on almost every consumer product, just like scanners at
grocery checkout stands.
Gnutella
finds friends among MP3 enthusiasts -March 31, 2000 -CNN
As expected, a souped-up way to transfer music between users has found a
home with programmers and enthusiasts. Gnutella, similar to its
spiritual ancestor Napster,
is a program that resides on a user's machine and catalogs MP3 music
files. The files can be freely traded among Gnutella users.
MP3.com
Artist Passes Two Million Marker - First Ever Ernesto Cortazar Tributes
Success to MP3.com -March 31, 2000 -Press
Release
MP3.com, Inc., the premier online music service provider, today announced
that Ernesto Cortazar, the pianist who has dominated MP3.com's Easy
Listening and Classical charts for the last six months, is its first
artist to receive more than 2,000,000 downloads from music fans.
Digital
Music for the Living Room -March 30, 2000 -Wired
The next generation of set-top boxes will bring downloads to couch
potatoes. With fast connections and direct input to the home stereo,
broadband providers are tuning up subscription services.
Sony
business plan for 2000/01 - summary -March 30, 2000 -Reuters
Following are key points of Sony Corp's business plan, announced on
Thursday, for the business year starting on April 1.
Music's
new killer app: Napster -March 29, 2000 -ZDNet
Up until now, we've seen only one true "killer" app on the Web,
and that's the browser. It killed client/server computing. Since then,
everybody has been betting the ranch on the next Internet assassin. Never
have so many apps failed to kill so few real computing functions.
Warner
Music Group to License ATRAC3 from Sony Corporation -March 29, 2000 -Press Release
Warner Music Group announced today that it has agreed to license ATRAC3,
an audio compression technology from Sony Corporation, for use in the
electronic distribution of music.
Tickets.com
and MP3.com Enter Into New Online Ticketing And Event Information
Agreement -March 29, 2000 -Press Release
Tickets.com, a leading online music, sports and arts ticketing solutions
company, and MP3.com, the premier online music service provider, today
announced their agreement to develop an integrated ticketing services and
music event guide for their respective users.
Star-Studded
IPO Falls to Earth -March 29, 2000 -Wired
Musician network Artistdirect doled out millions of stock options to
famous artists it represents. But after a lukewarm IPO, those shares might
not be looking so juicy.
Recording
Industry Goes To Court to Battle Napster -March 28, 2000 -SFGate
The recording industry went to court in San Francisco yesterday to lay the
legal groundwork to unplug Napster
Inc., the controversial San Mateo startup that makes software that
finds and downloads free music off the Internet.
MS
Sings New Tune With Jukebox -March 28, 2000 -MP3.com
Given the historic acrimony between Microsoft
and RealNetworks, not to
mention Microsoft's desire to entrench its proprietary WMA (MS Audio)
format in the consumer market, it comes as no surprise that the company is
finally releasing a jukebox-style version of its Windows Media Player.
Nomad
II Secures Music -March 27, 2000 -Wired
Online music enthusiasts have more to be enthusiastic about this week as
leading players ready hardware devices, software players, and a new model
for downloading music. Creative Labs started shipping its newest
Nomad portable music player Monday, which for the first time adds
support for secure music formats.
Scanners
point way to e-commerce shopping future -March 31, 2000 -CNET
Scanning the milk carton before dumping it out could be the next big thing
in e-commerce. Pens, Palm pilots and general digital devices could
revolutionize the way we shop and get information--not because they'll
connect us to the Web, but because they'll connect our everyday world to
the Web. Such devices, built with scanning technology, will read bar codes
or UPC numbers on almost every consumer product, just like scanners at
grocery checkout stands.
Gnutella
finds friends among MP3 enthusiasts -March 31, 2000 -CNN
As expected, a souped-up way to transfer music between users has found a
home with programmers and enthusiasts. Gnutella, similar to its
spiritual ancestor Napster,
is a program that resides on a user's machine and catalogs MP3 music
files. The files can be freely traded among Gnutella users.
