MP3 GETS COMMERCIAL July 07 2000 dotmusic.com You've seen adverts in magazines, on TV, even on milk cartons. Why not in MP3s? So suggest California's Digital Payloads Inc, who reckon they have the music industry's 'free music' crisis all wrapped up. The solution is to sew adverts or promotional information - which they call 'Digital Payloads' - into MP3s themselves, to be distributed online for free using tools such as Napster. Then, every time your computer's MP3 player starts up, so does a commercial. "Since artists are compensated for a Payload, say Digital Payloads, "copying of MP3 files on the Internet no longer represents a loss of revenue. Payloads create increased artist awareness, as well as advertising impressions, which benefit both the artist and label/advertiser." Presumably, the more often a track is downloaded or played, the more money an artist will earn from the advertising. "The more copies shared the better." For the patent-pending technology to work, however, MP3 files will have to be specially amended; while they are designed to work with software MP3 players such as WinAmp, Windows Media Player and Sonique, it is less likely that they will function on every single platform. Of course, once the music is transferred to a CD or portable MP3 player, the ads will disappear. And it remains to be seen whether or not listeners will appreciate being blasted with an ad before each song. But Digital Payloads' proposition isn't completely unheard-of. Already, programs such as MusicMatch and RealPlayer can pull in promotional material from the Web, while EverAd have created PlayJ, a unique audio format that carries commercials. And If the record industry wants to take advantage of the success of file-sharing it might have to consider using advertising in this way. At least it gives you time to boil the kettle while the MP3 adverts are on. comment on this article e-mail this to a friend start a discussion [about i-drive] writing index thoughts dotmusic index musicbank index Problems? Questions? Suggestions? Contact me: mail@tobyslater.com back to top back to home page

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