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Post-Napster music sales said to dip

By Frank Barnako, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 10:37 AM ET June 20, 2001




Music retailers report sales are down by 5 percent to 10 percent this year, the Los Angeles Times reported. The downturn in sales raises the issue of whether Napster really hurt the industry. SoundScan research says total music sales are off 5.7 percent this year, primarily because of a drop in purchases of singles and cassettes. CDs present a more interesting situation. Before the March federal court decision that spelled the end of Napster as a site permitting the free exchange of copyrighted music, CD sales were up 5.6 percent from the prior year. Since then, they are down 0.9 percent. Hank Barry, Napster's chief executive, said this proves that Napster was actually aiding retailers by stoking consumers' appetites for music, according to the Times report.

Online home sellers expect less

Homeowners using the Internet to help sell their homes during May lowered their expectations slightly and dropped the average nationwide price goal to $214,000, down 2.8 percent from April's $220,000 target. Compared to May 2000, the figure is 1 percent higher than the $212,000 mark calculated by HomeGain (http://www.homegain.com/) in its monthly Online Home Seller Index. Consumers in the San Francisco Bay area led the nation in May with the highest price expectation -- $388,000, a figure 3 percent lower than April's mark of $401,000.

RealNetworks tools offers security

RealNetworks (RNWK: news, msgs, alerts) released a suite of streaming-media creation and production tools, in the process offering copyright owners online rights protection and options for generating revenue. The RealSystem Media Commerce Suite helps programmers develop purchase, rental, video on-demand, and subscription services. It will provide security for MusicNet, the online music subscription service -- backed by AOL Time Warner (AOL: news, msgs, alerts) , Bertelsmann, EMI and RealNetworks -- that's scheduled for release later this year.

MP3.com links artists to Copyright Office

MP3.com (MPPP: news, msgs, alerts) is offering a streamlined process for musicians to register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office. A new feature of the digital music company's Web site (http://www.mp3.com/copyright wizard) walks users through the process, completing required forms and submitting the registration. Fees for the service range from $60 to $70.

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Frank Barnako is managing editor of the CBS.MarketWatch.com Radio Network in Washington.