| BUSINESSWEEK ONLINE : MAY 29, 2000 ISSUE | ||||||||
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| 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.'' _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ |
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