LOUD news. Mon December 15, 2003 02:12 AM ET
By Chris Marlowe
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Digital media company Loudeye, working with Microsoft, is expected Monday to announce new digital music solutions that enable companies to have a music store or Internet radio service under their own brand.
Loudeye's first two customers for this are AT&T Wireless and Gibson Audio, the recently established consumer electronics division of Gibson Guitar Corp.
The idea behind the partnership is for any company to have its own digital music offering quickly, legally and with significantly reduced upfront investment, according to Loudeye president and CEO Jeff Cavins. The products are based on Microsoft's Windows Media 9 Series platform with its integrated Windows Media Digital Rights Management.
"There are more outlets for digital music than just the Web store," Cavins said. "These are unique, incremental channels for the labels and artists that they had not contemplated."
AT&T Wireless plans to create its online music store as part of that company's mMode service. In what AT&T Wireless said was a first, all sufficiently advanced phones will be able to sample and buy entire songs and ring tones beginning early next year.
"As technologies advance and converge, the wireless phone will become the next major platform for music content delivery, and AT&T Wireless will be at the forefront this transformation," said John Bunyan, senior vp consumer data offers at AT&T Wireless.
Cavins added that using the existing billing relationship removed a barrier to consumer purchasing, especially for younger people, who might not have a credit card.
Gibson Audio is using Loudeye's new offerings in conjunction with its first consumer electronic product, the Wurltizer Digital Jukebox. This new device, which can store the equivalent of 1,000 CDs in Windows Media format, gives its users 100 channels of digital radio as well as a download store, both powered by Loudeye. Listeners control the music from a wireless touch-screen remote designed to fit Gibson's user-friendly philosophy. It will be unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show next month.
Gibson Audio president Kris Carter said the jukebox is "simple, easy and fun to interact with, something a normal person could use."
The unit's hand-held touch-screen remote can display color album cover art and other information, whether a download or the consumer's own CD is playing because it is powered by Loudeye. It also has many options for organizing and burning a music collection. Retail pricing has not yet been determined, but it is expected to sell for well less than $2,000.
"Digital music in the home is wide open and undefined," Carter said. "We think it's an incredible opportunity."
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter |
