Digital-Lifestyles

Distribution

The new digital ways content was becoming distributed

  • iTunes and Sony Connect Launched This Month; Napster UK High Pricing Explained

    Although Apple is yet to make an official statement, many sources believe the European version of their iTunes music store will launch in the middle of June. Although Euro iTunes is expected to be more expensive than its American cousin, the price difference is not expected to be as dramatic as the one demonstrated between US and UK Napster.

    Sony has just completed deals with European independent labels, adding another 75,000 tracks to its catalogue. The Connect store uses Sony’s SonicStage software to protect the ATRAC-encoded tracks, and does not serve MP3s. On future developments, Sony US lead Howard Stringer hinted that Connect might feature video content too – which, considering Sony’s huge range of capable hardware, is probably a very smart idea.

    We’re grateful to Napster UK for getting back to us on our query regarding the remarkable disparity in pricing between its US, CA and UK stores. The reason? Greedy labels. Adam Howorth, Communications director at Napter UK told us: “it’s simply down to the higher wholesale price we get from the record companies in the UK. If they would reduce their prices, so would we.”

    Connect Europe

    iTunes

    Napster UK

  • Broadband is Killing Television

    A survey from Wanadoo has revealed that people’s TV viewing and Internet habits are changing as broadband becomes more popular.

    The Fishbowl 2 survey asked 1000 people to keep a diary of their media use over a two week period.

    Broadband subscribers spend 45% more time online than narrowband users, and cite entertainment as their use after 6pm – making the Internet the second most popular media in the prime time slot. Broadband users also claimed that the Internet was the only medium that satisfied all of their media needs (i.e. news, music, information, entertainment etc.) all at one time.

    Key findings from Fishbow 2:

    • TV has declined by 12% (almost 3 hours) in viewing time
    • Broadband users take a higher share of media time at 16%, compared to average Internet share at 12%
    • Broadband users spend 11% less time watching TV than Narrowband users, and 45% more time online
    • This equates to 2.1 hours less time watching TV per week, but 2.1 hours more time online – indicating Broadband’s direct cannibalisation of TV consumption
    • After 6pm weekdays and 2pm weekends, the Internet is the number 2 medium behind TV for all demographic groups
    • TV cannibalisation is occurring at the above times for Broadband users. Weekday evening for example, Narrowband Internet share is 10% and 77% for TV; Broadband Internet share grows to 18% but is only 68% for TV
    • Needs fulfilled online are changing from ‘traditional’ Internet needs. Searching specific information and communication has decreased as a need fulfilled online whereas entertainment is growing
    • Entertainment is the top need fulfilled online after 6pm, as with TV
    • The Internet is the number 2 “prime time” entertainment medium, with Broadband eroding time spent watching TV

    Wanadoo on the report

  • pro-music.org: 100 Music Stores and Climbing

    With over a 100 online stores and more to come, the music download business is certainly booming. It seems that everyone has one – from Oxfam to Coca Cola.

    To celebrate it’s first birthday, pro-music.org has published a directory of the legal music download sites and stores on the web today, and it demonstrates just how the industry has grown in just a year.

    Twelve months ago, when pro-music.org launched, there were 20 sites, with an catalogue of about 200,000 tracks. Now that number is over a hundred, and the major sites have catalogues of more than 500,000 tracks – as more and more distribution deals are made, that particular number will rise dramatically.

    pro-music.org has launched sister sites in Germany, France and Italy to reach internet users around the world.

    Jay Berman, Chairman and CEO of the IFPI said in a statement: “Pro-music has achieved over twelve months what its founding alliance partners intended it to be – a successful international educational campaign about online music. Pro-music is supported across the music sector, has attracted tens of thousands of visitors and rolled out in national versions in French, German and Italian. The site spells out in clear and simple terms the legal and copyright concerns around online music. It explains the fight against internet piracy. And, above all, it has tracked the surge of new legitimate services that have come on stream in the last year. Pro-music has a vital role to play in improving awareness in this area, and there seems no doubt that the second year of the campaign will be even more important than the first.”

    pro-music.org

  • Napster Canada Launches

    Racing out music stores globally to get in ahead of iTunes, Napster have launched their Canadian service. It’s exactly the same as the others – with the small exception that it’s much cheaper than the UK store. Yet again.

