Internet media company CNET Networks announced on Friday that it is acquiring the assets of online music distributor MP3.com.
CNET Networks said it has signed a definitive agreement with Vivendi Universal Net USA to acquire the assets of MP3.com, with the deal scheduled to close in December. Terms of the transaction were not released. CNET Networks operates an array of technology-oriented Web sites including CNET.com, Builder.com, GameSpot, mySimon.com, News.com and ZDNet.
News of the deal first surfaced in an email sent by MP3.com to its customers and posted to its site late on Thursday. In the email, MP3.com informed users that its Web site would no longer be accessible in its current form and that CNET Networks plans to reintroduce the music site with new features and services. MP3.com said that after the site's removal, all of the online content on its servers will be deleted and promised that previously submitted musical works in its possession will be destroyed.
MP3.com was once the standard-bearer for digital visionaries looking to the Internet to undermine the power of the traditional music business. By offering free online storage space and access to any band, signed or not, the company and founder Michael Robertson hoped to create a new distribution mechanism that would expand how people got music and what kind of music they listened to.
Robertson did succeed in winning the enmity of the major record labels, who sued the company for tens of millions of dollars when he launched a service that allowed people online access to music they owned. But the rise of Napster and file-swapping did as much to eclipse MP3.com's star.
With free access to major label and other music available through Napster, people flocked to it and other trading networks instead. Robertson ultimately sold the MP3.com property to Vivendi Universal, which maintained the unsigned artist database but used the company's technology to launch Pressplay, the digital music subscription service co-owned with Sony Music Entertainment.
After a corporate shakeup, and the realization of mounting debt, Vivendi lost interest in maintaining money-losing digital assets. It sold Pressplay to Roxio to let it run Roxio's new Napster service. MP3.com is one of the last music assets to go, following the sale of digital music company Emusic to a New York investment firm last month.
CNET Networks representatives said the company aims to augment its position as a provider of interactive content through the acquisition, with plans to enter the online music market through MP3.com. However, a company representative said the revamped site would not compete with music download services such as Napster. Instead, the company plans to turn MP3.com into a source of information for digital music.
CNET Networks believes MP3.com can attract an audience similar to visitors of its GameSpot Web site, which features video game reviews and downloads. The company did not announce a timeframe for its planned relaunch of MP3.com but said it is interested in connecting with artists and record companies that have previously distributed their music via the site.
CNET Networks is the publisher of ZDNet UK.
Talkback
As an independent artist, I am very concerned at what effect this will have on unsigned artists. Since 1999, MP3.com has been at the forefront of making sure that unsigned musicians could get the same kind of exposure that major label artists received. It put us in control of our own destinies, even providing a way for us to sell our independent CD's internationally. I hope CNET will realize that this is a viable and lucrative market and will continue to support independent and unsigned artists.
I find it absolutely appalling that two companies with thier assets could not agree to keep the sites going until such time as the new arrangesment are done and then transfer all content that is newly paid for by those artist who choose to continue into the new
countless artists efforts will be completely destroyed by this fine example of corporate disregard for individuals.
extremely dispicable behaviour
This is the end of an era. For years, MP3.com has been the source for independent artists to share their music free of charge, and a source for fans to find great music from both well-known and independent bands. I have run a Christian music station on MP3.com for about a year now, and have thouroughly enjoyed it. I have discovered some great bands, and really enjoyed helping to support other artists through my online station. Now, the only place left for people to go to is IUMA - the Internet Underground Music Authority. Unfortunately, unlike MP3.com, this site does not have fan stations. You can't create a station of your favorite music. And now, I will no longer be able to hear the newest music from Tooth and Nail Records and their affiliates. Tooth and Nail is by far the largest Christian rock/alternative label in the industry. They've even advertised on MP3.com. They used MP3.com as a way to provide fans with the latest music from their artists, and now we no longer have that privelege. I do not want MP3.com to become like Gamespot.com. It is wonderful in its current form. Sure, it costs a lot of money to run a site like that, but MP3.com never came to the fans and asked us for donations. Instaed, they went after ther artists themselves, and gave fans the option of a "premium" account, instead of asking for donations. Leave MP3.com alone!