Although the music industry was reluctant to embrace music radio and later music television stations like MTV, no one can deny that the two media have boosted record sales and artists’ reputations phenomenally. The same oppostion to change, characterises the industries’ position with regard to the Internet in general and to peer to peer file sharing in particular. Despite the fact that online music site Napster is planning to restart operations soon, it is probably more accurate to consider the online music distribution industry as being in the post-Napster stage. Litigation, as only the Americans are capable of doing, forced Napster’s site down in July 2001 thus driving would be file sharers to navigate among the plethora of (un)likely sounding Napster clones from Kazaa to Grokster by way of MusicCity, in their continued quest to download online music MP3s and more worringly for Hollywood, video files.

Naturally enough these sites are now facing legal action as well, but perhaps the entertainment industry by attacking the use of the software technology itself, in its eagerness to protect copyright, has gone one step too far. Because it is easier to target the messenger, the continuing legal action has generated a certain amount of hostility from groups as far apart as the United States Army and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who both consider file sharing as having many lawful uses, as well as an investigation by the United States Justice department into possible anti-competitive practices by the five major recording companies together with the music publishers organisation, the RIAA.

From dumb to Daft
Is it stupid to imagine that people will pay for online music after obtaining it for little or nothing? No, say the majors who roll out two competing online subscription services for 2002. Named Pressplay and MusicNet, they hope to attract former Napster users toward their more organised (and legal), music download sites. Although the two sites have lined up a formidable array of music industry heavyweights (see diagram), Pressplay and MusicNet will compete against each other for what might be slim pickings if users refuse to be tempted by high monthly membership rates, limited recording rights and complicated registration procedures. This polarisation of choice is rather at odds with what the industry has become. Musical taste is more than even fragmented. While some customers may well be prepared to subscribe to one such service it is unlikely they will subscribe to two. As yet only EMI has opened its music catalogue to both sites. There may well be room for more imaginative, independent sites like Radiofreevirgin and Vitaminic.

Nevertheless the restrictive Compact Disc mould has been broken, fans will be able to compile their preferred tracks for 'burning' directly onto a recordable CD. Artists will not have to wait until they have an hour or so of music before releasing their work. In an attempt to move with the technology some recording artists have gone further.

Daft Punk, a French duo, have innovated by distributing a Daft Club membership card equipped with a onetime code allowing the downloading of documents, music, animations and other exclusive offers only available from the group’s site, daftpunk.com and exclusively to those who have bought the CD. Rather than prevent the exchange of MP3 files of their music the group have tried to give added value to those fans who buy the CD. The site even tells Macintosh users (who do not yet have access to the encryption technology employed by the site), that MP3 files of the group's songs are available for them.

Notes.

More background see last year's article. For recent figures try the excellent http://www.idson.com/html/index.php .
For a more detailed analysis see Larry Power's article on the subject at http://www.newmediamusic.com
Radiofreevirgin imposes a player but has some interesting downloadable music.
http://www.daftclub.com, For a more detailed account see Gabriel Sigrist's article at largeur.com.

Nigel BARNETT