iLounge

“Rock veterans Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno are starting a provocative new musicians’ alliance that would let artists sell their music online instead of only through record labels. [...]

By removing record labels from the equation, artists can set their own prices and set their own agendas, said the two independent musicians, who hope to launch the online alliance within a month.”

“In its largest legal action to date, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed another 532 lawsuits Wednesday against alleged music pirates operating through peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.

The lawsuits use the “John Doe” process, which is used to sue defendants whose names aren’t known.

The lawsuits identify the defendants by their Internet protocol computer address. Once a John Doe suit has been filed and approved by a judge, the RIAA can subpoena the information needed to identify the defendant by name from an Internet service provider (ISP).”

“Europeans purchased over three million song downloads in 2003 from the continent’s primary online music store, OD2, raising faint hopes the lackluster music industry is on the road to recovery. [...]

Still, the volume of downloads is growing 25 percent month on month, Grimsdale said, which would mean download sales should grow more than three-fold in 2004. [...]

The more mature U.S. market is growing even faster. American music fans purchased 30 million download tracks in 2003 as online stores such as Apple Computer’s iTunes proved a big hit with consumers.”

“According to The NPD Group, music downloading via peer-to-peer (P2P) services increased 14% from October through November of 2003. That followedsix straight months of decline during the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) legal campaign against pirates, which has so far resulted in more than 300 lawsuits.

Russ Crupnick, vice president of the independent NPD Group, says there may be several reasons for the uptick in downloading. Among them: the inevitable dropoff in publicity from the RIAA’s campaign, more leisure time for students during the holidays, and the launch of several high-profile legal music downloading services.”

“MP3 player manufacturers, including Apple Computer, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, are challenging a recent regulatory ruling in Canada that would impose an extra fee of as much as $25 on iPod-like digital music players.

The Copyright Board of Canada ruled in December that hard drive-based digital music players should be subject to fees aimed at compensating musicians, songwriters and record labels for copyright infringement. Similar fees are placed on blank audio tapes and CDs, and manufacturers typically pass on the costs to the consumer.

A group of retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores and Best Buy, also is appealing the decision, which will be heard by a federal court.”

“After four straight years of declining CD sales, the recording industry is hanging hopes for a recovery on music fans going digital — and being willing to pay for it.

More than 19.2 million digital tracks were sold online in the last six months, according to Nielsen Soundscan, helping to narrow the music industry’s losses last year. [...]

‘We think 2004 is going to be the year of subscription content on portable devices,’ said Scott Kauffman, head of digital music retailer MusicNow Inc. ‘The notion of figuring out which 12 songs to put on a disc that doesn’t fit in your pocket when you already have 12,000 that fit in your pocket ... that’s just over.’”

“The music industry’s controversial lawsuits against online song swappers appear to have forced U.S. computer users to severely curb their free music downloading habit, according to new research released.

The percentage of Americans who downloaded music from the Internet fell to 14 percent over the four weeks ended December 14, from 29 percent in a 30-day sample conducted in March, April and May, according to a telephone survey of 1,358 Internet users conducted by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”

“He liked the easy-to-use iTunes program, and decided to make it the central jukebox for digital copies (altogether legal) of his conventional CD’s. I set up the downloading account for him, and decided to show him how to download from the music store. I selected Dutch DJ JXL’s excellent remix of the Elvis Presley song “A Little Less Conversation” and paused before hitting the “buy” button. [...]

Here’s the shocker: more than ever, he began asking us to buy CD’s for him. He wanted discs from artists he had come to know online, with the liner notes and lyrics. His less copyright-friendly buddies send him the stuff they like, and if he likes a song, he listens to a better-quality version on Rhapsody or buys the track.

Amazing but true: music downloading spurs music sales, at least in our house. (Sam’s 16-year-old sister, Elizabeth, has proven resistant to digital music’s allure, content to lug around a case full of CD’s.)”

“‘This will be the year downloadable music ... goes legitimate,’ says Dave Fester, general manager of Microsoft’s digital media division.

Those jumping on board the digital music bandwagon can thank Apple Computer for getting it rolling. Apple opened its iTunes online music store in April and was the first to let patrons download individual songs for 99 cents, without having to commit to a subscription service.

The software giant aims to topple Apple as the early market leader by spurring the growth of a cross section of digital music suppliers and device makers all using the Windows Media format, it says.

‘The best part about Windows Media is that it unlocks choice,’ Microsoft’s Fester says. “You can buy from the store or use the device that gives you the best experience.”“

“Since May 2003, when Apple Computer’s online music service iTunes opened its digital doors, the drums announcing other online music services—new enterprises as well as existing music services spruced up and recharged—have been steadily beating. [...]

The future looks good, too. Jupiter Research expects online music sales to grow to $3.3 billion by 2008. Forrester Research expects that within four years online music will account for 33 percent of the music industry’s sales. But behind the vaunted successes and the optimistic predictions lurk at least two big questions: Which online music vendors, among the nearly one dozen operating today, have found the business model that will guarantee they will be around in 2008 to share the profits? Can the for-fee services make a dent in the billions of musical tracks exchanged, at no cost, on pirate networks?”

“The makers of Kazaa, the world’s most popular computer file-sharing program, cannot be held liable for copyright infringement of music or movies swapped on its free software, the Dutch Supreme Court ruled Friday. [...]

‘This victory sets the precedent about the legality of peer-to-peer technology across the European Union, and around the world,’ Kazaa founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis said in a statement distributed on the Internet. They called the ruling a ‘historic victory for the evolution of the Internet and for consumers.’”

“In the new year, some of the world’s biggest brands will promote their products and services by doling out millions of free downloads through alliances with digital music services.

‘You’re going to see lots of free music given out via third-party companies,” buymusic.com founder Scott Blum says. “It’s not going to be Apple and iTunes driving the business. It’s going to be companies like Pepsi and other third parties that are promoting digital music on bottle caps and on labels.’

Indeed, Apple Computer has inked a deal with Pepsi to give away 100 million iTunes downloads in a promotion that kicks off in February with a Super Bowl ad.”

“A federal appeals court on Friday rejected efforts by the recording industry to compel the nation’s Internet providers to turn over names of subscribers suspected of illegally swapping music online.

The ruling from a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia was a dramatic setback for the industry’s controversial anti-piracy campaign. It overturned the trial judge’s decision to enforce a type of copyright subpoena from a law that predates the music downloading trend.”

“The European music industry plans to take the fight against Internet piracy right to the doors of file sharers with individually targeted lawsuits, the head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) has said.

And the subpoenas could start flying next year.”