THE BIGGER BOYS aren't going to let Apple's Steve Jobs have everything his own way, it has emerged. The LA Times reports today that Microsoft is already showing off its answer to Apple's iTunes (MiTunes?) to a number of record industry executives.
And the desperation derby of selling online music has many more runners and riders, the same newspaper reports. Those include Amazon, Yahoo, AWOL Time Warner CNN and Viacom, the paper said.
View: The full story
News source: The Inq
And the desperation derby of selling online music has many more runners and riders, the same newspaper reports. Those include Amazon, Yahoo, AWOL Time Warner CNN and Viacom, the paper said.
View: The full story News source: The Inq
Your Microsoft Corporation Employee Agreement
Dear Mr. Rao:
I represent Microsoft Corporation. You have recently announced that your company, Esiod Systems, plans to release a product called Schnazzle on June 10, 2003. Based on the published description of the Schnazzle product, Microsoft believes that the product is competitive with Microsoft products you developed and/or obtained confidential information about during your tenure as a Microsoft employee. As such, your creation and announced release of Schnazzle is in direct violation of the promises made to Microsoft in the Employee Agreement you executed on September 17. 2001. (A copy of this Agreement is enclosed for your review.)
Paragraph 10 of that Employee Agreement provides in relevant part as follows:
While employed by MICROSOFT and for a period of one year thereafter, I will not (a) engage in any competitive activities or accept employment by or agree to provide services to any person or entity that engages in competitive activities (“competitive activities” meaning the development, production or provision of any product, service, technology, product feature or project that is or is intended to be competitive with one or more products, services, technologies, product features or projects, including actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, on which I worked or about which I learned confidential or proprietary information or trade secrets while employed at MICROSOFT or a MICROSOFT subsidiary) . . .
As you know, prior to your termination from Microsoft, you were instrumental in the development of the Fjord Media Service project and associated media server technologies. In addition you had access to and worked with the source code to Windows, and were familiar with the development and various features associated with the planned update of Windows known as Longhorn – including the Sidebar client features developed as part of Longhorn. The Schnazzle product appears to use media server technology that is very similar to Fjord, and a client that is similar to Sidebar. As such, there is little doubt that your product is in competition with “one or more products, services, technologies, product features or projects, including actual or demonstrably anticipated research and development, on which [you] worked or about which [you] learned confidential or proprietary information . . .” You are in direct violation of your contractual promise to Microsoft, and the only question that remains is whether you have used Microsoft confidential or proprietary information in the development of Schnazzle. To the extent you have done so, you are also likely in violation of both civil and criminal statues protecting such information.
Microsoft also fears that you developed the Schnazzle product in cooperation with another former Microsoft employee – Caleb Doise. As you know, Mr. Doise is bound by the same non-competition agreement that you are and the same civil and criminal statutes would be applicable to his conduct. To the extent Mr. Doise has assisted in this project, both you and he may also be liable to Microsoft for such involvement. If Mr. Doise is involved with Esiod and/or the development of Schnazzle, then we ask that you share this letter with him.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that Microsoft fully intends to enforce its legal rights, and expects you to honor the promises made in the Employee Agreement. Microsoft plans to bring a lawsuit seeking, amongst other things, a temporary restraining order that would prohibit you from releasing Schnazzle and from any future violation of the Employee Agreement. Such a motion will be brought in the Ex Parte Department of the King County Superior Court at 2:00 P.M. on Monday, June 9, 2003. In order to avoid such action, you will need to do the following by 12:00 P.M. on Monday, June 9, 2003:
(1) Contact me (at the above) number or XXXX XXXXat Microsoft Law and Corporate Affairs XXXXXXXXXX
(2) Provide Microsoft a copy of the Schnazzle source code for review; and
(3) Agree to the indefinite delay of the release of Schnazzle or any related product while this matter is under review.
I'll personally be spending my money with Apple iTunes when it hits the PC at the end of the year
Internet Giants Plan Music Services
By Jeff Leeds and Jon Healey, Times Staff Writers
Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL and others may follow Apple's lead by offering downloads a la carte.
