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RETAILING DISTRIBUTIONMarketin DIRECT SALES HOME VIDEO ENTER *ACTIVE ACCESSORIES Europe Gains Broadband Net Access Peoplesound, Popwire Will Offer Music Content Over ISPs BY KAI R. LOFTHUS pings and on weekends. access trial of ADSL with People - OSLO-European online consumers According to Bruno Heese, Peo- sound will demonstrate the speed need no longer put their faith in 56K plesound's VP of business develop- and convenience it offers to our modems when they want to access ment, international, the collaboration users." the Internet to buy music, videos, or with Freeserve is only on a trial bas- Concurrently, various other ISPs games. While major U.S. cities and is in the U.K. Peoplesound also has are concentrating their efforts to- academic circles have been treated offices in Munich and Paris. ward offering Internet via cable TV to fixed -price, high- bandwidth Net "The penetration of broadband networks. Chello, a subsidiary of access for some time, the corre- technologies is still very low," says United Pan -Europe Communica- sponding penetration in Europe has Reese. "When the trial phase is over, tions, is offering round -the -clock been lacking -until now, that is. setting a price on the [currently access for between $37 and $50. A number of music sites, such as free] downloads will be the next step. Chello, which has plans to list its Peoplesound.com and Popwire.com, Now we just want to see how the trial shares on the Amsterdam Stock Pulse Performance. Tuff Gong International act Steel Pulse made an in -store are beginning to ink pacts that will goes and learn what we can from Exchange, operates in offices Eu- appearance at the Rhino Records store in the Westwood section of Los Angeles deliver their content to the consum- consumers' responses." rope, Latin America, and Australia. to promote its Grammy- nominated "Living Legacy." Pictured, from left, er- oriented portals of Internet serv- With several telecommunications In March, - early the Amsterdam are Steel Pulse members David Hinds, Steve "Grizzly" Nesbitt, and Selwyn ice providers (ISP) that offer broad- operators gearing up to offer Asym- based company entered into a strate- Brown and Rhino book buyer and reggae assistant Peter Berkowitz. band Web access. metric Digital Subscriber Line gic content partnership with Stock- In the U.K. Peoplesound, carrying (ADSL) service, which transforms holm -based Popwire, which has music from new and emerging art- ordinary phone lines into high- affiliates in Tokyo and London (with ists in genres from classical to hip - speed digital lines (up to 8 million plans to open in New York). hop, recently announced that it bits per second, compared with "Our business philosophy is to Lynne Reborn On Island Debut, would make available its MP3 -based ISDN's 128,000 bits per second), offer free music of unsigned acts, tracks free of charge to customers of modems will still have a function, specifically targeted at the record Freeserve, a major ISP. Freeserve but, needless to say, at an improved companies. By offering our content offers unlimited modem -based online speed while allowing users to on Chello, it's an additional way for Thanks To Support from Indies access in exchange for a monthly remain online indefinitely. us and the labels of getting in touch BY JIM BESSMAN artist." charge of 10 pounds ($16) and, from Says Freeserve CEO John Pluth- with music -interested people," says NEW YORK -'s Of course, Lynne, a hard -driv- June, 6.95 pounds ($11) in the eve- ero, "The Freeserve high -speed Popwire CEO Anders Andersson. acclaimed Island Records album, ing songstress with an equally "I Am Shelby Lynne," was hard life, previously released released in January, but the five country for three marketing strategy commenced labels. But "I Am Shelby more than a year earlier, right at Lynne," her Island debut, is as film Site Eveocom Expands To Music the formation of the Island /Def much Memphis as Nashville. Jam Music Group, and is now "She's not `new,' but we had to BY EILEEN FITZPATRICK "We'd like to provide songs for It has recently instituted an "earn - hitting its full stride. reinvent her with new imaging LOS ANGELES -While Eveo.com films, television shows, and other per- view" program in which the film- "The company was just a cou- and the Internet and use the describes itself as a distribution out- markets," she says. makers get 5 cents each time their ple days old when we knew we right kind of press out of the let for filmmakers, it is also setting Eveo used a similar contest