You can go ahead and stick a fork in it now.
CMGI's iCast introduces music, movie Web site
By Derek Caney
NEW YORK, Feb 29 (Reuters) - In its effort to build a better musical mousetrap, Internet venture company CMGI Inc. <CMGI.O> plans to launch on Tuesday its digital music Web site designed to be a combination of online music store and radio/video outlet.
The new Web site, called iCast (http://www.icast.com), will compete with retailers and Web broadcasters like CDnow <CDNW.O> and downloadable music sites like MP3.com Inc.<MPPP.O>, not to mention America Online Inc. <AOL.N> whose merger with Time Warner Inc. <TWX.N> creates a potential behemoth in the digital music world.
iCast sells songs and albums by established acts on major labels, which users can download onto their personal computer, a service that competes directly with such download sites as eMusic.com Inc. <EMUS.O>, Musicmaker.com <HITS.O>, CDnow, and eventually Amazon.com <AMZN.O>.
It will also allow aspiring artists to upload their own songs onto the Internet for other users to hear and download, a feature that competes with MP3.com. It also plans the broadcasting of concerts and radio shows over the Web.
iCast also plans to offer similar features to aspiring film makers, who can upload videos and movies onto the Web.
"We fundamentally designed iCast so that you could go from being a mouse potato that wants to hear the latest Britney Spears single to the most dynamic user possible which is one that wants to publish your own music, promote your own music, and become an online deejay," Margaret Hefferman, iCast's acting chief executive, told Reuters in an interview.
"We're working under the assumption that music lovers want music by major labels as well as music by independent labels and unsigned acts," she added. "We believe that they will want music whether it's through traditional CD formats or through digital downloading."
The company is gambling that its interactive features will garner enough eyeballs to reap advertising and direct marketing revenue.
To get those eyeballs, it will rely on its "iCaster," which is software that a user downloads that will function as a combination of a browser, a Webcasting outlet and an means of sending and receiving messages to other Internet users.
For its messaging function, it has inked a deal with privately-held Tribal Voice, which makes software that allows users to message one another using a variety of different protocols.
For example, using Tribal Voice's software, a user of America Online's "Instant Messenger" will be able to communicate with a user of the Microsoft Network's messaging program. This software will be combined within iCast's software.
"It's that connection that adds the value to our site," Hefferman said. The iCaster would also provide the option of creating profiles, which, in turn, opens the door to direct marketing possibilities.
Hefferman said the plan is to take the company public, although she would offer no timetable.
The company will start by making 10,000 downloads available through the MP3 format. It will also allow the music to be broadcast over the Web through Microsoft's Windows Media Player.
It plans to offer a stockpile of 30 short film features, plus one new short feature on a weekly basis.
Hefferman, a veteran of the British Broadcasting Corporation, assumed the duties of chief executive after Neil Braun, a former president of NBC television, left the company in November amid alleged tension with CMGI's CEO David Wetherall.
Consulting firm Forrester Research has forecast the market for downloadable music will grow to $1.1 billion in 2003 from $10 million in 1999. Part of that growth has been spurred by the advent of MP3 technology, which allows music to be downloaded without taking up large amounts of memory.
Hefferman would offer no specific revenue targets. "The crucial thing we'll look at is growing out members," she said. "Those are the people that we will be able to market to. The question remains if we will have to go out and buy traffic (through advertising and partnerships) or will traffic be generated by itself."
00:00 02-29-00 |
