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ArchivesEMI to Cut 20% of Workforce, Drop 20% of Artists from Record LabelAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2004 - 3:52am.
London -- Major record label EMI announced on Wednesday that it will cut 20% of its global workforce and eliminate one in five of its roster acts, as part of a restructuring that will also see the company largely outsource its CD manufacturing needs. EMI said 900 of the 1,500 total layoffs will come from the closure of manufacturing plants in the U.S. and Europe, including one in Illinois. The company did not disclose which artists would be dropped from the label, but said that they are "largely niche and under-performing artists," and that "the roster is being rebalanced to focus resources and efforts more effectively on the artists who have the greatest potential on both a global and local level." EMI expects the restructuring to save the company $91.5 million a year.
Head of French Record Industry Says File-Swapper Lawsuits LoomingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2004 - 3:51am.
Paris -- The head of France's record label trade group said that lawsuits against individual music file-swappers would be filed shortly in the country, on the same day that an international record label trade group filed 247 suits against alleged pirates in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Canada, Reuters reported. "We will do the same thing in France in the coming weeks or months. Whatever happens, lawsuits against Internet users are inevitable," Herve Rony, head of France's SNEP (Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique), told Reuters. In addition to prosecuting file-swappers, France will also go after Internet service providers, utilizing a law that will go into effect shortly that asks them to filter copyrighted content on their networks. "We have a two lines of fire: taking action against individual Internet users does not imply we will not act against service providers to oblige them to filter," Rony added.
Microsoft Drops Xbox Sports Game Releases for Year, Cites Quality IssuesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2004 - 3:50am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Microsoft has announced that it will not publish previously announced sports games for its Xbox video game console under its XSN Sports brand, citing quality issues with the titles, according to published reports. "We're focused on closing the quality gap between our sports line-up and that of our competitors," Microsoft Game Studios' Kevin Browne told Reuters. "Therefore we will not be shipping new versions of our sports games this fall." Microsoft said that it will resume publishing XSN Sports titles, such as "NFL Fever," "NBA Inside Drive" and "NHL Rivals," in 2005. The company will still publish a lone XSN Sports title yet this year, when "RalliSport Challenge 2" is released in May.
Fidelity Restriction Talks Delay Sale of Samsung MP3 Phones in KoreaAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2004 - 3:47am.
Seoul -- The Korea Herald reported on Wednesday that the Korean recording industry is demanding that cell phones that can download and play MP3 music files support only radio-quality sound, to deter potential piracy. Bowing to pressure from groups including the Korea Association of Phonogram Producers and Korea Music Copyright Association, Samsung decided to delay release of its MP3 Anycall handset this week while it negotiates with the Korean record industry over degrading the sound quality of recordings to below 96 kbps. "Our industry has been in a nose-dive since the release of MP3 players in 2000. At that time, we felt hopeless because Korean people were insensitive to copyright issues and we did not have any unified organization that could cope with the situation," Yoon Seong-woo, a director of the Korea Association of Phonogram Producers, told The Korea Herald. "Because the MP3 phone market is big enough to destroy the music industry, we're struggling to defend it."
Digital Envoy Suing Google Over PatentAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 31, 2004 - 3:47am.
Mountain View, Calif. -- Digital Envoy, a Georgia-based provider of technology that enables companies to uncover geographical information about online users based solely on their IP addresses, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Mountain View-based Google, the Internet search engine provider. Digital Envoy is alleging that Google is using its technology improperly to place advertisements on third-party web site, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reported. The license between the two companies restricts Google from using the technology for purposes other than search and from using it on other web sites, a Digital Envoy attorney told the newspaper. "Last year, Google got in the business of advertising," Kratz said. "When they did that, they took our technology with them... They've been making money on it. We haven't." He said the lawsuit probably will seek multi-millions of dollars in damages.
IFPI Sues 247 Music File-Swappers in Denmark, Germany, Italy and CanadaAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 4:02am.
London -- The worldwide recording industry expanded its legal campaign against file-swappers beyond the U.S. on Tuesday, as the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) announced that it has sued 247 individuals in Denmark, Germany, Italy and Canada for copyright infringement. The group's U.S. counterpart, the Recording Industry Association of America, has sued nearly 2,000 U.S. citizens for allegedly offering music for download on file-sharing services like Kazaa. The IFPI said its current lawsuits were only the first wave, with additional suits soon to be filed in other countries. "This is the start of an international campaign against online copyright theft, and it is the logical next step in the fight against piracy, coming after our extensive education and warning campaigns of the last few months," said IFPI chairman Jay Berman. The IFPI noted that more than 600,000 consumers in Europe have tried the emerging legitimate download services offered there, which offer a catalogue of 300,000 tracks from 50 legal online sites.
New Research Disputes Record Industry's File-Sharing ClaimsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 4:00am.