    Tracks start at CAN$1.19 (€0.72) and the subscription is CAN$9.95 (€5.98), compared to the UK costs of UK£1.09 (€1.64) per track and UK£9.95 (€14.90) for a subscription.

    Confident pricing, eh? Yes, they have sales tax in Canada, it runs at about 14%, dependent on where you live – so VAT is not to blame.

    Since we can be fairly certain that Napster UK realise that their customers have access to the internet and can check prices and do conversions, I wonder what their thinking is with making the UK store twice as expensive as all the others?

    If anyone at Napster would care to email with an explanation, I’d be delighted to give them a voice here.

    Napster.ca

  • Japanese Consumers Protest at Broadcast Flag

    Japanese television viewers have begun complaining to broadcasters over the sudden removal of editing and copying freedoms they’re experiencing now that the country’s version of the broadcast flag has been rolled out on digital terrestrial and cable channels.

    NHK and and the National Association of Commercial Broadcasters launched the broadcast flag on 5 April, limiting viewers to a single copy of programmes carrying the signal. As programmes can only be copied once, no editing can be performed either. Within a week NHK and other broadcasters had received 15,000 complaints and enquiries.

    This move also means that Japanese consumers will not be able to remove adverts from programmes they have recorded for archiving, or make a backup in case an offline recording is destroyed.

    Furthermore, viewers have to insert a user identification card, B-CAS (from the company who manufactures them, BS Conditional Access Systems), into their digital televisions in order to watch broadcasts.

    It’ll be interesting to see the scale of protest when America’s broadcast flag system rolls out in just over a year and a month – whilst not requiring an ID card to access broadcasts, the flag will tell all new television sets what can and can’t be done to a signal – right down to preventing any copying whatsoever.

    Japan Times coverage

    Slashdot debates the issue

  • Oxfam Launches pan-European Music Service Today

    Oxfam have launch their own OD2-backed music service, Big Noise Music, on 26th May. Instead of scratched vinyl records of ELO’s Out of the Blue, the charity hopes to lure customers with 300,000 pristine tracks. How they’re going to recreate the musty charity shop smell and the insane elderly volunteer staff is anyone’s guess.

    Tracks cost the usual UK£0.75 to UK£0.99 (€1.12 to €1.48), with UK£0.10 (€0.15) from each going to Oxfam’s good causes. The site is pan-Europe, but the genius move is that all the prices are in Sterling.

    Adrian Lovett, Oxfam’s Director of Campaigns and Communications said in a statement, “Bignoisemusic.com works for everyone. Music lovers get great tracks and artists see their music helping some of the poorest people in the world, through real cash support and by building the worldwide movement to Make Trade Fair.”

    The site has received plenty of endorsements from stars, featuring exclusive tracks from George Michael and Coldplay.

    Big Noise Music

  • OECD Urges Governments to Drive Broadband Growth

    A new OECD report urges governments to use competition rather than subsidies to promote the growth of broadband in remote areas. Subsidising national operators to roll out broadband in these areas reduces competition and innovation, and may mean that subscribers get stuck with an expensive, yet poor quality, service.

    The OECD report, The Development of Broadband Access in Rural and Remote Areas, claims that the arrival of new start-up companies offering wireless broadband at low prices is causing established telecoms companies to speed up their broadband delivery process and cut prices. Indeed, this has already been seen in the UK to an extent, with BT’s suddenly rapid exchange upgrades and dramatic cuts to broadband subscriptions and local loop unbundling.

