Rohan Kohli
09/04/06, 08:53 AM
Taken from Coolfer (http://www.coolfer.org): The Wall Street Journal has reported that Snocap (http://www.snocap.com), the digital services company founded by Napster creator Shawn Fanning, has partnered with social networking site MySpace (http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid=%7B597A8996-E008-4FC8-B3D7-DF66C8219CAC%7D). Though the nature of the deal isn't clear, sources told the WSJ that MySpace could get a minority position in Snocap.
More details were given in the LA Times' article (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-myspace2sep02,1,433480.story?coll=l a-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true) about the Snocap/MySpace deal. The download store will be called MyStore and will be out later this year. (A side note: www.mystore.com has been registered by "leading domain name attorney" Ari Goldberger.) Fans will be able to sell bands' music to other fans. Also, some economics of the deal were given. The two companies "will split the processing fee of about 45 cents per track," which implies the artist should set a track's price well above $0.45.
Jupiter Research's David Card has doubts about MyStore's ability to make much money. "I believe in a 'long tail,'" he said, "but I have yet to find a media company make a living delivering only the long tail without delivering any of the hits."
Coolfer had previously posted on Snocap's Linx (http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2006/07/myspace_downloa.php), the widget that enables download sales on MySpace.
To purchase downloads, a user links their Snocap account to their Paypal account. Artists can choose the file format, price and DRM restrictions. What Coolfer has seen so far, and what could be expected on a typical MySpace page, is a per-track cost of $0.79 and songs available in the MP3 format.
The advantage of the Linx is its ease of use. Once an account is set up, the act of previewing, paying for and downloading songs is a very simple and quick procedure. One current flaw with Linx: The widget does not indicate the file format and DRM of the downloads. When a consumer is in doubt about the type of file format, a sale will probably be lost.
More details were given in the LA Times' article (http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-myspace2sep02,1,433480.story?coll=l a-headlines-business&ctrack=1&cset=true) about the Snocap/MySpace deal. The download store will be called MyStore and will be out later this year. (A side note: www.mystore.com has been registered by "leading domain name attorney" Ari Goldberger.) Fans will be able to sell bands' music to other fans. Also, some economics of the deal were given. The two companies "will split the processing fee of about 45 cents per track," which implies the artist should set a track's price well above $0.45.
Jupiter Research's David Card has doubts about MyStore's ability to make much money. "I believe in a 'long tail,'" he said, "but I have yet to find a media company make a living delivering only the long tail without delivering any of the hits."
Coolfer had previously posted on Snocap's Linx (http://www.coolfer.com/blog/archives/2006/07/myspace_downloa.php), the widget that enables download sales on MySpace.
To purchase downloads, a user links their Snocap account to their Paypal account. Artists can choose the file format, price and DRM restrictions. What Coolfer has seen so far, and what could be expected on a typical MySpace page, is a per-track cost of $0.79 and songs available in the MP3 format.
The advantage of the Linx is its ease of use. Once an account is set up, the act of previewing, paying for and downloading songs is a very simple and quick procedure. One current flaw with Linx: The widget does not indicate the file format and DRM of the downloads. When a consumer is in doubt about the type of file format, a sale will probably be lost.