M
MICHAEL
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/01/21/yourmoney/music.php
By Victoria Shannon
Sunday, January 21, 2007
CANNES
With the falloff in CD sales persisting and even digital revenue growth now faltering in the
face of rampant music sharing by consumers, the major record labels appear to be closer than
ever to releasing music on the Internet with no copying restrictions.
Executives of several technology companies meeting here at Midem, the annual global trade fair
for the music industry, said this weekend that a move toward the sale of unrestricted digital
files in the MP3 format from at least one of the four major record companies could come within
months.
Music executives, however, said Sunday that the idea was self-serving on the part of technology
companies.
"Each of the majors is wrestling with the question of whether to go unrestricted," said John
Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. "I think this is an
experimental year."
Most independent record labels already sell tracks digitally compressed in MP3 format, which
can be downloaded, e-mailed or copied to computers, cellphones, portable music players and
compact discs without limit.
In part, the independents see providing songs in MP3 as a way of generating publicity that
could lead to future sales.
Should one of the big four take that route, however, it would be a capitulation to the power of
the Internet, which has destroyed the monopoly of the leading record producers over the
worldwide distribution of music in the past decade and allowed file-sharing to take its place.
continued......
By Victoria Shannon
Sunday, January 21, 2007
CANNES
With the falloff in CD sales persisting and even digital revenue growth now faltering in the
face of rampant music sharing by consumers, the major record labels appear to be closer than
ever to releasing music on the Internet with no copying restrictions.
Executives of several technology companies meeting here at Midem, the annual global trade fair
for the music industry, said this weekend that a move toward the sale of unrestricted digital
files in the MP3 format from at least one of the four major record companies could come within
months.
Music executives, however, said Sunday that the idea was self-serving on the part of technology
companies.
"Each of the majors is wrestling with the question of whether to go unrestricted," said John
Kennedy, head of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. "I think this is an
experimental year."
Most independent record labels already sell tracks digitally compressed in MP3 format, which
can be downloaded, e-mailed or copied to computers, cellphones, portable music players and
compact discs without limit.
In part, the independents see providing songs in MP3 as a way of generating publicity that
could lead to future sales.
Should one of the big four take that route, however, it would be a capitulation to the power of
the Internet, which has destroyed the monopoly of the leading record producers over the
worldwide distribution of music in the past decade and allowed file-sharing to take its place.
continued......