    The number of broadband subscribers in OECD countries is expected to reach 100 million by Q3 2004, up from 82 million at the end of 2004 and 56 million at the end of 2003. Broadband penetration now extends to 75% of OECD household, with 1 in 4 already enjoying a service.

    However, the report details that availability will continue to vary widely for at least the next few years:

    • Over 90% of households in Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom can connect to broadband services. Other countries expected to join this group by the end of 2004 include Finland, France and Germany.
    • Countries with larger geographical areas such as Australia, Canada, and the United States are likely to have DSL coverage of between 80% and 90% over the next few years. In Canada and the US, broadband via cable modem already reaches 85% and 80% of households respectively.
    • A number of countries– such as the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, and Ireland – have only recently launched broadband services.

    The OECD report

  • BT and Microsoft Team Up to Offer Broadband in Scotland

    BT and Microsoft are trialling a new service in Scotland that offering software and broadband to small and medium-sized businesses. Connected And Complete is a package consisting of broadband installation, Microsoft Office Small Business Edition, twice yearly health checks, a help desk and tools for making a website.

    Jerry Thompson, BT’s head of business broadband, said: “There are well developed IT and financial services sectors in Scotland and we think they will be early adopters.”

    If successful, the service will be offered to businesses throughout the UK.

    BT are doing quite well out of broadband at the moment – year end results show a 30% jump in turnover for their new services, bringing in UK£3.4 billion (€5 billion) in revenue.

    Nice to see something nice being tried out in Scotland for a change, since other trial runs in the past have included nuclear waste, intercontinental ballistic missiles, the poll tax and Malcolm Rifkin.

    Microsoft on Connected And Complete

  • Napster Launches in the UK

    Napster 2.0 UK is live at last, just beating Apple to first over the line, though Apple might well have the last laugh. Napster finally has deals in place with all five major record labels, plus the Association of Independent Music and high street retailer Dixons.

    Dixons will be selling Napster-branded CD-Rs in their stores. Could someone please send a pack of those back through time to the RIAA and take a photograph of their faces? Thank you.

    Napster is currently offering 500,000 tracks to customers, but promises this will rise to 700,000 next month.

    The big surprise with Napster is the price: a track from Napster UK costs twice the price of the equivalent from the US iTunes Music Store. At a time when most music services are charging US$0.99 (€0.82, UK£0.55) for a track, Napster are charging non-subscribers a staggering UK£1.09 (€1.62) per track – the equivalent of charging US$1.94.

    Buying a subscription for UK£9.95 (€14.80) a month allows users to download tracks for UK£0.88, but this is still 62% more than the iTunes cost – without taking the subscription price into account. It looks like OD2’s sale was a good idea after all.

    A 7-day free trial of the Napster service is available from the link below.

    Napster UK

  • World’s First Combined Digital TV and Radio Chip

    Frontier Silicon, fabless manufacturer of semiconductors for digital TV/radio consumer products have started shipping its Logie integrated circuit. The Logie chip is the world’s first single chip DVB-T/DAB integrated circuit, and will be first used in an as yet unnamed Goodmans set-top box.

    Other than the Goodmans product, there aren’t any combined digital TV/radio units out there, and a chip like this will allow manufacturers to produce them easily and cheaply. If power consumption issues can be worked out, portable DVB-H/DAB devices in the near future could be a real possibility.

    Anthony Sethill, CEO of Frontier Silicon, commented in a statement, “Our Logie device enables set top box manufacturers to produce low cost boxes with considerable consumer appeal, including the reception of 24 digital TV channels and 50 or more digital radio (DAB) channels that are all free. There is no other combination DVB-T/DAB chip currently available in the market that can do this.”

    Frontier recently won the PricewaterhouseCoopers Hottest Technology Company of 2004 Award, and produce chips used in products from, amongst others, Grundig, Philips, Roberts and Sharp.

    Frontier Silicon

    Goodmans Digital