CD-Recorders, MiniDisc, and MP3 Running Neck, Neck, & Neck
Information released last week by NPD">http://www.intelectmt.com">NPD Intelect reveals eye-opening statistics about digital audio recorder formats. The numbers show that, from January to May 2000, unit shares of digital recording sales in retail stores were 30.8% for CD recorders (not including computer-based systems), 40.9% for MiniDisc recorders, and 28.3% for MP3 recording devices (also not including computer-based systems).
CD-ReWritable Market Growth Exceeds Industry Expectations
On March 20, at the CeBIT '98 convention in Hanover, Germany, several leading manufacturers of CD-ReWritable (CD-RW) drives and media announced that the market for CD-RW products has grown much faster than originally predicted.
CDKnet Inks Deal with Atlantic Records
Last Friday, October 23, Garden City, NY---based CDKnet announced that Atlantic Recording Corporation had signed a licensing agreement to use the company’s CDT technology for enhancing the content of its music CDs. CDKnet’s audio and video streaming technology embeds links on music CDs to sites on the World Wide Web, such as Atlantic’s own Metrotainmenthttp://www.metrotainment.com/">Metrotainment; site. The first musical release under this agreement will be "A Random Act of Senseless Kindness," a single by South SixtyFive, a new group on the Atlantic label.
CDNow and N2K to Merge
The rumors were flying all week, and this time they proved to be true: CDNow">http://www.cdnow.com">CDNow Inc. and N2K">http://www.n2k.com">N2K Inc. jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement on October 23. Both companies are well-positioned in the online music retail business, but face ever-increasing threats from new online rivals such as Tower Records and Virgin, as well as the ominous presence of Amazon.com who recently jumped into the online music business.
CDnow Buys superSonicBOOM
On June 7, http://www.cdnow.com"> CDnow, the world's top online music retailer, announced that it had acquired superSonicBOOMhttp://www.supersonicboom.com">superSonicBOOM;, an Internet custom-compilation disc business. The acquisition gives CDnow the ability to offer its customers custom discs as well as catalog product, said Jason Olim, CDnow President and CEO.
CDnow Comes Up Short as E-tailing Loses Luster with Investors
Last year, Internet commerce schemes were the darlings of venture capitalists and small investors alike. For months, it seemed that almost any business plan, no matter how half-baked, could attract millions of dollars with the simple mention of "online retail sales"—otherwise known as "e-commerce" or "e-tailing."
CDnow Teams Up with Sony, Time Warner
Internet music retailer CDnowhttp://www.cdnow.com/">CDnow; has formed a partnership with Sony">http://www.sony.com/">Sony Corporation and Time">http://www.timewarner.com/">Time Warner to build a music and video retailing behemoth. The July 13 announcement came in the wake of online bookseller Amazon.com's">http://www.amazon.com/">Amazon.com's recent move into the music market. With the backing of corporate giants Sony and Time Warner, CDnow could be able to mount a challenge to the growing presence of Amazon, which is also expanding into toy sales and consumer electronics.
CDnow Tops Chart, Expands into Europe
The numbers are up for CDnowhttp://www.cdnow.com">CDnow;. The world's largest online music retailer reported April 30 that its first-quarter sales increased 288% over the same period in 1997. The company took in $10 million in revenue through the period ending March 31, an increase of 26.4% over the previous quarter, in which revenue totaled $7.9 million.
CDs Cheaper than Downloads
An old adage has it that one common type of fool believes that anything new must be better.
CEA Cracks Down on "Journalists"
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has always been aimed at the electronics industry and the reporters who cover it. Other than a brief experiment with "open" days toward the end of the summer CES held in Chicago in the mid-1990s, the exhibition has never been open to the public.