Tag: mp3
Posted inNews

‘Before the MP3 the music industry thought it sold music…’

Avatar photo by Eamonn Forde

“The MP3 file has become the URL,” said Spotify boss Daniel Ek 10 years ago, in 2010. Yet the MP3 lives on: it’s actually celebrating its silver (25th) anniversary today, with the file extension name .mp3 having been minted on 14 July 1995 by the Fraunhofer Society.

Within five years, the MP3 would be turning the record business on its head through its use by filesharing platforms like Napster, and (eventually) by legal music download stores.

This morning, British songwriters body The Ivors Academy and the Musicians’ Union are using the anniversary to remind the industry of their ‘Keep Music Alive’ campaign to reform the streaming ecosystem for artists.

Posted inMarketing, Sandbox

Sandbox Issue 91 – MP-Free

Avatar photo by Music Ally

Lead: pretty much every artist now gives away MP3s at some point, often in exchange for emails. We look at the best time to do this, what types of tracks should be considered for giveaways and who the best partners are to work with. We also consider the ubiquity of free downloads and how this could bring growing problems.

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Posted inData, News

MP3 players still on the way out, says analyst

Avatar photo by Music Ally

Analyst Mintel has predicted a sharp decline in sales of standalone MP3 players, which it sees falling from £381m in 2012 to £177m by 2017, although a “worst-case” scenario has been suggested that could see sales as low as £25m that year. You don’t have to look far for the culprit: smartphones, which are now functioning as the digital music player of choice for hundreds of millions of people.

Posted inNews

Wal-Mart shutting its music downloads store this month

Avatar photo by Music Ally

It seems US retailer Wal-Mart isn’t the next iTunes after all. The company has announced that it is closing its MP3 download store later this month, having failed to make a dent in Apple’s dominant market share in the US. “After eight years in business, the Walmart Music Downloads Store located at mp3.walmart.com will close on August 28, 2011,” explains a letter to partners uncovered by Digital Music News.