snapshot 6/15/07

Steve Jobs: struggling to redefine the TV paradigm
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/15/apple_tv_hurdles/
Getting into the mind of Steve Jobs isn't all that simple, and sometimes you just have to wait until he tells you what went through his mind in order to explain the latest Apple phenomena. But the picture around Apple TV is starting to clear with some rumors and snippets revealed this week. By the end of the summer it will be pretty clear what was in the mind of Steve Jobs all those months ago when the collision with the studios made him rethink his vision for an Apple digital video future, but already it is starting to take shape, and the image is both ominous for operators and rival TV technologies and threatens to be more far reaching than outsiders ever imagined.


Rock star says piracy battle is lost
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/06/15/rowntree_music_piracy/
Major record labels are still fighting the piracy battles of 1997 according to a leading rock musician and digital rights activist. Blur drummer Dave Rowntree told OUT-LAW that they should have realised in 1997 that their battle was already lost.

"But the people who were caught in the trap of DRM were the ordinary people who wanted to play their CDs on their computer as well as their CD recorder or who wanted to make a tape of it to put on in the car who were doing things that most people regardless of the law would regard as legitimate activities. "


Music Widget Creator Sonific Adds Indie & D.I.Y.
http://hypebot.typepad.com/hypebot/2007/06/widget_creator_.html
Sonific, the cool widget creator that enables fans to easily post song streams that link back to sales sites on blogs, web sites, etc has added a syndication program. The Sonific Music Network enables any content owner to upload and join the viral program for free.


Trans World Files Quarterly Report. Music Way Down
http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2007/06/trans_world_rel.php
Entertainment retailer Trans World filed its 10-Q yesterday, which show its 2007 Q1 earnings. (Download PDF.) Those figures were released last month, and the new filing offers some information that was in the Q1 earnings conference call. The company operates over 800 stores under the brands f.y.e., Coconuts and Wherehouse Music.

On page 18 we see that music represented 44% of sales in 2007 Q1, as opposed to 52% in 2006 Q1. Music sales dropped 16.7% and sales of the CD format dropped 20.8%. (In the conference call, the COO said comp music sales were down 21%.) Comparable store sales (total) were down a whopping 10.1%. Any way you slice it, Trans World's music story is a bad one.


The AudioFile: Keep It Simple, Stupid
http://crunchgear.com/2007/06/15/the-audiofile-keep-it-simple-stupid/
Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.” Few companies in the MP3 player business grasp this important principle, and it continues to bite them in the assets. iRiver and SanDisk are feverishly trying to keep up the pace of feature bloat, while Archos and Creative are increasingly focusing on video players. Meanwhile, Sony is getting ready to throw in the towel, and still others (okay, Microsoft) should probably start thinking along the same lines.


MPA study: Brighter picture for movie industry
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3ic5575a8c4f61aadd68a0d344f476d5da
After a disappointing 2005, the six major companies have received official confirmation from the MPA that their all-media revenue from filmed entertainment – comprising money from home video, television, theatrical and pay TV – expanded by 8% in 2006 to reach $42.6 billion. Of the $42.6 billion, the U.S. contributed $24.3 billion. DVDs continued to capture the most market share in 2006 with 44%.