Forum
Two reports, one on Engadget and the other on BetaNews, highlight Sony's decision last Friday to close its Connect music and video service.
The operation had been struggling for some time, not least because of the poor support from the parent company; itself becoming ever more fragmented. Recent focusing on buying out Grouper as a competitor to YouTube and MySpace lookalike 'Minisode Network' seems to have diverted resources from what should have been its bread-and-butter business. However no-one can argue that the dominance of iTunes, and particularly the recent announcement of DRM-free downloads from that site, must have had a hand in putting the final nail in the coffin of Connect. Other reasons are obvious, such as Sony's insistence that its proprietary encoding method ATRAC should prevail on the site.
However, to show the lack of joined-up thinking within the company, have a read of what Sony Corp. chairman and CEO Howard Stringer said* only the day before the Connect employees were told that the service was closing:
“The digital sales are creeping up; in some cases, they’re around 40 percent. . . . it’s a moment at which they [the music industry] have to say, well, look, it’s not fair, maybe, and we make all this content and what about our artists and what about our relationships, but the reality is, the customer is getting that music. So if we find ways to embrace the digital era and not fight it quite so enthusiastically, or sadly, then we’ll be in pretty good shape, I think.”
It seems the corporation will move its attentions to the PS3 market, with most of the employees being transferred to jobs within this area. What is less clear is the future of SonicStage, the Sony software which allowed the downloading and transfer of DRM'd ATRAC to the Sony portable music players. For subscribers who have downloaded music with DRM attached, and want to transfer to a new machine, the consequences are even more uncertain.
Thanks to Waethorn for letting us know about this news.
Next: Seagate Extends 2.5-inch HDD storage products (Press Release)
Previous: Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB HDD reviewed @Tech Report
The operation had been struggling for some time, not least because of the poor support from the parent company; itself becoming ever more fragmented. Recent focusing on buying out Grouper as a competitor to YouTube and MySpace lookalike 'Minisode Network' seems to have diverted resources from what should have been its bread-and-butter business. However no-one can argue that the dominance of iTunes, and particularly the recent announcement of DRM-free downloads from that site, must have had a hand in putting the final nail in the coffin of Connect. Other reasons are obvious, such as Sony's insistence that its proprietary encoding method ATRAC should prevail on the site.
However, to show the lack of joined-up thinking within the company, have a read of what Sony Corp. chairman and CEO Howard Stringer said* only the day before the Connect employees were told that the service was closing:
“The digital sales are creeping up; in some cases, they’re around 40 percent. . . . it’s a moment at which they [the music industry] have to say, well, look, it’s not fair, maybe, and we make all this content and what about our artists and what about our relationships, but the reality is, the customer is getting that music. So if we find ways to embrace the digital era and not fight it quite so enthusiastically, or sadly, then we’ll be in pretty good shape, I think.”
It seems the corporation will move its attentions to the PS3 market, with most of the employees being transferred to jobs within this area. What is less clear is the future of SonicStage, the Sony software which allowed the downloading and transfer of DRM'd ATRAC to the Sony portable music players. For subscribers who have downloaded music with DRM attached, and want to transfer to a new machine, the consequences are even more uncertain.
Thanks to Waethorn for letting us know about this news.
*source : paidContent.org
Next: Seagate Extends 2.5-inch HDD storage products (Press Release)Previous: Western Digital Caviar SE16 750GB HDD reviewed @Tech ReportWant to submit your own news? Click here
Posted by heystoopid on Wednesday 20 June 2007 22:23
Sounds like like SONY INC. , as we know it is being readied for major slicing and dicing so one could speculate that both SONY MUSIC and the equally poorly performing SONY Movie division may be the next items on Howard's hit list of items to be jettisoned in order to keep central afloat in it's current sea of red ink of trading losses for most of this new century!(Time Warner ? , if one may hazard a guess?)
But then again , who really cares anyway for that one cent in the dollar organization anyway!
But then again , who really cares anyway for that one cent in the dollar organization anyway!
Posted by applegodel8 on Thursday 21 June 2007 05:25
I am very disappointed in Sony, they used to be such a great company and had great ideas. If they would only give the customer what they want and the features and formats they want. I am a really big fan of the minidisc, and its a great format, but the cost and lack of audio formats is its problem. it was superior in many ways, Small, versatile in editing, and with the new 1 Gb solved its lack of PCM problem, and it is more durable then any other erasable format. i have never had any MD machine EVER glitch. Cd's DVD they all glitch at times. MD is what the cd should have been in the beginning, without the DRM and the earlier small storage issue. i wish Sony would get there acts together and become the great company they once were. 
Posted by CORRSA on Sunday 24 June 2007 07:27
LIKE MUSIC TO MY HEARS ANOTHER NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR $ONY
Related news
Related reviews/articles
Get the latest news via RSS 
