Five Questions with Dave Jaworski, CEO, Passalong Networks

Authored by Jay Baage on February 22, 2007 - 5:42pm.

Dave is founder and CEO of Passalong Networks. Passalong is a developer of technologies that provide music fans, artists and the industry with a mutually beneficial resolution to the evolving P2P landscape. PassAlong recently got front-and-center in the DRM debate when it announced that it is offering its entire independent music catalog in MP3 format. This means that its whole current network of digital music stores as well as anyone seeking to launch a new store can get the songs in MP3-format without DRM from Passalong. The new MP3 catalog includes two million songs and features from iconic artists like James Brown, Frank Sinatra and current chart-toppers like Green Day, Barenaked Ladies and Avril Lavigne.

Why are you moving your entire indie catalog into MP3-format? It’s simple, because that is what consumers want. They want ease of use and convenience. They want to be able to move their music freely between devices, whether they use a PC or Mac.

What about Piracy? CDs still account for 90 percent of music sales, if you exclude ring-tones. Something clearly needs to be done to increase sales of digital music. The current system of selling digital music with DRM-restrictions is not what the consumer wants. Most iPods sold are filled with music that mainly come from ripped CDs and other sources than iTunes.

Do you think that Steve Jobs needs to put more pressure on the major labels to drop DRM-restrictions? There is a universal standard out there - all digital music players including iPods play MP3s. We have discussed this extensively with the independent labels over the last few months and I think they are making a very powerful statement now by allowing us to start selling their entire catalogs in MP3 format. But ultimately it is the major labels' choice.

Which music player will be the most popular in the next few years do you think? We think that when it comes to portable use, the cell phone will be prevalent. Even Apple is moving into this market with their new iPhone. In 18 months, 95% of new cell phones sold will be capable of playing music.

When will have the entire indie catalog available in MP3-format? We are targeting March 15th.

Joakim Baage

Related Link:
PassAlong Networks Goes MP3; Offers Two Million iPod-Compatible Songs in MP3 Format