By Jethro Mullen Last Update: 8:31 AM ET Aug 20, 2007
"PARIS (MarketWatch) -- Neuf Cegetel France's second largest broadband provider, said Monday it will offer subscribers a service allowing unlimited downloads from the music catalog of Universal Music, the world's largest record company. The move gives Neuf Cegetel a new edge in the hunt for customers in the French high-speed Internet market while offering Universal a fresh testing ground for ways to generate revenues from digital music."
My comment: this is not the first offering of this kind but certainly one of many new ones to come. It just makes tons of sense. However, I think the solution is not to do one-off's with a single label and a single ISP, like this, but to offer a LICENSE from ALL labels to ALL ISPs. After all, who just wants to listen to UMG's tracks and nothing else? Get out of your ivory towers and GIVE THE ISPS THE LICENSES THEY NEED.
"Starting this week, customers signed up for Neuf Cegetel's EUR29.90 per-month triple-play offer, which includes high-speed Internet, fixed-line telephony, and TV, will be able to download as many titles as they want from one of nine musical genres, such as pop or jazz, in Universal's digital catalog at no extra charge.
For an additional EUR4.99 monthly fee, subscribers will also have access to unlimited downloads from all nine genres, which comprise 150,000 songs and 3,000 video clips."
My comment: again, good thinking but not quite enough yet. A complete, no-friction bundle is what is needed. In media, Friction is now FICTION.
"It's clever," said John Davies, an analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort, "it gives you part of the offer and if you're a hardcore fan, you'll pay for full access... The new offer is another example of attempts by Universal, home to artists such as U2 and Eminem, to wring revenues from digital music in the face of widespread piracy. Universal said earlier this month it would test out the online sale of music without digital-rights management, or DRM, technology, for a limited time through artists' Web sites and several online music retailers. DRM technology, which is designed to prevent or limit the copying of music tracks, can also irritate consumers by restricting the type of device or number of computers they can use to listen to the songs."
My comment: now that is a great way of putting it: 'can also irritate consumers'. Made my day!
"The music files available through Neuf Cegetel's offer will have DRM protection. Customers will have to maintain their subscription to Neuf Cegetel in order to keep listening to the tracks. The music tracks will play on personal computers as well as some MP3 players and mobile phones."
My comment: yes yes yes... they love those walled gardens. To get the goodies you gotta stay INSIDE and live by OUR RULES. Well - it well take them a while to realize that everyone hates this idea, and they'll drop it to get more traction. Message from Gerd: you can have your cake AND eat it. You can't have full control AND new revenues. End of debate.
It's the EndofControl as we knew it. Watch for my new book on this subject. ETA... virtually soonest.
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