Sony Music Sings New Copy-Protection Tune
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Sony Music, home to such artists as Beyonce Knowles and Bruce Springsteen, on Monday said it plans to introduce new CD technology in Germany that prevents users from copying songs to file-sharing sites, but allows them to make copies for their personal use.
The record industry blames its recent sales slump on file-sharing services like KaZaa, which it says are havens for piracy. Last year, major labels issued "copy-protected" CDs that prevent them from being played on computers.
The copy-protected discs faced a backlash from customers and music fans, and several lawsuits emerged from some customers that complained these CDs caused their computers and other devices to malfunction.
But Sony thinks it has an appealing approach: Give customers added incentives to buy copy-protected CDs.
On Monday, Sony will release rhythm & blues group Naturally Seven's new CD in Germany with a so-called "second session." The disc can be played on almost any device conventionally, said Sony Music Chief Technology Officer Phil Wiser.
It also contains a compressed digital copy of the music that can be quickly copied onto any computer. From the computer, users can copy that music onto Sony portable digital music players.
The CD's also allow users to connect to Web sites with exclusive features such as bonus songs and concert tickets. The features are only available if you have the original CD.
Such features are already available with Sony artists like Tori Amos and AC/DC. But the new discs combine the "second session" copy protection with the bonus features, which Sony has dubbed "ConnecteD."
Sony will evaluate customers' reaction to the new technology before introducing it in other countries. Wiser declined to specify a timetable for which the technology will be available in the United States.
"We believe we can deliver more value by delivering more immediate content, an interactive experience, a better experience. Even if you could go to a (file-sharing) site and download a single song, you won't get the kind of content that we can deliver."
A label on the disc will say it includes the new copy protection software features.
There are several limitations. The digital files will only play on Sony-licensed digital music players. Wiser said Sony is working on "plug-in's" that will allow the files to be played on more popular players like Microsoft's Windows Media. He expects the plug-ins to be available early next year.
To copy the music to the Sony portable player, the technology requires an extra step to copy the files to a separate program to transfer the music to the portable player.
At this point, music can be transferred only to Sony portable players, although Sony executives note that Apple Computer's popular iTunes service works the same way with the Apple-branded iPod.
Earlier this year, BMG introduced similar technology with its hip-hop performer Anthony Hamilton.
BMG, which announced plans to merge with Sony Music last week, is using software from SunnComm Technologies to restrict the amount of copies that could be made of Hamilton's music. The software, however, did not work on some operating systems and was quickly hacked.
"All copy-protections can be hacked," Wiser said. "But if give people what they are asking for in terms of value, they won't go out and steal it. It's called trusting the consumer."
Whining while they work
By Donna Freydkin, USA TODAY
It's not like they're digging ditches or slogging away in salt mines. But that hasn't stopped some of Hollywood's best-known and, in some cases, highest-paid actors from whining about their work, an antic that rankled the late, great Katharine Hepburn. In Kate Remembered by A. Scott Berg, she lashed out at "actors who complain in interviews about 12-hour days."
Let's take a look at who in Hollywood hates their gigs the most.
Complainer: Hugh Grant
His grievance: Britain's foppish romantic-comedy king moaned in the May 2003 issue of Vanity Fair that acting is just torture, baby. "I kind of hate it. In fact, I hate it quite a lot — all acting, but especially movie acting," said Grant. "I'm rich and my life's luxurious. But, above all, I feel a nervous exhaustion."
Current status: Grant hasn't switched careers quite yet. His latest amorous outing, Love Actually, opens in select markets today. Plus, he's now shooting Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason in London with Renee Zellweger — after telling the BBC last April that he's not "particularly keen" about starring in the sequel.
Complainer: Denzel Washington
His grievance: The two-time Oscar winner says that acting isn't quite lighting his fire anymore. "I'm getting bored," he told the Calgary Sun in January. "I've done more than 25 films. I've been blessed to do a lot of good stuff, and I've got my nominations and awards, but I was starting to get stale." Plus, he told Extra last November at the premiere of his directorial debut, Antwone Fisher, "I really enjoyed the directing. I enjoy it more than acting. I've been bored with acting for a while."
Current status: Jaded thespian Washington just played yet another cop in the thriller Out of Time and portrays a bitter ex-Marine in the thriller Man on Fire, out next spring.
Complainer: Sean Penn
His grievance: The fiercely outspoken star of Mystic River told The New York Times Magazine back in December 1998 that he was done with acting for good. Seriously. "This is it. I'm not going to act in movies again." In May 2001, he told Britain's Observer that he disliked acting because "it doesn't fill any kind of need to work; it certainly hasn't filled my bank account."
Current status: Judging from the delirious reviews he earned in River, Penn's dramatic days aren't numbered yet. He plays a math professor in 21 Grams, opening in New York and L.A. on Nov. 21, but would rather work behind the camera again. "I don't know a sane man who's directed and acted who will tell you he doesn't just want to be directing," Penn said last month.
Kournikova refuses to quit
PATTAYA, Thailand (AFP) - Anna Kournikova said she was refusing to write off her career despite a chronic back injury which has blighted her recent performances.
The glamour girl of tennis, still only 22, claimed just one victory on the WTA Tour during the 2003 season, beating Slovakia's Henrieta Nagyova in the first round of the Australian Open in January.