MP3.com
Artist Passes Two Million Marker - First Ever Ernesto Cortazar Tributes
Success to MP3.com -March 31, 2000 -Press
Release
MP3.com, Inc., the premier online music service provider, today announced
that Ernesto Cortazar, the pianist who has dominated MP3.com's Easy
Listening and Classical charts for the last six months, is its first
artist to receive more than 2,000,000 downloads from music fans.
Digital
Music for the Living Room -March 30, 2000 -Wired
The next generation of set-top boxes will bring downloads to couch
potatoes. With fast connections and direct input to the home stereo,
broadband providers are tuning up subscription services.
Sony
business plan for 2000/01 - summary -March 30, 2000 -Reuters
Following are key points of Sony Corp's business plan, announced on
Thursday, for the business year starting on April 1.
Music's
new killer app: Napster -March 29, 2000 -ZDNet
Up until now, we've seen only one true "killer" app on the Web,
and that's the browser. It killed client/server computing. Since then,
everybody has been betting the ranch on the next Internet assassin. Never
have so many apps failed to kill so few real computing functions.
Warner
Music Group to License ATRAC3 from Sony Corporation -March 29, 2000 -Press Release
Warner Music Group announced today that it has agreed to license ATRAC3,
an audio compression technology from Sony Corporation, for use in the
electronic distribution of music.
Tickets.com
and MP3.com Enter Into New Online Ticketing And Event Information
Agreement -March 29, 2000 -Press Release
Tickets.com, a leading online music, sports and arts ticketing solutions
company, and MP3.com, the premier online music service provider, today
announced their agreement to develop an integrated ticketing services and
music event guide for their respective users.
Star-Studded
IPO Falls to Earth -March 29, 2000 -Wired
Musician network Artistdirect doled out millions of stock options to
famous artists it represents. But after a lukewarm IPO, those shares might
not be looking so juicy.
Recording
Industry Goes To Court to Battle Napster -March 28, 2000 -SFGate
The recording industry went to court in San Francisco yesterday to lay the
legal groundwork to unplug Napster
Inc., the controversial San Mateo startup that makes software that
finds and downloads free music off the Internet.
MS
Sings New Tune With Jukebox -March 28, 2000 -MP3.com
Given the historic acrimony between Microsoft
and RealNetworks, not to
mention Microsoft's desire to entrench its proprietary WMA (MS Audio)
format in the consumer market, it comes as no surprise that the company is
finally releasing a jukebox-style version of its Windows Media Player.
Nomad
II Secures Music -March 27, 2000 -Wired
Online music enthusiasts have more to be enthusiastic about this week as
leading players ready hardware devices, software players, and a new model
for downloading music. Creative Labs started shipping its newest
Nomad portable music player Monday, which for the first time adds
support for secure music formats.
Microsoft's
Media Player goes for mainstream audience -March 27, 2000 -CNET
update Microsoft today released a preview version of its newest Windows
Media Player in its latest push to unseat RealNetworks as the dominant
provider of online multimedia technology.
Forget
Napster; IRC's the Place -March 27, 2000 -Wired Napster may be
popular (and controversial), but correspondent Andy Patrizio says the best
MP3s may be found in your friendly neighborhood Internet Relay Chat room. 0
China
Bans Online Sale of Videos -March 24, 2000
-Associated Press
In its latest effort to impose control over freewheeling electronic
commerce, China has announced rules banning online sales of imported music
and videos and excluding foreign invested Internet companies from selling
any audiovisual products.
Ex-Beatle's
Publishing Co. Sues MP3.com -March 24, 2000 -Reuters
Former Beatle Paul McCartney's publishing company MPL
Communications Inc. has joined the record industry's battle against
digital music company MP3.com Inc.'s controversial database of copyrighted
music. The publishing company, which owns the rights to McCartney's solo
catalog as well as songs by Sammy Cahn, Hoagy Carmichael, Buddy Holly and
others, filed a suit last week in the U.S. District Court in New York
accusing the San Diego-based company of copyright infringement stemming
from its http://my.mp3.com service.
McCartney's
firm sues MP3.com -March 24, 2000 -ZDNet
A music-rights firm owned by the former Beatle has filed a copyright
infringement suit against the music Web site. A music-rights firm owned by
former Beatle Paul McCartney has filed suit against MP3.com Inc., claiming
the music Web site is violating copyrights on six songs it owns.
