Here we go with the music.
Mark
NEW YORK, Apr 10, 2000 (ENTERTAINMENT WIRE) -- Sony Music Entertainment (SME)
announced today that it will debut commercial downloads of singles starting late
April. Consumers will be able to select and purchase the tracks they choose from
retail websites through Alliance Entertainment, Hastings Entertainment
(Nasdaq:HAST); and Tower Records. Over 50 popular hit songs such as Mary Chapin
Carpenter's "Almost Home" (Columbia Nashville), Elvis Crespo's "Suavamente"
(Sony Discos), Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (Epic/550 Music),
Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything" (Columbia), Jennifer Lopez's "Waiting
for Tonight" (WORK), Shawn Mullin's "Lullaby" (Columbia) and Pearl Jam's
"Animal" (Epic) will be offered in the roll out.
"We planned to make retail an integral part of our digital distribution efforts
right from the start, and we are pleased that Alliance Entertainment, Hastings
Entertainment, and Tower Records will be working with Sony Music to introduce
our secure commercial downloads," remarked Danny Yarbrough, chairman, Sony Music
Distribution. "This is an easy and attractive way for retailers to add value for
their online customers. We are currently in discussions with a number of
additional retailers, and we will add additional partners on an ongoing basis."
The songs, which will be formatted for playback on the Microsoft Windows Media
Player with an ATRAC3 plug-in, can then be transferred from the user's hard
drive to compatible SDMI-compliant portable devices currently on the market.
Reciprocal, which worked with SME to design the system, will provide the digital
rights management, clearinghouse and transaction services. SME plans to expand
the system in the near future to offer additional secure formats which will be
compatible with SDMI-compliant devices expected to be available later this
spring.
"We have always stated that Sony Music would begin sales of secure digital
downloads once SDMI-compliant devices came into the U.S. marketplace," says Al
Smith, senior vice president, Sony Music Entertainment. "We are now able, in
conjunction with retail, to offer consumers access to songs from our labels'
leading artists which they can purchase and playback on these new portable
devices."
In the system, consumers will be able to place digital singles for download in a
"shopping cart" with other online retail purchases. At checkout, a pop-up window
will appear for the consumer to enter their information. After completing the
transaction, the encrypted digital song files will be transferred to the
consumer's computer. The system will also help the consumer download the player
and the plug-in, if required. The user can then play the song on their computer
and transfer it to an SDMI-compliant portable device. At launch, the system will
be available only to customers inside the U.S. and its territories.
Note to editors: A demonstration of the Sony Music digital download system is
available online www.sonymusic.com/downloaddemo until 7:00pm EST/4:00pm PST on
April 10. |
