From the Chicago Tribune: "Corporate-sponsored music and custom-made cds are likely the wave of the future, as the record industry crosses the point of no return...

"In the not-too-distant future, the new Madonna album may be brought to you for free by Nike and the latest Eminem single may be sponsored by the Gap.

"For those consumers willing to pay a monthly fee -- less than a typical cable-TV subscription -- unlimited and instant access to a century's worth of music may be within reach. (Imagine being able to access the entire catalog of a venerable label such as Columbia Records -- containing hundreds of thousands of recordings spanning nearly a century by artists ranging from Billie Holiday to Bruce Springsteen as well as the latest works of Destiny's Child and Cypress Hill -- and then being able to download your favorites onto compact discs or store them in digital lockers that can be accessed from any computer.)...

"'The record industry is kidding itself if it thinks it can stop Internet piracy by putting Napster out of business,' said David Loundy, an attorney with D'Ancona and Pflaum in Chicago who specializes in Internet law. 'People are just going to move on to a better system. There will be a continuing series of Napster substitutes until the industry changes its business model...'

"At the same time, artists may be discouraged from making complete albums and instead emphasize individual singles, to coincide with the increasing desire of consumers to cherry-pick their favorite songs from the Internet and custom-make their own 'greatest hits' compact discs..

"By making it easier than ever for consumers to find the music they love, the Internet also will give the fan unprecedented influence over the art itself. Artists will have less incentive to deliver a complete package of music, artwork and lyrics to the consumer as fans surf the Web for only the songs they want and collect them on custom-made discs...

"The record industry..is gearing up for the new digital future... EMI has already put its music up for sale via download, but for a price: Singles cost $3.99 and albums as much as $17.98. How to persuade consumers to pay for music that they are now getting for free on the Internet is the multibillion dollar do-or-die question the industry must answer..."

Read the full piece by Tribune rock critic Greg Kot here.

From AltaVista.com: "The traditional AM/FM car radio is going the way of the Victrola and the eight-track

player. In fact, the company that pioneered radio in cars is one of many pushing to tune it out -- pairing it with the Internet to provide a more useful, entertaining and plugged-in product.

"Motorola Inc.'s iRadio prototype and a truckload of competitors, most still a year or more away from the market, are bringing the Web to your car.

"'We're reinventing a product we invented in 1929,' says Brian Santoro, a vice president at Schaumburg, Ill.-based Motorola, whose name comes from 'motor car' plus 'Victrola.' 'It's our heritage, it's our DNA.''

"While Motorola is among the leaders in this emerging blockbuster category, it won't be first. Clarion Corp. of America claimed those honors last year when it came out with a souped-up car radio called Clarion AutoPC.

"Along with the usual radio and CD player, the voice-activated system offers personalized Internet data such as news headlines, sports scores and stock quotes along with e-mail, and can provide directions with a built-in global positioning system....

"Others are scrambling to come out with similar products. Among automakers, General Motors and its OnStar service will provide some Internet access in new versions of 32 of its 54 models this fall..."

Read the full story in AltaVista here.

Citadel signs Bro-Net for website design
From Inside Radio: "Citadel hires Bro-Net to simplify design of news/talk, sports websites. Simplicast allows jocks with little or no HTML skills to edit the station’s web pages in seconds. KGA-AM and KJRB-AM, Spokane already running on the new technology.

"All Citadel news/talk and sports properties will be equipped by the end of the month. Station personnel can cut and paste new content – articles, music reviews, concert info – directly into the online editor. Hopes of reducing reliance upon highly-paid Internet programming personnel... Citadel contract valued at about $1 million. Including trade in the form of on-air promotions for Bro-Net." Read the full story at InsideRadio.com

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September 20-23	NAB Radio Show, San Francisco
Sept. 29-Oct. 1	MOBE/Internet & Technology, Chicago
October 5-7	Billboard/Airplay Monitor Seminar, New York
October 9-12	QuickTime Live! Conference, Beverly Hills
November 5-7	NAB European Radio Conference, Berlin
Nov. 28-Dec. 1	Radio Ink Internet Conference, Santa Clara, CA

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