London -- Researchers from the Harvard Business School and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill published a report this week that contradicts the music industry's claim that Internet file sharing has had a major impact on global CD sales. According to Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf, file sharing has had only a limited effect of global sales. "The economic effect is also small," the report said. "Even in the most pessimistic specification, five thousand downloads are needed to displace a single album sale." Little surprise, the Recording Industry Association of America rejected the researchers' findings, saying in a statement: "Countless well-respected groups and analysts -- including Edison Research, Forrester and the University of Texas, among others -- have all determined that illegal file sharing has adversely impacted the sales of CDs."
Report: Number of Paying Music Downloaders Up Three-Fold in 2003Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:59am.
New York -- The number of U.S. music downloaders who actually paid to download a song increased nearly three-fold in 2003, as in December an estimated 10 million U.S. users had paid a fee to download music over the Internet, according to New York-based research firm Ipsos-Insight's TEMPO survey of digital music behavior. In December 2003, 22% of downloaders reported having paid for a song, as opposed to 8% in the same period for 2002. "This is the clearest sign yet that American music enthusiasts are becoming increasingly dependent on digitally formatted and distributed music, and as a result, are sampling many of the recently launched fee-based online music services to find a legal means of online music acquisition," said study author Matt Kleinschmit. "The next order of business for fee-based online music services is to both continue to lure new consumers to their respective services, as well as retain users who may be visiting for experimentation purposes only."
Boeing Sells Digital Cinema Business to Access Integrated TechnologiesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:58am.
Los Angeles -- Defense contractor Boeing announced on Tuesday its exit from the digital cinema business, with the sale of its Boeing Digital Cinema assets to New Jersey-based Access Integrated Technologies. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Boeing's digital cinema system eliminates the need for physical film stock by providing the ability to transmit first-run films and alternative media like sporting events and concerts directly to movie theatres via satellite. "Boeing successfully pioneered and demonstrated many advances in the deployment of advanced satellite and secure digital distribution of large data files from a single point to multiple locations simultaneously," said Boeing Network Enabled Solutions vice president Dr. Ron Maehl. "AccessIT can now take that technology to the next level with its focus on the entertainment industry and its ability to put a capital structure in place for full-scale market implementation."
NY Daily News: Steve Case May Attempt to Buy Back America OnlineAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:57am.
Dulles, Va. -- Steve Case, the former chairman of America Online, is reportedly raising $10 billion in an attempt to buy back AOL from parent Time Warner, the New York Daily News reported on Tuesday. "It would be his redemption," one Wall Street source told the Daily News. Case, who headed AOL when it merged with Time Warner in 2000, reportedly explored such a deal last year but was rebuffed because Time Warner wasn't ready to sell. Now that federal investigations into AOL's accounting practices are nearly complete, however, Wall Street insiders believe the time is right. Some analysts say that such a deal would be attractive to Time Warner, which recently chose to drop the "AOL" from its corporate name in an effort to distance itself from the unit's financial concerns. Others, however, believe that the media giant may want to hold onto AOL, now that its business appears to be on the rebound. One industry insider, in fact, said that Time Warner is looking for "far more" than $10 billion for AOL.
Report: Content Delivery Networks' Revenue Up 60% for 2003Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:56am.
Monterey, Calif. -- Content delivery network services, which provide large-scale distribution of streaming media content, delivered double or triple the streaming content in 2003 when compared with 2002, while revenue increased 60% over the previous year, according to data from Monterey, Calif.-based AccuStream iMedia Research. Content delivery networks including Akamai, Speedera, LimeLight Networks and Chaincast Networks generated an estimated $90-$115 million in 2003 from streaming video and Internet radio. The average cost per gigabyte of streaming video transferred in 2003 for these companies was $2.15, while the average price for a gigabyte of Internet radio was $1.31. AccuStream noted that AOL, RealNetworks and Yahoo are in fact the largest content distributors, but usually contract directly with carrier suppliers for their bandwidth needs.
AOL Claims 250,000 Subscribers for MusicNet@AOL ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:55am.
Dulles, Va. -- America Online said on Tuesday that it has signed up 250,000 subscribers for its MusicNet@AOL on-demand music subscription service. By contrast, MusicNet rival Rhapsody, distributed by RealNetworks, said that it hit the 250,000-subscriber mark in October 2003. MusicNet, a joint venture between AOL, Time Warner EMI and Bertelsmann, offers a library of over 600,000 for streaming and "tethered" download for $8.95 per month. AOL also on Tuesday announced the launch of a new download store for MusicNet@AOL subscribers, which will sell songs for $0.99 each.
Study: Three-Quarters of 18-34 Year-Olds Are OnlineAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:53am.
Reston, Va. -- Nearly three-quarters of all Americans aged 18-34 have Internet access, the highest percentage of any age group, according to a new study from ComScore Networks and the Online Publishers Association. While the group comprises only 24% of the total U.S. population, it accounts for 38% of the total time spent online and 40% of the total pages viewed. The skew is even more pronounced among men in this age group. "Eighteen to 34 year-olds feel a perpetual need to stay connected. This group expects to get online whenever they choose and wherever they are," said Michael Zimbalist, the executive director of the Online Publishers Association. "When taken overall, this first installment of our research into 18 to 34 year-olds clearly shows that the Internet has become the dominant medium in the lives of this highly sought after group."
