e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

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Tiny disc players finally coming
Posted on Mon, Jul. 22, 2002

By MATT BRANAUGH
Scripps-McClatchy

BOULDER, Colo. - Another music label wants DataPlay Inc.'s tiny discs for its artists. And despite several delays, DataPlay says the gadgets that play those discs could hit store shelves as early as next week.

An agreement announced Monday between Boulder-based DataPlay and BMG's RCA Label Group in Nashville, Tenn., adds country music stars such as Brooks & Dunn to DataPlay's growing roster of featured musicians, a list that already includes Britney Spears and 'NSync.

DataPlay owns agreements with music distributors BMG, Universal Music and EMI. Besides pursuing the two other industry heavyweights -- Sony and Warner -- DataPlay is chasing individual labels within each of the distributors, the Nashville group being one such example.

The 4-year-old company makes the discs, which measure the size of a half-dollar and hold up to 500 megabytes of content, and the engines that play those discs.

Manufacturers, including Samsung and Toshiba, buy the rights to the engines and build them as disc players for consumers.

But while Monday's news signals the company's continued success snagging music content for those discs, unrelated glitches have pushed back releases of the players as well as albums from musicians.

Todd Oseth, DataPlay's senior vice president of business development, said that's changing, though.

``It's real. It's no longer a dream,' he said. ``Now we need to make sure (products) get to market as best they can. We're no longer starting.

``We've already started.'

Players featuring the DataPlay engine should start hitting shelves as early as next week, Oseth said.

Originally, DataPlay engines were scheduled for a test run last fall before a technical glitch held them back until this spring. And manufacturers then took time customizing the engines.

An April release was pushed back to May, then to June.

Now, some players are on sale online. Manufacturer iRiver America Inc. in San Jose, Calif., for instance, sells its version via the Web. Its units are also en route to retailer shelves with a suggested price of $369, said Gary Byrd, an iRiver spokesman.

Oseth said another delay arose because musicians, distributors and lawyers all review how the content gets used. That's taking longer than expected.

DataPlay digital media can hold prerecorded music from a musician as well as record other music, hold videos and photos and access exclusive content.

Some musicians will release music on the discs the week of Aug. 26, with roughly 40 artists available by mid-October. Hopefully, new labels adding more acts will sign on every two or three weeks, Oseth said.

Besides musicians, DataPlay is bringing the discs into other arenas, including digital cameras and books.

The privately held DataPlay, with 140 employees in Boulder and 100 more worldwide, raised $55 million in funding last year. The company continues seeking more funding, and might close on another deal soon, Oseth said.
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/news/editorial/3715272.htm

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