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View Full Version : Michael Robertson Founds Online Music Startup

Kent Pribbernow
02-03-2005, 09:00 PM
<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.mp3tunes.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.mp3tunes.com/</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Michael Robertson, the founder and former CEO of MP3.com, will announce next week that he is starting a new digital music company called MP3tunes. The company will focus on music products and services with an emphasis on the MP3 format to maximize interoperability and consumer choice. Over the coming months, MP3tunes will make several new products available online including a hardware device, software products and an online music store. Robertson will officially announce the new company at the Desktop Summit, February 9-11 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in San Diego (<a href="www.desktopsummit.com">www.desktopsummit.com</a>). "</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/MP3tunes_logo.jpg" /><br /><br />Another music store? I see Robertson's new venture panning out much like LinSpire, his consumer Linux desktop company, which has not been a great success story.
Chris Gohlke
02-03-2005, 09:08 PM
"Unlike other popular music stores, MP3tunes will offer all tracks without digital rights management (DRM). This ensures that paying customers can use the music they purchase on any player or computer, as well as make unlimited copies of their songs and burn their music onto CDs."

While I would love to see this, I don't see them having a huge catalog without DRM. If there was a way to negotiate this with the major media players, I think it would have been done already.
RenesisX
02-04-2005, 10:19 AM
The major labels won't sign any contract right now that doesn't involve DRM. It's hard enough to get a contract from the major labels *with* DRM, never mind without.

Because of this, his MP3tunes store will only ever have unsigned and indie content, making it pretty unattractive to the mass market.

Anyway, I can tell you for a fact that no-one in the online music business makes any money from selling the music. They all make their money in other ways.