Word: pressplay
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While the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry was on its toes last week blaming illegal copying and downloads for 2002's 7% slump in global sales of recorded music, the industry has long been dragging its feet in boosting legal online music sellers. Legit sites like Rhapsody and Pressplay in the U.S. may be mere ripples on the bottom line, but signs are suddenly everywhere of bigger waves to come: last week's news that Apple is eyeing a $6 billion bid for Universal Music bolstered persistent rumors of Apple's long-term ambition to add digital music delivery...
...same as controlling the file-swapping community. The music industry has tried everything from lawsuits to substitutes, launching sites where subscribers can download music for a fee. But for every Napster they kill, more spring up to take its place. And the labels' own online services - like Pressplay, which charges $9.95 to let subscribers burn 10 tracks a month - have lost money and left customers cold. In fact, it's still not clear that free sites are even bad for business. The industry blamed online piracy for last year's 5% drop in CD sales, but didn't mention that...
...major labels' systems include the online services Pressplay (owned by Vivendi Universal and Sony) and MusicNet (EMI, AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and the software firm RealNetworks). Initially hyped as the legitimate alternatives to the original outlaw Napster, these services have flopped with consumers--especially where CD burning is concerned. Pressplay charges $9.95 to let you burn 10 tracks a month--barely enough for one CD. MusicNet offers no burning capabilities, but EMI seems to have belatedly recognized the need, at least for fans of Sharon Riley and Faith Chorale. You can now burn up to 20 tracks from...
...industry is greeting these first forays into online services with caution. Doug Morris, chairman of the Universal Music Group, calls Pressplay "an exercise in trying to understand what's going on." There may be plenty of money to be made from selling raw MP3s and unlimited CD-burning privileges. But with major media companies so wedded to the old ways of selling music--nearly 40% of Vivendi's operating income flows from its media business--allowing users to burn from their catalog seems akin to dragging a large wooden horse into their boardroom...
...Pressplay is a little less draconian. For $24.95 a month you get 100 downloads, and the tunes don't expire as long as you remain a subscriber. You also get to burn 20 tracks onto a CD. Downloads are especially efficient: mere seconds on broadband and minutes via modem. This was refreshing after all the transfer errors I'm used to on Morpheus and its underground kin. Now all Pressplay needs is a catalog large enough that I might want 20 songs a month from...