Some of the Internet's biggest names are looking to take a bite out of Apple Computer Inc.'s novel online music venture.
Microsoft Corp., Yahoo Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and AOL Time Warner Inc.'s America Online unit are among the companies expected to launch services to compete with Apple's 6-week-old iTunes store, which charges 99 cents to download a song onto a personal computer. Viacom Inc.'s MTV, another popular Web destination, is also exploring a download venture, according to sources.
The arrival of these Internet heavyweights marks a dramatic shift for the five major record companies. For more than a year, they have unsuccessfully tried to thwart widespread piracy by drawing fans to their own Web music services. Now they are placing their hopes in established Internet companies with their built-in audience of tens of millions.
Music executives hope the new players will help the industry reverse its sales slump.
"I think the whole thing is a revolution," said Doug Morris, chairman of Vivendi Universal's music operation, the world's largest. "Yahoo has an enormous number of people coming through all the time. Amazon sells a ton of content. MTV certainly is an enormous bull's-eye for people who like music. This is an amazing moment."
Executives tracking the next generation of online music stores warn that obstacles remain, including potentially tough talks with the record companies over the licensing terms of songs.
Apple was given unusual latitude by the labels after providing assurances that its software would prevent wholesale copying of downloaded music. What's more, the Internet companies and recording labels must convince skeptical top-selling artists that they will be fairly paid for allowing the new services to offer their music.
If the complexities can be overcome, industry sources predict that new music services could be online by the winter holidays, when the labels traditionally release albums by their biggest stars, which would provide a boost to fledgling services.
The possible foray by major Internet players into online music downloads is testimony to the vision of Apple chief Steve Jobs, who debuted his music service April 28. But it also signals that the Cupertino, Calif.-based computer company's early lead may be short-lived.
Executives say Apple's hot start — it sold 1 million tracks in the first week, and now averages about 500,000 — showed potential competitors that online music can draw paying customers, who might open their wallets for more than just 99-cent songs.
"There's an opportunity for them to drive the sale of other products that are important to them," said Andrew Lack, chairman of Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment. As an example, he cited Apple's sale of iPods, the portable digital music players that can store thousands of songs.
Some Internet executives wonder whether Apple's iTunes store generates more profits by promoting the company's computers and portable music players than by selling songs.
"It shows that there's consumer demand, and it shows they've built a great product, which they did," said David Goldberg, vice president and general manager of music for Yahoo. "But what is the business model? I think we still have to figure that out."
Apple's quick success in the music business has underscored the lack of appeal of online services created by the record companies.
Sony Music and rival Universal launched the Pressplay subscription-music service late in 2001, before selling the money-losing operation to online firm Roxio Inc., which plans to re-launch the service under a better-known brand name: Napster. Warner Music Group, EMI Group and Bertelsmann similarly rolled out the MusicNet wholesale service with partner RealNetworks Inc. MusicNet, which also has struggled, is distributed primarily by America Online.
"They didn't have the size and scope and ability to execute that a Microsoft and an Amazon will bring to the equation," Lack said.
MusicNet and Pressplay place strict limits on their downloadable tunes. So far, songs that can be permanently owned are available only in packs and only to subscribers.
Music executives say Apple's early success suggests that fans prefer systems that allow purchases of songs a la carte.
Microsoft has recently shown its version of a downloadable music store to executives at several record companies. Sources said Microsoft plans to give consumers more music-related information to guide their purchases than the iTunes Music Store does, and that its store might be accessible via Xbox game consoles as well as computers. Microsoft officials declined to comment.
Bill Wilson, general manager of AOL Music, said his company plans to launch a store "along the lines of what Apple has done" by the end of the year. He said the AOL Time Warner-owned Web service, which has 26 million subscribers, would integrate the sale of downloadable songs into the full range of music-related activities on the service.
America Online became interested in selling downloadable music long before it added the MusicNet subscription service in February. It did a test run with downloads last year, offering about 20 songs for 99 cents each. Five of those songs sold so well, Wilson said, they would have been ranked in the top 25 by Nielsen SoundScan, the company that tracks most retailers' music sales.
