BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 29, 2000 ISSUE
INTERNATIONAL -- INT'L COVER STORY The Retailers THE TUNE Are they going the way of the drive-in? Probably not--for now. Some plan to set up kiosks for creating custom CDs in-store that don't require clunky home Web setups. Meanwhile, they're suing Sony Music, claiming its direct-download plans constitute unfair trade. SOUR NOTE Free music on the Web is eating into sales. And direct-selling and downloading from the majors will cut into an already low-margin retail business for all but the best-situated music stores. HIGH NOTE For now, the labels and artists need retail, which is also extending its presence online. And retailers like Stan Goman, president of Tower Records, claim they aren't worried about the labels' selling efforts, given their spotty record with such ventures as music clubs. ''The record companies,'' he says, ''will screw it up.'' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _					RELATED ITEMS Download This! (int'l edition) INT'L COVER IMAGE: Download This! TABLE: The Artists TABLE: The Labels CHART: Although Music Is a Slow-Growth Business... TABLE: Radio CHART: For Now, Web Rivals Shouldn't Slow Radio TABLE: The Retailers CHART: Retail: Still King but for How Long? TABLE: The Consumer TABLE: The Web The Digital Revolution Will Not Be Criminalized (int'l edition) These Wristbands Will Keep You Humming (int'l edition) Napster's Shawn Fanning: The Teen Who Woke Up Web Music Forget Napster. Net File-Swapping Now Goes Way Beyond Music INTERACT E-Mail to Business Week Online

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