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Politics : Moneymade's Champagne Room -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Carl Brehm who wrote (3099)	2/3/2006 8:15:06 PM
From: M0NEYMADE	Respond to of 4703

,,,,,,,Carl B. eagletech1.com go to press releases - "open letter"

To: Carl Brehm who wrote (3099)	2/20/2006 12:18:45 PM
From: M0NEYMADE	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4703

ALERT: LOUD .67 (The Sunday Times February 19, 2006 Tech giants like sound of digital firm Paul Durman MICROSOFT, Google and Amazon are potential bidders for Loudeye Corporation, the digital-music firm based on a business created by the rock star Peter Gabriel. The three technology giants are all keen to expand in digital music, and Loudeye could provide a springboard into the European market. Loudeye has access to millions of songs from record companies, large and small, and is the engine behind many European music websites, including MSN, Virgin Megastore, MTV and MyCokeMusic.com. It also handles back-office fulfilment functions for Apple’s iTunes, the dominant online music store. Loudeye, an American company, acquired Gabriel’s OD2 business just over 18 months ago, but the company has struggled badly. Mike Brochu, the Loudeye chief executive, said that he inherited “a shambles” and has recently announced a wide-ranging restructuring that has left the company largely focused on the original OD2 business, which is based in Bristol. With less than $12m (£6.9m) to support the loss-making business, Brochu is conducting a strategic review that is likely to lead to a sale. “Ideally, I would like to continue to build it,” he said. “That would be my wish. The pragmatic side of me says that if the right opportunity came along from a strategic buyer, my first responsibility is to the shareholders.” Brochu, who lives in Seattle, said he was not planning to move to Bristol. He added: “We’ve got a great catalogue (of music). We’ve done the bulk of the heavy lifting. We’ve got a huge advantage over any new entrant to the business. We’ve got a significant presence in the European market.” The potential for online music is growing as mobile phones become increasingly capable of acting as music players. Loudeye is already working with Nokia and O2 Germany. Loudeye’s problems have caused its market value to fall to only $77m, half what it was two years ago. The potential sale has generate a huge volume of trading in its shares.