More music sites loom
You think we’re already awash in a flood of totally useless corporate online music sites? Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet, in the words of the immortal bards BTO.
A service aimed giving "other companies" the means to set up off-the-shelf online music stores such as Apple’s iTunes will probably be announced today, says CNET News here.
"Under the program, Loudeye will work with Microsoft to handle the infrastructure and distribution for online music services branded by other companies looking to sell songs online or to enter the digital media business in some other way," says the report.
"Early customers of the service include AT&T Wireless and Gibson Audio, a division of Gibson Guitars."
P2p online music sharing gives people a chance to get hold of music they really want. And buyers would probably flock to sites that didn’t expect them to pay through the nose and sign their lives away for the privilege. But music sites owned by members of the international corporate music community do little more than keep their names up there in lights.
And that’s what it’s all about: providing good, affordable music doesn’t enter the equation.
Certainly, music buyers aren’t exactly falling over themselves to pay around 99 cents a pop for tracks, and the sites themselves look and function exactly like, well, sites owned by members of the international corporate community to do little more than keep their names up there in lights.
"The problem for companies that want to launch a digital media service with their own brand is that it’s very expensive,"
In fact, Cavins says Loudeye is, "looking for customers who are interested in digital music distribution as a promotional tool for another product or service," according to CNET.
"There are a lot of companies that are not your usual suspects that will pay to have services that will drive cross promotion," Cavins said. "What it comes down to is that there are companies that are learning that using digital media is a good way to cement a brand."
Rumours that Wonder Bra is soon to launch a site have already been discounted.
In the meanwhile, if the name Loudeye seems familiar, here’s why, as Cynthia L. Webb writes in the Washington Post here:
"The company was in the news recently when an attempt by MIT students to pipe music over the university’s analog cable system to students to legally satisfy the campus’s appetite for online music downloads ran into snags. The project relied on songs licensed through Loudeye’s service.
"After the university and Loudeye announced their partnership, it appeared that Loudeye hadn’t finalized agreements with the music labels. As a result, the MIT program was temporarily suspended in October and has not gone live again."
