THE FUTURE OF MUSIC IS HERE NOW - DIRECT TO CONSUMER VIA INTERNET!
U.S. ELECTRIC RECORDS CHIEF TO REVEAL ALL AUGUST 2 IN SYDNEY

Anthony Stonefield - CEO and Chairman of Electric Records and Global Music Outlet - has developed & launched a current working online model for music lovers all over the world to transform their personal computers into a digital jukebox filled with personally selected songs at 99c apiece. He's also empowering musicians and indie or major record companies to sell their songs direct to consumers over the Internet. This not only bypasses the age-old "gatekeeper' distribution network of shipping CDs or tapes from multinational distributors via retailers to end users, it puts more money directly into the pockets of artists & indie labels.

From now on, shopping for interesting music is a simple point-and-click experience. "For music lovers with a mouse, a modem, and a mind of their own," says Stonefield, "The Information Revolution is about to start sounding particularly sweet." Only a few years ago, it was predicted that fast, simple, convenient, cost-effective CD quality digital downloading of music direct to consumers would not happen until after 2000. But technological breakthroughs made it happen now. Already, hundreds of songs have been sold from GMO.

With the help of AT&T Laboratories' engineers, GMO has combined an audio compression, secure server, and online transaction program into a new digital stereo audio format, called Electric Records, for producing and distributing songs electronically. The Electric Records distribution system allows hundreds of artists and record companies to offer music lovers thousands of songs for purchase via online music storefronts. It will revolutionise the way we enjoy and buy music. It also prevents unauthorised copying of music, limiting it to one user.

Songs are downloaded on the Web and played on PC or home stereo speakers in one simple, secure transaction. Electric Records Net site is http://www. electricrecords.com. Media folks are invited to download a preliminary release Windows version of the Electric Record Player on the web at http://www.globalmusic.com/beta_group.html. Artists are also going solo direct.

For example, major artist Todd Rundgren's placed his first songs for sale on the Internet this week. "The Surf Talks" - is the first single and the start of World Wide Web-only distribution by the musician of all future recordings - both audio and video. Details & samples are at his web site at http://www.tr-i.com/subscribe.html. Rundgren has a close association with GMO.

As Rundgren states, "If I were to go to a record label and ask for a deal, they'd make a guess as to how many people would buy the record and give me an advance based on that number, in effect lending me some fraction of the money that my fans would eventually (2 or so years later) pony up. It occurred to me that with the aid of some modern advances I could go directly to my audience, ask them if they would commit to buying the music, and then deliver it to them as it is produced, thus eliminating the middlemen. Additionally, I wouldn't be constrained by the limitations of manufacturing which would allow me to complete and deliver ideas that might not normally appear on a CD. In fact, I could consider extending the experience beyond music to include interactive presentations, live online events and other experiments. I'm doing it now."

Stonefield speaks with over 45 other top overseas and Australian entertainment experts at the two day Conference. Full speaker and schedule details are available from IMMEDIA! by calling (02) 9557 7766 or from the Internet at http://www.immedia.com.au/neic Both days are $350 or $200 for one day. Interviews with Anthony Stonefield are via Phil Tripp at IMMEDIA!

BACKGROUNDER ON ELECTRIC RECORDS & DIRECT DOWNLOADING OF MUSIC

All your songs are stored on your hard drive and played on the Electric Record Player that displays artwork, song lyrics and other useful material. It also lets you arrange your music into custom compilations of electronic songs, or it will play randomly shuffled songs. The Electric Record Player is downloaded free. You only pay for the songs that play on it. (The player has a "Mute" option for emergency use when the boss is around.)

The Electric Records audio compression scheme compacts bulky CD audio data files to 4.5% of their original size while maintaining full digital stereo sound quality that exceeds the fidelity of most soundcards and home stereo systems. In the Electric Record format, a three-minute song weighs in at just 1.4 megabytes and downloads from the Internet in about eight minutes via a 28.8 modem. Over an hour of music fits into 30 megabytes of computer memory.

"The traditional music distribution paradigm has grown overburdened and outdated," says Anthony Stonefield, CEO & chairman of GMO. "Electronic distribution is clearly the next step for the industry." Electronic distribution is a boon for thousands of artists and record companies that have long suffered for producing music outside of mainstream formats as well as for their customers. For eclectic music lovers there is no longer a need to recall song titles or artist names. Songs are indexed according to their musical qualities, and music fans can search for and preview songs according to their personal tastes.

Despite the music industry's apprehension of digital technologies, GMO's business model is quite sound. Much like a regular record company, GMO licenses music directly from the owner. Artists, publishers & record companies receive more of the sales revenues than they did in the singles market of yesteryear. And ten hand-picked electronic songs are cheaper than a 10-song CD.

Trading in electronic songs opens up a galaxy of marketing opportunities. Electric Records eliminates the need for discs or tapes while retaining the quality and versatility. But the system can also be used as a marketing tool to enhance sales of traditional media. For example, in an electronic record release campaign, a particular track from the CD may be pre-released online to entice fans to mail order the full-length CD.

Online music lovers who want to play electronic songs need a standard 16-bit soundcard and a Windows95 or NT Pentium machine or PowerMac (trial version) to purchase and play the music. Then, using an inexpensive stereo minijack cable, headphones, PC speakers or home stereo systems can be plugged into the soundcard to complete your home entertainment system. For music lovers simply seeking off-the-shelf CDs from popular artists, GMO also will soon offer over 200,000 titles for mail order in its CD Supermarket.

This year your eclectic Electric Record collection will remain contained in your PC. But in 1998 portable players will be available that play songs on flash memory cards. You will be able to copy selections of songs onto the memory card quicker and more simply than recording a cassette. These flash cards will slot into a palm-sized player or an adapter in your car stereo. A prototype of the player has already been developed by AT&T.

Progressive artists and online music pioneers are plugging into the new system . Multimedia pioneer and popular artist, Todd Rundgren, sees Electric Records as a timely solution for supporting his groundbreaking artist subscription service, called PatroNet. Rundgren is pre-releasing his newest songs in electronic format exclusively to his online subscribers (http://www.tr-i.com) starting in mid-June."Electric Records affords a solution to the problem of transactions for a subscription artist--sometimes people don't want to subscribe, they just want the song," said Rundgren. "With Electric Records’ help I can reach all possible potential listeners (whom I hope to eventually convert to subscribers!), and still maintain the proprietary value of the work I do for my underwriters."

See previous releases from 24 June 1997 and 4th July 1997.