The test songs were all in the MP3 format, which the major labels don't support because it can be copied freely. The new store will offer songs in the copy-protected formats that the labels prefer, but buyers will be able to burn them to CDs and transfer them to portable devices in a similar fashion to the songs at Apple's store, Wilson said.
Apple's Music Store is built into software that runs only on certain Macintosh computers. The company has said that it plans to develop a version for Windows PCs by the end of 2003.
The record labels forced Apple to slap some restrictions on the Music Store's songs — for example, they can't be transferred to more than two other computers, and the same group of songs can be recorded onto a CD only 10 times.
Still, that's more flexibility than the record labels had previously granted for downloadable songs, and it boosted the Music Store's appeal among Macintosh computer users. Senior music executives suggest the arrival of bigger Internet companies might speed the transition into the era of digital distribution.
"What we've got now are the biggest minds in the business working on digital music sales and solutions," Sony's Lack said. "That is going to increasingly be the lead story in the digital world."
for those who are sayting MS are copying Apple, go and find out who apple are copying
Nope they just listened. No innovation the idea was already there, although Apple should get props for being first, they shouldn't be considered innovators because this is a basic concept.
If microsoft is smart they will link DRM music to our .net passports so we can put the music on multiple comps that we own.
people that want to legaly own music will be ok with the DRM, but people that frequently download music illegaly won't because they don't want to pay. They are the ones, in almost all cases the only ones that hate DRM and would refuse to buy secure music.
DRM hurts only the legal users that want to copy to their music players and such. those who pirate and take the illegal route wont be affected. they'll keep trading non-DRM mp3s and rip DRM out of licensed files. look at DVDs. oooh, copy protected. easy, just De-CSS it. legal DVD owners can't play their own DVDs it if they move to another continent due to region-lock. illegals copies work worldwide.
DRM hurts only the legal users that want to copy to their music players and such. those who pirate and take the illegal route wont be affected. they'll keep trading non-DRM mp3s and rip DRM out of licensed files. look at DVDs. oooh, copy protected. easy, just De-CSS it. legal DVD owners can't play their own DVDs it if they move to another continent due to region-lock. illegals copies work worldwide.
amen to that.
You do understand the Mac service DOES use DRM and the record companies ALREADY signed deals with Apple, but that MS cannot say the same?
"If microsoft is smart they will link DRM music to our .net passports so we can put the music on multiple comps that we own."
Are you serious? You do understand the reason we haven't heard d!ck about passport in the last year is because it was universally rejected and reviled. MS would instantly cut off much of their market.
You do understand that the Apple service allows you to share with 3 computers, any number of iPods, and burn any number of disks.
"people that want to legaly own music will be ok with the DRM, but people that frequently download music illegaly won't because they don't want to pay. They are the ones, in almost all cases the only ones that hate DRM and would refuse to buy secure music."
Apple has done the best to satisfy both markets and hence all the buzz. You do understand that MS is building expiry dates into its DRM, yes. That what is compelling about Apple's service is: you buy it, you own it. Subscriptions and expirations will be reviled universally.
You do know that you don't know a damn thing yet, right? Is it web or app based? Is it tied to WMP? Or MSN? Is it a flat rate for all tracks/albums/artists? Is it a subscription? Is it both? What are the limits? Does MS have any signed contracts with any record labels?
All you may "know" -- from this "rumor" -- is that it will provide more detailed information. When I KNOW iTMS links to artist and labels sites and I know the address for www.allmusic.com.
You do understand, yeah?
check it
All this article states is that others (like MS, AOL, Amazon, and MTV) are pursuing similar options.
There isn't much detail and definitely little fact to this story. AOL and Amazon have both been rumored to be in talks with Apple so for all that is known AOL and Amazon are going to launch a service... but it will be Apple's.
Microsoft will probably put WPA into each song and tell you to call them because you rebooted your system and need to reactivate the song.
Commenting has either been disabled on this article or you are not logged in. Click here to login or register, its free!
Note: Anonymous commenting is disabled in order to keep the quality of responses to a high standard.