LOOKS LIKE THE MADISON PROJECT WAS A SUCCESS!
Wednesday February 2, 6:11 am Eastern Time
Company Press
Release
Five Major Music
Companies and IBM Successfully
Complete Electronic Music
Distribution Trial
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2000--Five major music
companies -- BMG Entertainment, EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment,
Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group -- and IBM announced
today the successful completion of their six-month electronic music
distribution trial called AlbumDirect(TM). The AlbumDirect trial was the
first-ever market trial of an end-to-end digital music delivery system that
offers a rich set of security features for fast and convenient distribution of
CD-quality music -- full-length albums and singles as well as album artwork
and liner notes -- to consumers over the Internet. The AlbumDirect trial
remains the most comprehensive initiative of its kind to date.
IBM and the five music companies achieved their primary research goals
during the trial. The AlbumDirect trial emulated the consumer experience of a
retail store in an online environment. The trial validated the security features
and viability of the technology, demonstrated high ease of use and overall
positive consumer experience, and generated a wealth of technical and
consumer research findings to assist the participating companies in making
decisions regarding the commercial roll-out of electronic music distribution.
The AlbumDirect trial began in June 1999 and continued through December
1999, and follow-up research extended through mid-January 2000.
Approximately 1,000 households subscribing to Road Runner cable modem
service in the San Diego area took part in the trial. Participation levels were
high, with more than 95 percent of participants remaining involved throughout
the trial period. Approximately 100 additional households in Portland, Maine,
joined the trial during October to evaluate music delivery via connectivity that
partially relied upon open Internet distribution.
During the course of the trial, AlbumDirect participants successfully executed
nearly 4,000 downloads comprising more than 50,000 music tracks. By the
conclusion of the trial, participants had access to a selection of more than
1,000 different albums and more than 200 singles from both current and
catalogue titles.
The trial was conducted using IBM's Electronic Music Management System
(EMMS), a comprehensive digital rights management and electronic media
delivery system. EMMS's end-to-end offerings were used in the AlbumDirect
trial to prepare, host and distribute music content over the Internet. In
addition, EMMS's clearinghouse capability protected against unauthorized
copying and use of music content by allowing content owners to specify
consumer usage parameters and providing transaction reporting for financial
clearing. The clearinghouse function is similar in concept to that used by
major banks to assure that financial transactions are authorized. Trial
participants also used the EMMS client software for music playback.
Specific data about the AlbumDirect trial's consumer experience will not be
released due to the proprietary nature of the research conducted. With the
AlbumDirect trial concluded, individual participating companies may choose
to comment on their respective plans for digital distribution.
AlbumDirect(TM) Trial Fact Sheet
Overview: First-ever market trial of an end-to-end digital music
delivery system that offers a rich set of security features for
fast and convenient distribution of CD-quality music to consumers
over the Internet.
Purpose: To gather proprietary research about the consumer experience
of purchasing and receiving music online and test the integrity
of IBM's digital rights management system in downloading music
from the Internet
Sponsoring Companies: BMG Entertainment, EMI Music, IBM, Sony Music
Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group
Duration: Six-month trial, from June 29 to Dec. 15, 1999
Participants: Approximately 1,000 households in the San Diego area and
100 households in Portland, Maine, selected from among the local
subscribers to Road Runner high-speed cable modem service
Trial Format: Participants downloaded rights-protected music onto
their personal computers from AlbumDirect, a closed-end, online
retail store established specifically for this test. The
downloaded music could then be transferred to a CD recording
device, which was the recordable digital medium complying with
the trial's copy control policies that trial sponsors decided to
use for the test.
Music Offering: Participants had access to a selection of more than
1,000 albums and more than 200 singles from both current and
catalogue titles. Participants also were able to download and
print artwork and liner notes for each release. During the trial,
participants successfully executed approximately 4,000 downloads
comprising more than 50,000 music tracks.
Broadband Connection: The Road Runner system is a 750 MHz, two-way,
hybrid fiber/coaxial cable network offering Internet access at
speeds up to 100 times greater than the speeds of residential
telephone lines. Trial participants used standard Internet
protocols to access the AlbumDirect electronic music store to
purchase music and to receive electronic content from the content
host.
Evaluation: Sponsoring companies achieved their primary research
goals. The AlbumDirect trial emulated the consumer experience of
a retail store in an online environment, validated the security
features and viability of the technology, demonstrated high ease
of use and overall positive consumer experience, and generated a
wealth of technical and consumer research findings to assist the
participating companies in making decisions regarding the
commercial roll-out of electronic music distribution efforts.
AlbumDirect(TM) Trial
Technical Fact Sheet
Digital Rights Management System:
IBM's Electronic Music Management System (EMMS) is the digital rights
management (DRM) system used in the AlbumDirect trial. EMMS's
end-to-end offerings specify how creative works are prepared, distributed over
open networks, licensed to consumer devices in both connected and
disconnected environments, and protected against unauthorized copying or
use.
EMMS Elements:
Content Preparation: The five music companies participating in the
AlbumDirect trial -- BMG Entertainment, EMI Music, Sony Music
Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group -- used
the EMMS Content Preparation Application at their mastering studios to
prepare music and promotional materials to be used in the trial. Music
companies were able to specify content usage conditions such as, but not
limited to, the number of copies permitted for download, availability
dates and usage periods, ability to offer custom compilation, and content
compression rates. In addition, EMMS's encryption and secure container
technology protected the digital content against unauthorized
interception or modification as it was transferred over open networks to
the content hosting facility and, ultimately, to the consumer.
Content Hosting: Encrypted albums and songs were then stored at an
EMMS content hosting facility at the Road Runner headend facility in
San Diego. The content host was connected to the Road Runner
infrastructure using standard Internet protocols and served content to test
participants in both San Diego and Portland, Maine. As the content host
was located in San Diego, participants in Portland were added to
evaluate music delivery via connectivity that partially relied upon open
Internet distribution.
Clearinghouse: The EMMS Clearinghouse provided a trusted custodian
for rights management, transaction reporting for royalty payment, and
financial clearing. As each consumer transaction was authorized by the
Clearinghouse, appropriate information was sent to the consumer to
unlock the downloaded music.
Retail Software: An EMMS Electronic Music Store Application enabled
the AlbumDirect on-line store to use the promotional secure containers
created in the mastering process and build its own retail offering based
on rights granted by the content owners. The EMMS application also
provided a customer service function, enabling the store to track the
electronic content transactions
Client Software: The AlbumDirect player allowed the consumer to
download music, manage the acquired music library, control the
permitted interaction with CD-R devices, and listen to the music in a
secure environment. Participants could download both singles and
albums, print cover art and liner notes, and link to artist-related Web
sites for which the URLs were transferred during a download as part of
the metadata that describes each album/song. |
