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Technology Stocks : MUSIC STOCKS: HIGH-TECH AND INTERNET- Winners and losers. -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rande Is who wrote (64)	6/2/1998 3:44:00 PM
From: Stang	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 179

Good post Rande: Breaking news: CDnow acquires Net custom CD firm Net music retailer CDnow today announced it has acquired SuperSonic Boom, a customized CD site. SuperSonic Boom will be incorporated into CDnow's operations, and CDnow will expand its marketing strategy to include the customized service, the firms said. Financial terms were not disclosed. news.com Stang

To: Rande Is who wrote (64)	6/15/1998 12:51:00 PM
From: Rande Is	Respond to of 179

Still doubting after all this news? ARTISTdirect to Develop Online Retail Center for Seminal Hard Rock Band Slayer ENCINO, Calif., June 15 /PRNewswire/ -- ARTISTdirect, the first music company to create artist-oriented retail environments on the World Wide Web, today announced an exclusive agreement to develop the online retail center for seminal hard rock band Slayer at slayerdirect.com. Under the multi-year agreement, ARTISTdirect will create a full-service online retail store featuring a wide range of Slayer memorabilia including apparel, lithographs, concert tickets, CDs, cassettes and books. In addition, the store will include "internet-only" items such as autographed posters and musical instruments. The site is being created with the full support and participation of Slayer and will coincide with the release of "Diabolus in Musica" - the band's first new LP in nearly four years. "The Internet has quickly become a very important component in the brand-building of musicians and musical genres," said Marc Geiger, co-founder and CEO of ARTISTdirect. "Slayer already has a tremendously loyal base of fans, and we believe this store will serve to increase their brand recognition and visibility among hard rock and heavy metal enthusiasts around the world." The development of this site by ARTISTdirect follows the September 1997 launch of Stonesbazaar.com, the official online retail center for the Rolling Stones' "Bridges to Babylon" tour. Developed and operated by ARTISTdirect, Stonesbazaar.com is projected to generate in excess of $1 million in sales during its first year of operation. The Rolling Stones site features more than 250 items including leather jackets, lithographs, original art from the band, rare merchandise and collectibles. Recently, ARTISTdirect announced a relationship with Ozzy Osbourne to develop online retail centers on behalf of the legendary heavy metal musician and his Ozzfest '98 rock festival ( ozzy.com ). "We are very excited that ARTISTdirect will be creating Slayer's online retail center," said Rick Sales, Slayer's manager. "Finally, the band's faithful following will have an official source for news and memorabilia that truly represents the spirit of the band and their music." Online commerce represents a largely untapped potential for musicians. For example, in 1997, $1.6 billion was spent online, a figure which is expected increase to $5.8 billion by the end of 1998, according to New York-based Jupiter Communications, an online analyst firm. According to the new Consumer Online Commerce Report from cyberdialogue/findsvp two-thirds of all online consumer purchases were made during visits to Web sites navigated directly from search engines or using URLs found in offline sources. The study also concludes that $4.2 billion in offline consumer goods and service sales were influenced by online information last year, versus $3.3 billion in online sales. About ARTISTdirect Founded by music industry innovators Don Muller and Marc Geiger, ARTISTdirect is a total music entertainment company designed to provide a direct connection between music artists and global consumers. ARTISTdirect is comprised of three synergistic music businesses: Talent Agency, Record Label and New Media company. ARTISTdirect is building a high-profile artist roster, a collection of music recordings and a new media portfolio including the premier Internet music resource, The Ultimate Band List ( ubl.com ), and a growing system of artist Web sites designed to facilitate direct sales of music products online. SOURCE ARTISTdirect CO: ARTISTdirect ST: California IN: ENT CPR SU: PDT 06/15/98 12:38 EDT prnewswire.com

To: Rande Is who wrote (64)	2/9/2003 8:53:02 AM
From: Rande Is	Respond to of 179

Here is what I wrote in an open letter here to record executives nearly 5 years ago: Warning: Do not underestimate the power of boutique sales and grassroots direct retailing via the internet. Don't be caught unexpecting. That would hurt the industry at large. My suggestion, is for record companies to make plans now using the internet and band web-sites as a marketing medium. And I would further suggest increasing the points paid to artists for these sales that cost less per sale made. Keep your artists happy, they now have an alternative. I went to those I knew in the business to warn them, but it was no use. Back then, things could have been done to better prepare for the inevitable. But it was wasted on deaf ears. In 1998, the record industry could simply not conceive of its own demise. Message 4671437