From yesterday's New York Times. First Sony gets more with the new world order, now Universal Music....A few years behind the time, sure, but the music industry has to start somewhere. While I'm sure music industry execs bristle mightily when having to concede to stuff like this, it's good to know that they're at starting to change their mindsets about digital music and all that it entails, if only a little. Maybe next they'll get with the program in terms of larger festivals like All Points West, Download Festival, and Lollapolooza, and view online music sites in the same "press" light as they do dailies. Because honestly, where do you go to learn more about the bands playing these larger festivals, the Philadelphia Inquirer and USA Today, or sites like mine (hopefully)? Exactly....
PARIS — The Universal Music Group and Virgin Media said on Monday that they had reached a deal that would offer consumers unlimited downloads as part of a partnership that steps up antipiracy enforcement.
Universal, the largest recording company in the world, said it would offer its entire catalog — which contains works by artists like Amy Winehouse and U2 — to customers of Virgin Media for a monthly subscription.
The music will be free from copy protection, a feature that distinguishes the service from most existing subscription offerings. The cost of the service, which will probably start by the end of the year, was not disclosed.
In return, Virgin Media, the British cable television and broadband provider, agreed to take steps to reduce piracy on its network, something that other broadband providers have resisted.
The measures could include temporary suspensions of offenders’ Internet connections, the company said.
For the recording industry, developing new digital business models is essential because pirated tracks account for 95 percent of online music, according to industry estimates.
The announcement pre-empts by a day the expected publication of the British government’s plan for the digital economy, including antipiracy proposals.
Britain wants copyright owners and Internet service providers to cooperate in the fight against piracy, and it welcomed the agreement between Virgin and Universal.
“Government has a role in creating the right legal and regulatory framework for rights and copyright,” said Stephen Carter, the British communications, technology and broadcast minister, in a statement. “However, the market will flourish through innovative commercial agreements between companies, and agreements such as this will help significantly in reducing any demand for piracy.”
Analysts said Virgin, which has more than seven million broadband customers, might have been willing to yield on copyright enforcement because it also produces and sells content via its cable television system, unlike many broadband providers, which simply serve as a conduit for content.
“This is a really high-stakes game,” said Mark Mulligan, an analyst at Forrester Research. “Universal and Virgin have come to the table with all they can offer.”
The entrepreneur Richard Branson owns a 6.5 percent stake in Virgin, whose shares are traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
Virgin said it was talking to the other three major music companies — Sony Music Entertainment, EMI and Warner Music Group — in an effort to include them in the new service.
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