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Without commenting on the reason for its reversal, Sony Music decided to join in the free European download day after all. The label, which owns rights to selected Michael Jackson, Shakira and other songs, had resisted signing on with the other four major music labels to the promotion that began yesterday. The giveaway is being coordinated by Britain’s OD2 in an effort to gain a bit of goodwill in the fight against free music swapping. The music labels have been battling slumping CD sales in the U.S. and Europe as file sharing and music piracy becomes more of a problem. “Digital Download Day,” which extends until next week, is an offshoot of a similarly successful promotion in Britain last year. Users in France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Britain can redeem a $5.33 coupon to download three albums’ worth of songs for free on the web site digitaldownloadday.com. Roughly 150,000 songs will be available from Sony, EMI, Universal Music, BMG and Warner Music.
Consumers know of HDTV but still not buying it
Awareness of HDTV is rising much faster than actual use of the device. A new study from the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing found that roughly 80 percent of Americans are aware of the technology, compared to 68 percent last June. Broadband and HDTV users are, not surprisingly, the most aware of HDTV, with a 92 percent recognition rate. Digital cable subscribers have the highest unaided awareness at 79 percent. Still, only 22 percent consumers reported high interest in actually acquiring HDTV. Twenty-eight percent said they are very or somewhat likely to buy a wide-screen version if the price drops to $1,800 or below in the next three years. But a quarter of respondents said they wouldn’t buy the new technology even if it fell to $300. Almost half of all consumers surveyed said they weren’t sure how to get an HDTV signal in their homes.
Syracuse adds web-based reporting facilities
The million-dollar expansion of Syracuse University’s communications program will include a new web-based reporting facility and classroom, one of the first of its kind in the country. The new additions to the S.I. Newhouse School for Public Communications will allow students to produce interactive media content via web-based reporting. A broadcast newsroom is part of the new plan as well. The new facilities will be based on the Marketwatch and Bloomberg models, Newhouse School dean David Rubin has said. The project will be part of a $15 million expansion and should be finished in about two years.
Surfers remember NBC's fallen David Bloom
NBC reporter David Bloom, who died Sunday of a pulmonary embolism, is being remembered on the web. The 39-year-old was the most-searched person on Lycos Sunday and Monday. Many of the searchers were looking for streaming video of Bloom’s well-known Bloommobile, the personalized tank that he reported from in Iraq. “Pulmonary embolism” generated double the number of queries as Saddam Hussein or baseball and NCAA basketball on Monday. Only al-Jazeera and the Iraqi war sparked more searches.
Survey: Biggest career sites are also the best
The best career sites on the web are also the most well known. HotJobs.com, CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com are all recipients of the WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Awards for top internet job seeker and recruiter sites. The awards, sponsored by the staffing solutions company Bernard Hodes Group, surveyed more than 8,000 job seekers during the past year to determine the winners. HotJobs was rated best overall job site. CareerBuilder received best customer service while most job-seeker friendly went to Monster. All three rank among the top job-finding sites on the web, according to Nielsen//NetRatings.
April 10, 2003© 2003 Media Life
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