Artists
to Napster: Drop dead! -March 24, 2000 -Salon
To many musicians, the MP3 trading software isn't a revolution -- it's a
rip-off. Ask singer-songwriter Aimee Mann what she thinks of Napster,
the ingeniously simple and wildly popular tool for exchanging MP3 music
files, and you get a very concise response: "Artists should get paid
for their work." It's a time-honored notion, but one that seems to be
getting lost amid the Napster buzz.
National
Record Mart Reaches Agreement to Acquire
MP3Board Inc. -March 24, 2000 -Press Release
While the precise structure of the transaction has not yet been finalized,
NRM anticipates that the acquisition
would be effected through a merger of MP3Board
with a to-be-formed acquisition subsidiary, which would then spin off
approximately 25 percent of its shares in a rights offering to the
shareholders of NRM.
Pulse
of the Music Underground Brings $4 Million To VisioSonic in Private
Offering -March 24, 2000 -Press Release VisioSonic's
winning performance since exploding onto the music scene via the Internet
only six months ago was recently met by the most rewarding applause
possible for a new company: because of high demand, their Preferred
"A" Private Placement for $2 million ended up raising $4
million.
The
Internet is a Friend to Offline Entertainment, According to Forrester
Research -March 23, 2000 -Press
Release
Young consumers' passion for digital entertainment does not mean the end
of its offline counterpart. According to a new Report from Forrester
Research, Inc., movie theaters, CD players, and stadiums remain their
favorites for experiencing entertainment, while the Net gains influence on
how young Net surfers choose entertainment options.
University
to lift Napster ban -March 23, 2000 -CNET
Beginning early Saturday morning, Indiana University students will once
again be able to use the popular Napster
music software on the campus computer network, ending a month-long ban
imposed by the college.
"Beyond
the Charts" -March 23, 2000 -Salon
Bruce Haring sets out to tell the amazing story of how the MP3 movement
turned the recording industry on its head, but misses the beat.
Napster
hack allows free distribution of software, movies -March 22, 2000 -CNET
Hackers are transforming the popular Napster
music-trading system into a full-blown online swap meet for everything
from videos to software, expanding piracy concerns for companies that
produce digital products.
Eiger
Technology Announces $35 Million MP3 Orders -March 22, 2000 -Press
Release
Eiger Technology, Inc., a leading computer and Internet peripherals
manufacturer, announced today that its South Korean subsidiary, EigerNet
Inc has commitments from two large OEM customers for MP3 shipments
amounting to $35,000,000 in calendar year 2000 commencing in May/June of
this year.
MP3.com
Under Fire Again -March 22, 2000 -Wired
A lawsuit filed by the Harry Fox Agency is just the latest to take MP3.com
to task for its new Mymp3 service.
Music
Publishers v. MP3.com -March 21, 2000 -MP3.com
Following is the text of a lawsuit filed by the Harry Fox Agency against
MP3.com on behalf of two of the music-publishing companies the agency
represents.
Musicians
Finally See Net Gains -March 21, 2000 -Wired ASCAP has pegged AudioSoft
to help collect webcasting fees on behalf of their artists, and the money
is starting to trickle in.
Net
Speed Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet -March 21, 2000 -Wired
Faster than a speeding bullet? Buckle your seatbelts, say Bell Labs
scientists. The Internet's about to get a whole lot faster.
Napster
Snoozes on Oldies -March 20, 2000 -Wired
The controversial source of pirated music may have a lot of music running
through its servers, but where's the Old School?
Beatnik,
Inc. Files For Initial Public Offering -March 17, 2000 -Press
Release Beatnik, Inc.
announced today that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission a registration statement relating to the proposed initial
public offering of its common stock.
Making
Music With Linux: We're Getting There ... -March 17, 2000 -Slashdot
Posted by emmett on Friday March 17, @08:47AM
from the accidental-minor dept.
The recent 'Ask Slashdot'
about MIDI support for Linux sparked some enlightening conversation about
music, computers, and where Linux fits into the state of the art.
