|
Capitol's new online single
|
 |
September 5, 1997: 6:06 p.m. ET
Duran Duran to offer first song via Internet using Liquid Audio technology
|
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Capitol Records Inc. plans to become the first major record label to offer singles for sale online even before the record is available in conventional retail stores.
Capitol recording artist, Duran Duran, on Monday will release the first single, "Electric Barbarella," from its upcoming album, Medazzaland, as an online offering. The album's release date is Oct. 14.
"This promotion is one more way of introducing the music through another channel or finding customers we may not reach through traditional means," said Robin Bechtel, senior director for new media at Capitol Records.
The band and Capitol Records have partnered with Redwood City, Calif.-based Liquid Audio -- a software firm providing the encryption, watermark and reporting technology.
The single will be offered for 99 cents while an "Internet only" mix will be available for $1.99 as of Tuesday, Sept. 9. The application software, Liquid Audio MusicPlayer, to listen to the single is downloadable free of charge.
In addition, purchasers will also receive the address to a secret URL to view the upcoming video.
Spearheading the efforts from the band's perspective is Duran Duran's founder and keyboard player, Nick Rhodes.
"To be able to experiment with new forms of distribution and technology comes naturally to the group and we're excited about the reaction we'll get," Rhodes said in a statement.
With the support of Dolby Laboratory and Intel Corp., Liquid Audio hopes to profit from the venture by selling recording labels with the necessary technology as well as processing and reporting fees.
"We see this as a very viable and profitable opportunity for the industry and ourselves," said Scott Burnett, vice president of marketing. He says that credit-card processing fees are low enough for record labels to realize a profit from the low unit prices of singles.
-- Robert Liu
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
