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Technology Stocks : e.Digital Corporation(EDIG) - Embedded Digital Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob who wrote (3752)	5/7/1999 3:22:00 PM
From: Joe Copia	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 18366

Which Net music technology will win? By Beth Lipton Staff Writer, CNET News.com May 7, 1999, 8:35 a.m. PT news analysis With an ever-increasing number of big players entering the race to have their music download technology become a standard, the question now is which format will win. Many analysts agree that for the moment, MP3 has established itself as the de facto standard for downloading music, but the format is hated by many in the record industry because it allows for the easy distribution of illegal copies of copyright-protected music. Because of the industry's opposition to it, and because the technology itself is looked upon as somewhat outdated, some analysts and industry observers say MP3's heyday will be short-lived. And even with a standard format, delivering music via personal computers has a number of hurdles still to be worked out, some analysts say. Although most agree that online delivery of music is both viable and inevitable, and record and technology firms are racing to get out in front on developing formats and business models, it involves a change in consumer behavior that extends far beyond the shift from vinyl to CDs, for example. This week Seagrams' Universal Music Group became the latest player to enter the online music delivery format race, announcing a deal with InterTrust Technologies to offer a secure format. In addition, RealNetworks joined the music download fray this week, introducing a new digital music architecture and a new device for downloading music in MP3 (MPEG 1, Audio Layer 3) and other digital music formats. Those two players join a host of other companies that are preparing to launch or are already offering music download products, such as Liquid Audio, AT&T Labs' a2b Music, Sony, Microsoft, and IBM, among others. Many also are part of the Secure Digital Music Initiative, the Recording Industry Association of America's project that seeks to create a specification for secure music downloads that ostensibly could be part of any format.