DSNY - Got this from IR today:
Some of the media articles are just starting to come in from our recent
attendance at the New York World Music Expo.
This one is from PC World.com
pcworld.com
Coming Next: Ads with Your MP3s?
Destiny Media designs encrypted MP3 files you can share (briefly) for a
price.
by Marc Ferranti, IDG News Service
March 7, 2000, 11:44 a.m. PT
Destiny Media Technologies, distributor of MP3 technology, is offering a new
angle on the wildly successful music file format: a way for you to embellish
the files you download, and a way for distributors to protect and profit
from them.
The company's MPE (encrypted MP3) format lets online music distributors
bundle text and graphics along with the encoded music file. When you
download a MPE song, you'll see additional material, like related art and
marketing material, as well as music and production credits, according to
company executives. They described their technology at New York Music &
Internet Expo recently.
Related MPE technology, integrated into both the song file itself and on
back-end servers, lets online music distributors collect money from people
purchasing the songs, manage distribution rights, and track sales and
referrals.
Destiny officials acknowledge they face a number of big-name players in the
music distribution and digital rights management arena. But the Canadian
company believes it holds a trump card in MPE.
"MPE allows for what's being called 'viral marketing,' where one person who
loves a song can send the file via e-mail to friends, who can then play a
30-second sample, and if they like it, purchase it as well," says Ed Kolic,
chief operating officer for Destiny.
Try, Then Buy
When you download an MPE file, you get a package that includes the song
compressed in MP3 format, a player, and the right to play 30 seconds of the
song. If you then decide to buy the song, you click on a button on the
player and, using a credit card, make the purchase.
The format includes software that ties the song file to the unique
identifier on your hard disk drive and portable MP3 player, Destiny
officials say. You can send the file (and the related player) to friends,
who can repeat the process of previewing the song and possibly buying it.
On the money side, Destiny is setting up a payment scheme where all parties
on the music production, copyright, creation, and distribution end, as well
as Destiny itself, get a cut of each transaction. The company hopes to get
about 15 to 20 percent of each transaction.
However, Destiny has an uphill battle to fight against much bigger companies
such as Liquid Audio, Microsoft, and Intertrust Technologies. Even if
Destiny is among the first to market with a working solution, these other
companies are working on digital-rights software that offers similar
capabilities, says Dan O'Brien, an analyst with Forrester Research.
"They're going to have to convince potential partners to trust that they
have the ability to do the complicated rights management and transaction
tracking on the back end," O'Brien says, "and they're up against much bigger
players, some of whom already have commitments from major companies."
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Related Links
How It Works: MP3
Play That Funky Download Anywhere
Create Your Own MP3 Radio Station
Why Industry Sued MP3.com
External Links
Destiny Media Technologies
Liquid Audio
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