to pro- video is viewed. wanted to do everything to U.K. to help reposition her out to attract musicians. mote the formation of the company The site is divided into categories break Shelby, and when our U.K. here," says Tortella. The site was launched as a place in January. To get filmmakers to such as true life, travel, adventure, company heard the Lynne's Internet for indie filmmakers to submit their submit their short films, the compa- comedy, fiction, animation, and docu- album, they decided to story is "fabulous," films, but it will debut a separate ny offered $100 just to enter a con- mentary to make it easier to navigate. work it as well," says Tortella continues. An music area on the site within the test that will award $10,000 to the Eveo is also listed on several por- Island /Def Jam prod- October postcard next two months. tal sites, including Microsoft Net- uct manager Livia ISLAND campaign drove Web "We're providing a place for un- work, Excite, and Roadrunner. Tortella, who is surfers to Lynne's site signed bands to create their own mu- `We're providing a The company provides encoding charged with manag- MUSIC to download music. sic video content," says Eveo.com VP place for unsigned services for each video, and if the ing product for the Additionally, an E- of music Kimberly Knoller. filmmaker submits an E -mail list, Island imprint. card featuring music Bands and solo artists will be able bands to create their Eveo will distribute the film to those The international arm of the snippets went to a 40,000 -name to submit their own videos to the on the list. company, which is part of the E -mail list of Lilith Fair atten- site. Or, through community bulletin own music video The company will also attempt to Seagram -owned Universal Music dees, with respondents receiving boards and chat rooms, they will be sell the films to television networks Group, led the way. a three -song album sampler fea- able to find filmmakers to shoot their content' and studios and distribute them on "They released the album in turing the tracks "Your Lies," video. DVD. The average film runs about October, and it got amazing "Leavin'," and "Gotta Get Back." - KIMBERLY KNOLLER - To alert visitors to the new area, three minutes. press in [such U.K. publications Download promotions included Eveo is conducting a contest in con- "Our site allows anyone with a dig- as] Mojo and Dazed & Con- a 30 -day availability of album junction with ARTISTdirect.com. best short video. ital camcorder to be a filmmaker," fused," continues Tortella. "That track "Life Is Bad" at Barnes Beginning on April 18, consumers The winner will be selected this says Sternfeld. "It's open to every- really fueled the press story andnoble.com, Best Buy.com, and will be able to make and submit a month by a panel of judges that in- one, and it's 5 cents every time some- here. Shelby did syndicated other retailer sites; a Barnesand music video for the Counting Crows cludes "The Blair Witch Project" one streams it." magazine- oriented radio pro- noble.com chat; and a promotion track "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" from executive producer Kevin Foxe, who Sternfeld says the company ex- grams like `World Cafe,' which with adult contemporary genre the band's new album, "This Desert is also on the company's advisory pects to conduct several contests aired March 3, and `E -Town' site Connect2Music. Life." board. within each of its categories, or chan- [April 29 nationally]. But the Tortella adds that The winning director will receive Three runner -ups will receive nels, to build its content library. press here has been phenomenal Amazon.com sold more than a digital video camera and television, Sony computers. Headquartered in San Francisco, too." 2,000 pieces "just from press and the clip will be featured on the The company's chief content offi- Eveo is backed by several venture Tortella points to a sexy and hearing music online." ARTISTdirect and Eveo sites. cer, Alan Sternfeld, says the site has capitalist firms, including Media Details spread and features in Also in October, a lifestyle Knoller says that the site will also about 500 videos, each of which is Technology Ventures. Spin and that hit marketing campaign commenced, encourage musicians to submit songs licensed for a three -year nonexclu- Its music division is located in in February, calling them consisting of album samplers that the company will attempt to sell. sive term. West Hollywood. "unprecedented for a new (Continued on page 57)

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