Development of production-quality authoring, sequencing and notation
software is moving ahead, but as in any artistic relationship, there's a
symbiotic relationship between artists and the tools they use to ply their
trade. Part I of a series.
RIAA-Friendly
Rio Surfaces -March 16, 2000 -Wired
A new generation of portable music players are readying for a spring
debut, and -- for a change -- content from major labels will be part of
the mix. Leading the way are the
third-generation of Diamond Multimedia's Rio players, which have a new
look, more memory, and most significantly, new security features in line
with the recording industry's SDMI initiative. Diamond showed off the new
Rios Thursday at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas.
Did
AOL eat Gnutella for lunch? -March 15, 2000 -The
Standard
Nullsoft's engineers released a Napster clone without America Online's
permission. The media got a peek and then the site was gone.
He
Wants His My.mp3.com -March 15, 2000 -Wired
It's not difficult to explain why Michael Robertson, the CEO of mp3.com,
has become such a controversial figure in the realm of digital
distribution.
Since his company was formed in March 1998, Robertson has become the
poster child for everything good and bad about moving music on the
Internet.
Memory
firm plans $57.5 million IPO -March 15, 2000 -CNET
Simple Technology, whose memory products are found in portable digital
devices such as digital cameras and MP3 audio players, filed today to
raise $57.5 million in an
initial public offering.
Open-Source
'Napster' Shut Down -March 15, 2000 -Wired
Shortly after programmers at AOL music company Nullsoft create a download
site for file-sharing software, their side project is closed down by the
big wigs.
Toshiba
uses Liquid Audio format for new music player -March 15, 2000 -CNET
Toshiba, the world's biggest maker of laptop computers, will begin selling
in Japan a portable music player capable of downloading music from the
Internet using a delivery system developed by Liquid Audio, an online
music distributor.
AOL's
Nullsoft creates software for swapping MP3s -March 15, 2000 -Press
Release
update Following software maker Napster's popular network for sharing
digital music, America Online subsidiary Nullsoft is creating its own
software for swapping MP3 files over the Internet.
Napster
doesn't have to undermine the way the music industry makes its money -March 13, 2000 -Infoworld.com
THE OPEN-SOURCE movement has inspired countless debates about copyright
issues. One such issue came to mind recently when I discovered a utility
called Napster.
Napster searches one of several Internet databases for recorded music. If
you find any songs you like, you can download and play them anytime.
The MP3 format is what makes it reasonable to download one of these songs.
Napster
grows up -March 10, 2000 -Redherring
Viewed by major recording labels as an online music pirate, Napster,
the wildly popular music-sharing technology, is turning into a real
business for its 19-year-old founder, Shawn Fanning.
Can
"The Future" be Sued? -March 09, 2000 -MP3.com
The threat to copyright protection on the Internet has come to a head. The
suit filed on Jan. 20 of this year by the Recording Industry Association
of America (RIAA) against MP3.com, Inc., an Internet digital music
provider, may prove to be the landmark case of the Internet Age. Due to
its importance, we intend to devote several articles to this subject.
Your
Rights Online: Symantec Tries to Censor Criticism -March 09, 2000 -Slashdot
Posted by jamie on Thursday March 09, @02:45PM
from the tell-it-to-the-judge dept.
KnobDicker writes "Wired News reports Symantec is
pressuring the ISP that hosts the Peacefire anti-censorware
organization." Peacefire's founder, Bennett Haselton, wrote a
decryptor for Symantec's software's blacklist and posted just that. His
tests found that 76% of its .edu blocks were incorrect and that the
software violates its privacy policy. Symantec's response? Threaten a
lawsuit. But Peacefire isn't backing down. More below...
Music
to Napster fans' ears -March 08, 2000 -The
Standard A bandwidth management tool may help lift a ban on MP3-sharing
software imposed by colleges across the country.
There were, at last count, 198 colleges and universities across the United
States that have banned Napster,
the wildly popular MP3-swapping software, from their networks. More and
more colleges are adding their names to the list every day, complaining
that students are hogging all the campus bandwidth by downloading the
latest Korn songs day and night.
