Another star of the P2P world, multimedia swappery Scour, went Chapter 11 after a similar full-court press from the RIAA and MPAA. But the power of its technology and brand proved more robust in bankruptcy than many of its “peers” still hanging on the Nasdaq (however anemically), as Scour became the subject of a bidding war for its assets. Listen.com, CenterSpan and Liquid Audio all went a-courtin' in court, and the little-known CenterSpan took home the prize. The company hopes to use the technology to augment its own in the service of offering "secure" peer-to-peer entertainment, and says its discussions withe major labels have thus far been fruitful. As a result, some e-pundits wonder if a Scoured CenterSpan could succeed where a Bertified Napster might not…
MP3.com emerged from the initial barrage of litigation over its My.MP3.com streaming service at year's end, agreeing to pay lawsuit holdout UMG a $53.4 million “judgment.” Both parties refused to call the payout a “settlement” to avoid the most-favored-nations clause in agreements with the other major-label plaintiffs, who initially settled for some $20 mil apiece. The slighted record companies promptly marched back into court. Will Michael Robertson's service, which lets users stream CDs they can prove they own from anywhere on the Web, be able to turn a profit after these disbursements—and with more lawsuits pending? Despite skepticism about his prospects (especially from his vociferous fellow netcos, like johnny-sue-lately EMusic.com), Robertson's resourcefulness in devising new revenue streams is not to be underestimated—witness his new pacts with WMG, announced on 12/21 (see story)…
Universal/Farmclub.com's streaming service conducted its beta test, which consisted only of UMG music despite promises of other label music to come. Will this plan hit a snag? Meanwhile, just as the beta phase neared completion, the service was clobbered with a lawsuit from publishers and songwriters…
The viability of Net radio and music Webcasting in general, meanwhile, is imperiled as the Copyright Office has declared special payments must be made to rights holders. Will the government step in to balance copyright interests with the public's right to online services? What about Hilary Rosen's revenue-collecting plans? What about the publishers?… RIP.COM: iCast, Riffage, SpinRecords.com and too many more to list… Happier Holidays! E-mail: [email protected]…Site Powered by |