PREMIUM SEARCH Search by job title, geography and build a list of executive contacts
The edict came down from Napster's high priests: Go forth and buy. Late last week, as the music-sharing company warred with record-company execs, Napster CEO Hank Barry and software savant Shawn Fanning wanted to show the music industry its ability to drive real-world record sales. "Show the companies your power," intones a message still on the Napster homepage.
It quickly organized a last-minute "buycott" for the weekend of July 29-30 in which Napster's 22 million users were urged to buy music from Napster-friendly artists such as The Grateful Dead, Ben Folds Five, and Peter Searcy. To help things along, it even placed Web links to specific pages where online retailers -- the independent-friendly sites Insound and ARTISTdirect -- sold those albums.
But the buycott has turned out to be a bust. InSound reports it received 4,538 referrals over the weekend -- and not a single sale. ARTISTdirect wouldn't comment on buycott sales. But Insound co-founder Christian Anthony says he suspects that ARTISTdirect's were measly, too.
REALITY CHECK. The episode is embarrassing for Napster, which styles itself as a "previewing service" for the major labels. Recently, it released a new survey from Jupiter Research, which showed Napster users are 45% more likely to increase music spending. But the failure to generate sales is a reality check on the disposition of Napster users themselves, many of whom claim to dislike record companies but still want to support individual artists. Napster declined to comment.
To be fair, inSound sells the music of relatively obscure artists -- Peter Searcy, DJ Assault, Nextmen, and Superdrag. And so far there's no telling how many CDs of the total 32 listed artists were bought in stores rather than online. But Anthony says he was still surprised, given that each "buycott" sale would register as a kind of political vow of solidarity with Napster. "If there ever was a time for people to rally together and show their support, it was this time, when Napster's chips were truly down," says Anthony.
For Anthony, the buycott's failure calls into question the prevailing mood about new business models for online music. Industry consensus suggests that major labels and retailers will eventually get people to pay for online music through subscription services, in which users might pay, say, $10 a month for reliable access to a catalog of songs, related lyrics, and videos. Yet even with added reliability and features, says Anthony, it may be ultimately impossible to compete with free.
ALLURE OF FREE. "All these questions are being asked: What's the draw of Napster?" says Anthony, whose site sells the work of independent and underground musicians and filmmakers. "Some people think it's the file-sharing or the community. At the end of the day, the draw of Napster is free product."
Indeed, the next few months will be an important test for the likes of eMusic, which began as a download service early this month. Later this week, Universal Music Group will begin selling encrypted tracks that feature added content such as biographies and photographs. EMI has also begun selling 100 albums in digital format.
"No one really knows whether consumers are going to buy music that way," says Yankee Group analyst Jim Penhune. "As long as they're going to their computers to get music anyway, free is tough to beat."
IN A MINORITY? That's the attitude of 18-year-old Nima Nejat, who has downloaded some 700 songs onto his PC, everything from Eminem to Metallica. "People should have the right to download," says the recent high school graduate from Cupertino, Calif. "It's kind of like your own radio station where you control your own music." Nejat says Napster has helped expose him to new artists, many of whose CDs he has since purchased.
But Nejat's use of Napster may not be as prevalent as he thinks. Indeed, while some of its supporters are agreeing with a posting on Napster's message board from Anton'sback that calls the software "a revolution, unified behind a great ideal," the fizzled online buycott suggests it may also be, for many, a simple exercise in personal indulgence.
By Dennis K. Berman in New York Edited by Douglas Harbrecht
Copyright 2000, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
Printer-Friendly Version