Report: 28 Million Digital Video Recorders to Ship in 2008Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 30, 2004 - 3:53am.
Framingham, Mass. -- Aided by heavy investment by satellite and cable TV providers in set-top boxes that offer digital video recording, worldwide unit shipments of digital video recorders are forecasted to climb to more than 28 million in 2008, with a compound annual growth rate of 46.9% between 2003 and 2008, according to a report from Massachusetts-based market research firm IDC. At the end of 2003, there were 3.2 million U.S. households with the devices, with manufacturer TiVo owning 39% of the market. "For the first time the DVR vendors are getting through to people and showing them that these devices are more than just high-priced VCRs," said IDC senior research analyst Greg Ireland. "The pay TV providers can take a lot of the credit, and reap the rewards, for finally breaking through to consumers." IDC noted that devices that combine a digital video recorder with a DVD recorder -- which allows programs to be burned to DVD -- will account for nearly 40% of the market by 2008, shipping a projected 11.3 million units.
Microsoft Cuts Price of Xbox Game Console by $30 to $149Authored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:08am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Confirming reports from last week, Microsoft on Monday announced a $30 price cut for its Xbox video game console in the U.S. -- from $179 to $149 -- that will take effect on Tuesday. Similar Xbox price cuts will also go into effect for Canada and Mexico, however the company did not disclose plans for other regions. Microsoft also announced discounts for its "Xbox Music Mixer" karaoke game, which will now sell for $19.99, as well as a new $29.99 price point for game titles including "Project Gotham Racing 2" and "Counter Strike." The company also noted that there are now 75,000 subscribers for its Xbox Live online gaming service for the console.
German Court Rules Against Unauthorized Pop-Up AdsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:07am.
Cologne, Germany -- The German unit of car rental firm Hertz announced that it has won an injunction against Claira (formerly known as Gator) that will prevent the company from launching its pop-up ads for Hertz competitors on top of Hertz's own website, CNET News.com reported. Claria's software is installed alongside other programs as a way to provide those programs for free -- such as its bundling with Kazaa's file-sharing software. Hertz complained that those who have downloaded the software see unauthorized pop-up ads for Hertz competitors when users visit its German site. The Court of First Instance in Cologne ruled that Claria violated German unfair competition laws, and will face penalties of up to $302,325, or six months in jail, for each future violation of the injunction.
AOL to Offer Episode of WB's "Everwood" Morning After TV AiringAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:06am.
Dulles, Va. -- America Online said on Monday that for the first time, it will offer a full episode of a primetime TV show online the morning after it airs on television. The promotion, for fellow Time Warner subsidiary WB Network's program "Everwood," is aimed at enabling viewers to familiarize themselves with the show's storyline and characters in anticipation of the debutof new episodes on April 5. AOL will offer an episode of the WB's "Everwood" that originally aired on Feb. 23 and will be re-broadcast tonight, exclusively on AOL for Broadband for one week beginning tomorrow. "Through this unprecedented marketing initiative, we are providing AOL for Broadband members with an exclusive and unique way to sample a full length television episode, as well as providing The WB with an exciting new way to attract viewers," said AOL Television vice president and general manager Patricia Karpas.
NPD Launches Monthly Comparative CD Pricing Information ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:04am.
Port Washington, N.Y. -- Market research firm NPD Group on Monday announced the launch of a new CD pricing information service, PriceLab, which will collect monthly pricing information by album from all major music retailers. PriceLab will monitor the average selling price of particular albums, as well as provide information by artist, top-selling titles, retailer, channel, distributor, label and genre. The service's first findings show that the average CD sold for $13.47 at the end of 2003, a 2% reduction from the same period in 2002 and a 4% reduction in price from 2001. "Next to peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, CD pricing has been the most talked about issue in the music industry," said NPD Music president Russ Crupnick. "PriceLab gives subscribers the edge in the highly competitive, and price sensitive, music market. It allows the industry to monitor changes in pricing across the industry, and helps companies understand the impact of pricing on consumer perceptions."
Apple Looks to Patent iPod's Graphical User InterfaceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:03am.
London -- Apple is attempting to patent the graphical user interface utilized on its iPod digital music player, ZDNet UK reported on Monday. A patent application on the multimedia player software was published on Thursday of last week, listing its three inventors as Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Apple engineers Jeffrey L. Robbin and Timothy Wasko. The company's U.K. office declined to comment on the patent application.
Nintendo to Ship Classic NES Titles for Retro Game Boy Advance SPAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2004 - 4:03am.
Redmond, Wash. -- Nintendo of America announced on Monday plans to release a special edition of its Game Boy Advance SP handheld video game that resembles its original NES console, as well as classic NES games for the handheld, as part of a new "Classic NES Series." The mini-NES Game Boy Advance SP will sell for $99 beginning June 7. Nintendo said it will release Game Boy Advance versions of classic NES titles including "Donkey Kong," "Pac-Man," "The Legend of Zelda," "Super Mario Bros.," "Excitebike," "Ice Climber," "Xevious" and "Bomberman."
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