IBM, record industry testing pirate-free online music technology

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Feb 9, 1999

The Associated Press

NEW YORK -- In a major move to protect the music industry from online bootleggers, five leading record companies are teaming up with IBM to test technology that lets people quickly record CD-quality albums off the Internet.

Computer users already can get illegal, pirated material over the Internet. The test announced Monday is aimed at thwarting the bootleggers by offering better-quality sound and a wider selection of music. "This trial offers an extraordinary window on the future of the music business," said Roger Faxon, senior vice president of business development at EMI, whose music catalog includes the Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and the Spice Girls. Beginning in the spring, IBM's new technology will be tested over six months by about 1,000 people in San Diego. BMG Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group will create an online music store with more than 2,000 albums for sale. The IBM system will allow people to download songs or entire albums off the Internet, then store and play them on their computer. The technology will include encryption coding to foil pirates who want to copy the songs and distribute them widely over the Internet. One drawback is a lack of portability: The only way for a buyer to transfer the music out of his or her computer is to buy a CD recording device, which generally costs $150 to $400. Daniel Lee, 27, said the expense of the CD recorder would be offset by the convenience of online shopping. "I would assume they would keep a massive database, so you would be able to get something you ordinarily wouldn't find in the stores," Lee said as he browsed CDs in a New York record store. The companies haven't yet determined how much to charge people to download the music using IBM's new technology. But Mark Mooradian, an analyst at technology research firm Jupiter Communications, said it probably won't cost any more than buying a CD from a record store. At a news conference announcing the test, an IBM executive downloaded the Dave Matthews Band album "Crash" in about three minutes to play for the audience, and recorded it onto a CD in about 10 minutes. Buying music by downloading it from the Internet represents just a tiny fraction of the $12 billion music industry. Record companies hope industrywide security standards will be ready in time for the next holiday season. The record companies are trying to combat a technology called MP3 that is gaining popularity as a way to store and distribute audio on the Internet.