snapshot 5/25/07

Facebook Launches Video System
http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20070525/tc_pcworld/132245;_ylt=AvlmdCrH.VSDQNlIACVoFNlkM3wV
Facebook Inc. became the latest entrant into the online video battle Thursday, opening its Facebook f8 platform to outside developers and partners in an effort to gain ground on social networking rivals. The move allows third parties to develop functions for Facebook, including video, advertising, and retail capabilities. Part of the system will use the company's own markup language, creatively titled Facebook Markup.


HP Working On HDTVs With Direct Movie Buying
http://crunchgear.com/2007/05/25/hp-working-on-hdtvs-with-direct-movie-buying/
A new concept called HDTV 2.0 is on its way and the technology isn’t far off to support it. Essentially, the goal is for future HDTV sets to have an Ethernet or WiFi Internet link so that movies can be downloaded off the net and onto the TV’s internal storage device. Think of it like a media PC inside a TV. Consumers benefit from added comfort and usability, while corporations get to throw ads at you and directly market their products to you as a download for your TV. Companies like Netflix want this. The first sets should be out by years end, so keep an eye on HP.


Pandora, SanDisk Push Mobile Recommendation Play
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/052407pandora/view
Also in the mix is SanDisk, a well-established portable storage company that continues to make waves within the MP3 player arena. The Pandora partnership promises to produce a WiFi-enabled portable that features customized, user-crafted stations. The project also involves Mountain View, CA-based Zing Systems, Inc., a company that provides specialized WiFi know-how. Zing was also central to the release of the SanDisk Sansa Connect, a WiFi-enabled player that offers access to the Yahoo Music Unlimited subscription service and Launchcast streaming radio channels.

The deal-making moves Pandora off of the desktop and allows discovery in a number of new environments. Theoretically, that embraces a music consumer that wants music anywhere, anytime, though the efforts are mostly ahead of their time.


Ins and Outs: Is buyshifting the future of television? (part 2)
http://www.engadget.com/2007/05/25/ins-and-outs-is-buyshifting-the-future-of-television-part-2/
Last time on Ins and Outs we introduced the concept of buyshifting -- what it means, what it is, and where it's going. But now it's time to get down to the brass tacks. That's right, we're talking about whether it's viable for the average consumer -- more specifically, where it falls on the cost scale.

As is pretty clear, from a pure cost perspective, buyshifting is far and away the clear winner for the consumer. A cheap VOD service like Comcast's is handily the least expensive -- unfortunately, the above figures assumes VOD as your base cost, and do not factor in the cable service it's delivered on. (The "real" cost of VOD would be the most expensive by a large margin.) Still, second place (cheap DVDs) and even third place (buying seasons on iTunes) for cost-efficiency are very straightforward methods of buyshifting.


Vivendi to launch paid content portal – report
http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=media&storyID=nL2591251
Vivendi is preparing to launch a paid content portal this autumn to broadcast music, video or games on computers, television and mobile phones, competing against online sites like YouTube and MySpace, daily Les Echos reports on Friday.

A new unit called Vivendi Mobile Entertainment has been created to launch the service, which would come five years after the failure of Vivendi's Vizzavi portal, designed as a gateway for PC and interactive TV content, the paper said.


64% Of Respondents Still Buy Music CD's Says Greenfield Online Survey, While 41% Like To Download Music From The Internet
http://mi2n.com/press.php3?press_nb=100508
According to a recent Greenfield Online Fact of the Week survey of approximately 1,000 Internet respondents, 64% of total respondents still get their music the old fashioned way: purchasing CD's from a store.Additionally, 41% of respondents download music from the Internet, with 53% of Internet downloaders ranging in age between 25 and 44 years old. Seniors, 55 and over, represented 11% of music downloaders. While iTunes was cited as a download site of choice by 32% of music downloaders, 44% of those who download their music from the Internet declined to name a specific site.No matter what source, the majority of respondents (58%) are spending between $0-$10.00 per month on music purchases. 24% said they are spending between $11-$20 per month on music purchases.


PayPlay.FM To Sell 1.3 Million Unprotected MP3s by End of May
http://blog.wired.com/music/2007/05/payplayfm_to_se.html
PayPlay.FM, which currently sells a nearly-1.3 million-song indie music catalog in the secure WMA format, will start selling its entire catalog in the unprotected MP3 format by the end of May, according to an email received today from PayPlay co-founder Elliot Goykhman. These plans have been brewing since October of last year, or possibly earlier, but apparently all of the artists on the site have now signed off on the new policy: protected WMAs cost $0.77, while unprotected 192 Kbps MP3s versions of the same song cost $0.88.


McCartney iTunes Delay Due To ‘Exclusive’, DRM-Less Next Week
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-mccartney-itunes-delay-due-to-exclusive-drm-less-next-week/
Earlier this week, observers noted that, while Apple is usually first to market with new-release additions to the iTunes Store, it has been beaten to the punch on the first ever digital reissues of Paul McCartney’s solo repertoire - Napster, Rhapsody, Urge and Zune Marketplace added the songwriter’s back catalog on Wednesday, while iTunes is blank. paidContent.org has learned the apparent delay is down to the preparation of “an exclusive” offering that will come along with the material.


New Movie Players Arrive To Feed Appetite For Content
http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-new-movie-players-arrive-to-feed-appetite-for-content/
With so many new media channels down which to push (or even pull) content, more and more private equity groups and others are gathering up content via what might have traditionally been regarded as the hard way - getting in to movies. Liberty Media Corporation’s John Malone funds ex-MGM chairman Chris McGurk’s Overture Films, investors including Merrill Lynch have given ex-Paramount vice-chairman Robert G. Friedman $1 billion to start Summit Entertainment, and CBS is looking to start a film operation, too.


Trans World Revenues Down, Loss Deepends, Continued Shift Away From Music
http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2007/05/trans_world_rev_1.php
Entertainment retailer Trans World reported Q1 2007 earnings today (read press release). Total sales dropped 1% to $286.3 million and net loss increased to $9.1 million from $7.1 million last year. Comp store sales dropped 10%. Said chairman and CEO Robert J. Higgins, "Our first quarter sales remained difficult, while positive comparable store sales in DVD, electronics, accessories and boutique could not offset worsening music results."
Improved margins on music and movies resulted in improved gross margin (36.5% versus 34.8%), but sales of both were down. Music was way down and other segments are being given more emphasis to make up for the decline.

• Music sales were down 21% on a comp basis, and the company's top 50 experienced a 32% drop on a comp basis. Music represents 44% of sales, down from 52% last year.
• DVD sales dipped 6% on a comp basis and now represent 38% of total sales, up from 31% last year.
• Games dropped 12% on a comp basis and represent 7% of sales, the same as last year.
• The company has expanded space for DVDs, electronics, accessories, boutique and games. It has implemented measures aimed at improving customer service.
• The in-store, mix-and-burn digital kiosk testing has offered "promising, but still inconclusive results." Said president Jim Litwak, "...we want to have the stores increase where they are at right now by about 25 to 30% what they are burning currently."
• The re-branding of f.y.e. stores is on schedule and will be completed in Q2.