MP3.com Bulks Up Business Offerings

While newly-acquired MP3 is best known for its vast bank of about a
million songs, many people forget that it also dabbles in the business-to-business arena.

On Friday, the San Diego-based company reminded customers that it offers
Radio Services for all types of
radio stations, as well as a syndicated radio program that connects
terrestrial radio stations
across the country with MP3.com. Stations looking to spread the air waves
with MP3 content can tap the company for specific content and services for
their listeners.

The company’s Music LicensingProgram is comprised of various services designed to allow music
supervisors to shop for talent from MP3.com’s pool of 150,000 artists; it’s
basically solo in its field as an online alternative for independent artists
seeking opportunities at a national and international level.

With the proliferation of wireless devices, MP3.com also believes its has a
winner in the form of its MusicInterOperating System, which was created to play music through personal
digital assistants (PDAs) for music lovers on the go

Also chief among its services is the altruistic Spirit 2000 fund-raising
program designed to help non-profit outfits such as schools and churches
raise money using MP3 technology. Participants receive resources to build a
Web site and create and sell CDs of their choice.

While this has been an MP3.com mainstay, some may question whether this
service will hold serve now that one of the Big 5 record companies looms
large in the picture; Vivendi Universal and others of its ilk are not quite
as philanthropic when it comes to independent artists.

As for Monday’s purchase of MP3.com by Vivendi, industry watchers believe
MP3.com/Vivendi will challenge the Napster/Bertelsmann duo by offering
technical contributions to the Sony/Vivendi-powered Duet venture. Like its
fellow auspicious rival MusicNet, Duet is a pending subscription or pay-for-play service
and its goal is to license other companies’ catalogs to entice users.