04/15 21:09 FOCUS-IBM allies with Sony in online music effort
(New throughout, adds details, comment, background, byline) By Scott Hillis
LOS ANGELES, April 15 (Reuters) - IBM <IBM.N> and Sony Corp. <7964.T> on Thursday said they were teaming up in the race to deliver pirate-proof songs over the Internet and let consumers play that music on a portable device.
The announcement came two days after software giant Microsoft Corp. <MSFT.O> launched the test version of its new digital audio software and showed off a playback device made by Casio <6952.T>.
It also came on top of IBM's move earlier this week to enlist RealNetworks Inc., a pioneer of software to receive audio and video over the Internet, in a bid to grab a slice of the $40 billion-a-year music industry.
Under the partnership announced on Thursday, Sony would configure its upcoming line of digital devices to be able to play song files encoded using IBM's Electronic Music Management System (EMMS).
"IBM and Sony aim to enable artists and content providers to more fully take advantage of the enormous growth potential of the market for digitally distributed music content, while protecting the interests of rights holders," the companies said.
"This collaboration is also expected to benefit consumers by accelerating the introduction of an entirely new category of secure digital audio products that offer greater convenience and functionality," they said.
EMMS is one of several competing formats being developed in the computer industry to encrypt music and guard against unauthorized copying. Such systems also "compress", or squash, the music file to a smaller size so it can be delivered more easily over the Internet.
The most popular music encoding format, MP3, has alarmed the recording industry because MP3 files can be copied and distributed without paying royalties.
Such fears strike close to home with Sony which owns Sony Music and has been working on its own secure method of encoding music. IBM officials said the two firms were looking at the possibility of unifying their formats.
Joining the format fray, Microsoft on Tuesday unveiled the test version of its Media Player, which it said encoded songs in a way that made them twice as fast to download as MP3 files and sounded better than RealNetwork's popular RealPlayer.
Microsoft also showed off a new palm-sized computer made by Casio that runs its slimmed-down Windows CE operating platform, and features a full-color screen and can store up to 12 hours of CD-quality music.
Rick Selvage, general manager of IBM Global Media and Entertainment, played down any sense of one-upmanship in the rapid-fire pace of product launches and partnerships.
"It's quite interesting that it's come to fruition at the same time that Microsoft made their announcement, but it's more coincidence than anything," Selvage said.
While Microsoft and other companies have beaten IBM to the punch in rolling out software and consumer devices, none has the explicit backing of the recording industry.
Several major record labels are backing a six-month trial of IBM's EMMS in San Diego starting in June. Participants will be able to download a variety of popular music over high-speed lines and make their own CDs at home.
Major recording labels are seeking to work out a universal standard for online music delivery under a Secure Digital Music Initiative that is tapping dozens of software and hardware companies.
While IBM and Sony gave no dates for the roll-out of their digital music products, companies such as Diamond Multimedia <DIMD.O>, maker of the pager-sized "Rio" portable MP3 player, and MP3.com, a Web site that offers thousands of MP3 songs, have rushed to quench the growing thirst for Internet music.
"MP3 is the accepted format now and we are meeting consumer demand," said Gary Brotman, a spokesman for Creative Technologies Ltd. <CREA.SI>, which is launching its own playback gadget, the Nomad, in late May.
COPYRIGHT © 1999 REUTERS LIMITED. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
|
