eardrumbuzz: edbdigital media trends(Untitled)- March 23, 2004 From Sweatshops to Recording Studios, Wal-Mart Knows "Cheap" Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer and sweatshop proprietor has officially launched its online music store, undercutting competitors' prices by 11 percent in a bid to vitalize it's on-line business. The store also expanded its catalog of "artists" by 50 percent, including exclusive songs from Jessica Simpson, 3 Doors Down, Shania Twain and others, the Arkansas-based retailer said. Wal-Mart spokeswoman Cynthia Lin declined to...http://www.eardrumbuzz.com/blog/categories/edb/2004/03/23.html#a1005 (Untitled)- March 21, 2004 Record Stores: We're Fine, Thanks Some independent music stores are thriving despite the competition from illegal downloads on the Internet. The stores are finding that file sharing can help create a buzz online that can lead to more sales, according to a panel of independent music store owners who spoke at the South by Southwest Music Conference & Festival. Wiredhttp://www.eardrumbuzz.com/blog/categories/edb/2004/03/20.html#a1004 (Untitled)- March 15, 2004 iTunes Music Store downloads top 50 million songs March 15 - Apple today announced that music fans have purchased and downloaded over 50 million songs from the iTunes Music Store, not including songs redeemed from the currently-running Pepsi iTunes promotion. The 50 millionth song, purchased last Thursday afternoon, was "The Path of Thorns" by Sarah McLachlan. Apple says iTunes users are now downloading 2.5 million songs per week, which is an annual run rate of 130 million songs per year.http://www.eardrumbuzz.com/blog/categories/edb/2004/03/15.html#a1003 (Untitled)- March 6, 2004 RIAA Says 2003 Was Better Than 2002 For Sales The RIAA says that record shipments declined in 2003, but at a substantially slower rate than the steep slide seen in 2002. The figures did not include sales though online stores such as Apple Computer's iTunes. News.Comhttp://www.eardrumbuzz.com/blog/categories/edb/2004/03/06.html#a996 (Untitled)- March 2, 2004 EFF Proposes Its Own Answer to Music File Sharing The Electronic Frontier Foundation has issued a proposal to deal with music file sharing issues. The proposal calls for the creation of a voluntary license scheme that would allow users to pay a monthly fee in return for legalized music downloading. EFF Report Here Propsal Coverage Herehttp://www.eardrumbuzz.com/blog/categories/edb/2004/03/02.html#a991 |