Kingston
Expands Flash Product Line to Include
High-Capacity 64MB SSFDC Flash Cards -March 08, 2000 -Press Release Kingston® Technology
Company, Inc., today announced the expansion of its flash memory
product line with the introduction of a high-capacity 64MB SSFDC flash
card. This new card provides the latest generation of high-resolution
digital cameras and MP3 players with the high-capacity necessary to store
up to 100 high-resolution photos or two hours of digital music with a
single card.
Ask
Slashdot: What Does the Audio Home
Recording Act Really Allow? -March 07, 2000 -Slashdot
Posted by Cliff on Tuesday March 07, @02:28PM
from the knowing-your-rights dept.
festers asks: "With all the legal action being taken by the
MPAA and RIAA, I decided to check out their Web sites for a closer look at
what they are saying. While I was on riaa.org I came across this: What You
Can’t Copy They cite the Audio Home Recording Act. Basically what I came
away with was that I am not allowed to make any recordings of copyrighted
music onto my computer. I can't make mix CDs, or sound clips, or even MP3s
for my own use. Can this really be?? Is this what the Home Recording Act
is all about? If this is the case, then MP3.com seems to have no ground to
stand on when it comes to the Beam-It software."
ArtistDirect
to Sign Mjuice.com -March 07, 2000 -The
Standard
The acquisition, for up to $15 million, will give the online music company
a secure system for digital music downloads.
MP3.com
Asks Artists, 'Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire?' Payback for Playback Promotion Reaches $1 Million -March 07, 2000 -Press Release
MP3.com, Inc., the premier online music service provider (MSP), today
announced it pushed its Payback for Playback promotion past the $1 million
(U.S.) mark. Michael Robertson, chairman and chief executive officer of
MP3.com, announced that the Payback for Playback program would be extended
through May 2000. At the end of the month, the total sum available for
awards to MP3.com artists through the Payback for Playback promotion would
be more than $1 million (U.S.).
Creative
Ships Industry's First Internet-Centric MP3 Keyboard -March 07, 2000 -Press Release
Creative Technology Ltd., the leading provider of Personal Digital
Entertainment solutions, today announced that the BlasterKey
MP3 Keyboard will now be available online and at major music
retailers. This first-ever Internet-centric MP3 keyboard has generated
strong interest and excitement among music dealers, and garnered several
rave reviews since it was first showcased at the Winter NAMM 2000 show in
early February.
MP3.com
forms new group, repositions itself -March 06, 2000 -Reuters
Securities
Music web site MP3.com Inc. on Monday said it formed a new business group
to expand on its strategy to provide music to people wherever they are.
CD,
Cassette – Or Download? -March 06, 2000 -The
Standard
EMI and Universal say they will securely distribute digital music as early
as this summer. And the other three major labels aren't far behind.
After years of stewing on the sidelines, two of the five major record
labels now appear ready to dive headlong into digital distribution.
The
Perils of Personalized Music -March 06, 2000 -The
Standard
Interactivity promises rewards – and headaches – for online music
companies.
When RealNetworks
launched RealJukebox in May, the company hailed it as a breakthrough
product.
That was stretching the truth a little. A strikingly similar product
called MusicMatch
had been on the market for 18 months already.
Net
Music Show's Cast Call -March 06, 2000 -Wired Musicians take center stage at the New York Music and Internet
Expo. They're there for every reason under the sun, and the one reason
they have in common: money.
U.S.
Wants to Trace Net Users -March 04, 2000 -Wired
A forthcoming report commissioned by President Clinton recommends more
police power and changes to U.S. anonymity laws.
A
Turning Point for E-Privacy -March 04, 2000 -Wired
DoubleClick was under serious fire this week for plans to "de-anonymize"
the user information it captures online. The company's stock dropped.
Customer Web sites got nervous. In the end, DoubleClick turned tail.
Time
with Tunes: Casio's MP3 Wristwatch -March 02, 2000 -BusinessWeek
The WMP-1V sounds pretty good. Now if they could just get it to fit a
woman's wrist...
