Search Results for: no cure

Citing the powerful allure that Napster’s free service has had on millions of music fans, the head of MusicNet – a new music subscription joint venture backed by three of the world’s biggest record labels – sounded a note of cautious optimism Tuesday. “It’s still unproven that people will go from paying zero to a reliable but paid service,” said Rob Glaser, chief executive of media software giant RealNetworks Inc. and acting CEO of MusicNet. “I’m optimistic, but until it plays out in the marketplace, its not proven,” Glaser said, speaking at a Beverly Hills breakfast for entertainment executives and… Read more »

A group of researchers who foiled four different copyright protection technologies in a contest launched last year by the music industry is now being asked by the record companies to suppress its findings, one of the researchers said Tuesday. The research group – composed of students and professors from Princeton and Rice Universities and an employee of Xerox Palo Alto Research Center – had initially planned to present its findings Thursday at a Pittsburgh conference on information security but was then threatened with legal action by the forum, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI), a forum representing music and technology… Read more »

With the Hollywood-Washington war expected to be reignited today, Motion Picture Assn. of America prexy-CEO Jack Valenti on Monday warned lawmakers in no uncertain terms to back off. “May God save the First Amendment,” Valenti said during a keynote speech before the National Assn. of Broadcasters, which is meeting here for its annual confab. Valenti, like his counterparts in the music biz, was gearing up for the release this morning of a Federal Trade Commission report that will chart how well the entertainment biz has done in stopping the marketing of violent or suggestive fare to kids. The FTC reportedly… Read more »

Oh, what a week it was for music news. My head hurts just thinking about it. No, wait – that’s just my hangover. Twelve-time Brit Award winner and international chart topper Robbie Williams disclosed plans to release a version of “We Are the Champions,” recorded with the remaining members of Queen. Poor Freddie Mercury is pirouetting in his grave. Williams also told a British chat show he’s been wrestling with alcoholism off-and-on for the past four years. Let’s hope he sobers up for good before somebody convinces him to tackle “Radio Ga Ga.” Mariah Carey’s new deal with Virgin Records… Read more »

A leading developer and manufacturer of high-performance CD-related equipment has announced plans to include Liquid Audio Player Plus software in the company’s PlexWriter CD-R/RW drives, devices capable of burning personalized CD’s. Santa Clara, Calif., based Plextor Corp also announced that it will employ Liquid Audio’s Liquid Store to facilitate the secure distribution and sale of audio content on the Plextor Web site, giving Plextor users access to more than 150,000 digital downloads. The new hardware, to be introduced as the year unfolds, will allow users to stream, download, purchase and playback secure, CD-quality music files. The next-generation CD-R/RW devices the… Read more »

Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment have secured a massive distribution channel for their Duet subscription service, which is expected to launch this summer. Duet will be made available to visitors to the Yahoo! network and Yahoo!* Music web sites. According to Media Metrix, Yahoo! receives 185 million visitors per month worldwide. By comparison, Media Metrix estimates that Napster receives 16.9 monthly site visitors. The on-demand Duet subscription service will offer consumers the ability to compile personalized playlists and to share them with other Duet members still while respecting artists’ rights. The service will provide users with the ability… Read more »

Gerald Kearby, president and chief executive officer for Liquid Audio, testified today before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Online Entertainment and Copyright Law. The hearing, which will take place in Washington, D.C., has been called by Committee Chairman Orin Hatch to discuss issues involving the online distribution of copyrighted materials. Throughout his testimony, Kearby pointed to the need for companies in converging industries to partner together to create viable digital distribution technologies that also protect rights holders. “Over the last several months I have been dismayed and frustrated by the extraordinary traction in the marketplace and public attention awarded… Read more »

RioPort.com and the MTVi Group have announced that they will offer paid music downloads from all five major music labels on Radio MTV.com and VH1atWork Radio beginning this month. Leveraging RioPort’s PulseOne Media Service, Radio MTV.com, (which officially launches today) and VH1atWork Radio will be the first online destinations to link Internet radio with commercial downloads for consumer use. Through its partnership with RioPort, Radio MTV and VH1atWork Radio, both of which are DMCA-compliant, will be the first Internet radio destinations to offer listeners a blend of streaming and downloadable music in addition to providing features that allow consumers to… Read more »

Not many can pretend to know what it’s like in Eminem’s head Ö but a Michigan man has moved into the rap superstar’s old house. What’s it like? Well Ö “We’ve had it for five weeks, and we’re still cleaning,” Darren Martens tells the Detroit News of his new Sterling Heights home. In addition, Martens, who bought the home last month for $475,000, is not keen on the rapper’s sense of design. He’s ripped out the bright purple carpeting the rapper and his soon-to-be-ex-wife, Kim Mathers, put in, and he’s slowly working to add some consistency to the interior –… Read more »

Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has chosen to celebrate its rebel heroes with a black-tie dinner at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, the anarchic spirit of the form still permeated the air as the class of 2001 was inducted Monday night. There was presenter Keith Richards, beautifully rambling in tongues, the way all rock gods should, as he inducted Burton and Johnson. There was inductee Burke, looking like a sultan pimp in a sparkling burgundy suit and fur-trimmed cloak. There was Kid Rock diving headlong into Aerosmith’s past excesses as he inducted the band, joking of their 1977… Read more »