Thursday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: Google Music China, Napster Losses Narrow, Universal Loves Amazon & Much More
> Google is set to launch a free music service in China with Top100.cn to battle Biadu. We take an in depth look and ask "Is This The Music Industry’s Future? (Hypebot) We’ll have reaction from music industry watchers in China this week and don’t miss our ongoing series on the Music Industry In China: Part 1 – Piracy & Retail, Part 2 – Inide & Major Labels, and Part 3 – Media & Marketing with more to come.
> Napster posted a much smaller 3Q loss than the previous year but the number of subscribers fell slightly. The company will begin selling mp3’s later this year. (AP) Lower
losses mean longer life, but what is Napster doing to differentiate itself?
> Amazon and Universal pact for free Valentine’s ecards that include original versions of classic modern love songs plus a sale of Valentine’s Day appropriate songs, albums and compilations. (press release, Amazon)
> Jupiter Research’s David Card looks at MTV’s online strategy and likes what he sees. "…a pretty compelling story from a supposed digital dinosaur. Maybe that online youth audience isn’t quite locked up after all." (Jupiter)
> The Orchard is changing its name to The Orchard Enterprises. (press release) Why?
> Kayne West has launched his own search engine. (here) Again, I ask…Why?
> UK music publisher Kobalt (Moby, Eminem) has landed $16 million in additional funding. (PEH)
> A consumer focused overview of the moves toward ad supported free music. (USA Today)
It’s not immediately evident, but I think Napster is very different from Rhapsody and the Zune Marketplace. Different layout and manner of merchandising (for lack of a better term). Different emphasis on and use of playlists. Different social features.
Napster’s problem — the problem of all three, actually — is that it has not been able to convey to potential consumers (a) a decent value proposition and (b) those points of differentiation.
I don’t think people care about having access to three or four million songs. They ALL have three or four million songs. It’s a basic point of entry for these services. People would, however, care about the features and ease of use. I’ve used Napster and think it’s a pretty decent service that works well with the portable devices.