In 1980, the music industry was rejuvenated by the introduction of the
compact disc. Today, it's the popular MPEG-1 layer-3 (popularly known, of
course, as MP3) audio file format that's setting the industry on fire,
even though recent problems with copyright protection and piracy have
threatened to slow its progress into the mainstream.
Seagram
to Sell Music Online in Spring -March 03, 2000 -Reuters Seagram Co. Ltd.'s Universal Music Group will start selling music
online this spring, Seagram chief executive Edgar Bronfman said on Friday.
``We need to stop thinking about selling round things. In the future,
we'll be selling songs, albums, multi-song packages, compilations,
services, subscriptions, streaming and on and on,'' Bronfman said in a
speech at the Jupiter Consumer Online forum in New York.
Seagram's
Bronfman weighs in on merger trend -March 03, 2000 -CNET
update Chief executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. says the company's Universal
Music Group will launch a secure music download format as Seagram tries to
reposition itself for the so-called Internet Age.
Bezos:
Patents Were Self-Defense -March 03, 2000 -Wired
Following charges that his company patented basic and universal Web
functions, Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos makes
his case for the patents in a phone conversation with the organizer of an
online protest.
Patently
Absurd -March 03, 2000 -Wired
With Amazon under fire for scooping up patents on commonly used Internet
technology, a new form of Web competition starts to heat up: patent wars.
Ads
Take Aim at Online Music -March 03, 2000 -Wired
The music industry has to develop some new business models to get paid
online. But how far will musicians and labels go to promote their tracks?
SDMI
issues phase II RFPs for audio players -March 02, 2000 -EETimes
The Secure Digital Music Initiative issued a request for proposals (RFP)
for a Phase II screening technology for Internet audio players, setting an
April 24 submission deadline for draft outlines of proposed technologies
and accompanying licensing terms and conditions. Final proposals will be
due on June 18.
The technology goes to the heart of SDMI's
stated mission of preventing and fighting music piracy over the Net. Phase
II screening will let players accept digital music files in open and
protected formats, letting consumers record such files for personal use,
but will detect and reject pirated files.
UK
music 'must tackle internet' -March 02, 2000 -BBC News
Artists such as Bowie have embraced the internet The UK music industry is
failing to get to grips with the internet, according to a new report.
A study by the Institute for Public Policy Research found that emerging
artists in particular were losing out financially.
Brit
music off key as pop flops to online tune -March 02, 2000 -Yahoo
Finance
Music moguls will be nervously fondling their ponytails at the British
music awards on Friday as the ceremony beams a spotlight on an industry
struggling to find the next Oasis and take on cyberspace.
Never has the music business faced such uncertain times as the sound of
online music beckons and corporate giants loom after Time Warner's
effective takeover of Britain's last independent music group EMI.
Sony's
Digital Music Clip Is Cool, But Treats Users Like Criminals -March 02, 2000 -Wall
Street Journal
SONY CORP. has come out with a sleek, great-sounding digital music player.
Like earlier players from lesser-known companies, the Sony
model has no moving parts, just memory chips to store and play the
music, so it won't skip when jostled. It connects easily to a Windows PC,
so you can download digital music files into it.
Students
fight Napster bans -March 02, 2000 -CNET
College students bent on maintaining access to the popular Napster
music software on campus networks circulate a petition online urging
administrators to lift their bans.
Song-swap
software hits sour note with music industry -March 01, 2000 -Reuters
Securities Napster, a
song-swapping software that has spread like wildfire among young computer
users, has both college administrators and the record industry up in arms.
The
Value of Content -March 01, 2000 -Techreview.com
By Dr. Leonardo Chiariglione ( AKA Mr.SDMI
)
Once upon a time, artists had an easy life. When dancers and singers
performed, only people in the immediate vicinity could enjoy the show, and
they could be asked to pay up. Then over the centuries came
technology—storage, reproduction and transmission—and along with it,
the artist’s ever-growing reliance on technological intermediaries, who
in turn have relied on government protections. Printing presses meant that
books could be reprinted by others and revenues lost (hence Queen Anne’s
Copyright Act of 1709). Broadcast meant works could be copied by consumers
(hence the European levy on VCRs and blank cassettes).