She then played one match on home ground in Miami, lost in the first round in Sarasota and retired during her first round match at Amelia Island the following week.
Even stepping down to an ITF Challenger event in May in the search for an elusive victory proved unsuccessful, as she eventually retired during her semi-final. That was the last official match she played.
"I still love tennis and want to play, but I have a chronic back condition which makes it impossible to play more than week at a time," said Kournikova Sunday after competing in an exhibition match against Thailand's Tamarine Tanasugarn in Pattaya.
"As an athlete you must expect injuries and you have to learn how to deal with it, but it is very frustrating. But I really enjoyed playing against Tammy."
Kournikova still keeps in shape and showed plenty of the skills that once earned her victories over Steffi Graf and Martina Hingis, and took her to the Wimbledon semi-finals. And she is so keen to play regularly again that she is even considering surgery.
"That is one of the options I'm looking at," she revealed. "I hate needles, but I have to look at everything."
And she discounts the constant reports that she is much more interested in an acting career than returning to the tennis arena.
"When there is no information about me there will always be rumours," she said. "I should hold up a sign. My number one priority is tennis. That's what I want to do, far above anything else."
'Matrix Revolutions' Wins at Box Office
LOS ANGELES - The sci-fi Matrix saga lost some of its spin at the U.S. box office, with "The Matrix Revolutions" pulling in $50.16 million in its opening weekend — off 45 percent from the previous chapter's weekend debut.
"Revolutions," pummeled by critics as harshly as "The Matrix Reloaded" was last May, has grossed $85.5 million domestically since debuting Wednesday, according to studio estimates Sunday. While the numbers are high, they are still down from "Reloaded," which had a $91.8 million weekend debut and took in $134.2 million over its first four days.
Distributor Warner Bros. preferred to focus on the worldwide results for "Revolutions." Warner opened the movie simultaneously in a record 109 countries, where it racked up a worldwide total of $204.1 million in five days, beating the previous global high of about $200 million for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."
Will Ferrell's Christmas comedy "Elf," about a human raised among the little people at the North Pole, opened strongly in second place with $32.1 million domestically. In narrower release, the romantic comedy "Love Actually" had a healthy debut with $6.6 million, coming in at No. 6.
Despite the domestic debut for the final "Matrix" chapter, the "Matrix" franchise this year already is pushing the $1 billion mark.
"Anytime you have a billion dollars in box office, that's pretty impressive," Joel Silver, producer of "The Matrix" franchise, said Sunday. "I don't know how you point a finger and say there's anything wrong there."
Still, interest clearly has waned in the franchise, which began in 1999 with the Wachowski brothers' "The Matrix," starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss. The movie's sleek black fashion sense and slow-motion visual effects have become one of the most copied looks in movie history.
Many fans of the original were disappointed by "Matrix Reloaded," finding it a lackluster followup that emphasized style over substance.
"Reloaded's" opening weekend — the second-best ever after "Spider-Man's" $114.8 million — was greatly due to pent-up demand since the original movie. "Revolutions" lacked that buildup.
"I don't know what film could do $90 million and then repeat that with its next sequel just six months later," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations.
Playing in 3,502 theaters domestically, "Matrix Revolutions" averaged $14,322 a cinema from Friday to Sunday, down from a $25,472 average for "Matrix Reloaded." "Love Actually," with an ensemble cast including Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Liam Neeson and Laura Linney, averaged $11,458 in 576 cinemas, while "Elf" averaged $9,619 in 3,337 theaters.
Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner, said "Matrix Revolutions" may hold up better in subsequent weeks than did "Matrix Reloaded," whose grosses nose-dived in its second weekend. Films tend to have longer shelf life over the holidays than they do in summer-blockbuster season, he said.
"The story really isn't over yet," Fellman said. "We might not have had the same impact in the opening weekend, but you need to play this out for the next few weeks and see if we play a little catchup."
"Elf" and "Love Actually" were scheduled against "Matrix Revolutions" as alternatives to the sci-fi franchise, whose core audience is younger males. Families and children accounted for most of the crowds at "Elf," while "Love Actually" played mainly to women and older adults.
"We assumed we would be swamped, and essentially, we did get swamped" by "Matrix Revolutions," said Russell Schwartz, head of domestic marketing for "Elf" distributor New Line. "We were not trying to be No. 1."
Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. "The Matrix Revolutions," $50.16 million.
2. "Elf," $32.1 million.
3. "Brother Bear," $18.6 million.
4. "Scary Movie 3," $11.1 million.
5. "Radio," $7.4 million.
6. "Love Actually," $6.6 million.
7. "Mystic River," $4.83 million.
8 (tie). "Runaway Jury," $4.8 million.
8 (tie). "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," $4.8 million.
10. "The School of Rock," $3.15 million.
Duran Duran Carefully Plots Comeback
LOS ANGELES (Billboard) - Despite touring with all its original members for the first time in 18 years, Duran Duran is playing just 17 theater dates on its 2003 road trip, which kicks off Nov. 8.
The band is not crazy, organizers insist. It is grossly underplaying the market on purpose.
They say a truncated tour -- for which each date has sold out almost immediately -- will create enough buzz that Duran Duran avoids being labeled "a nostalgia act."
Before this tour, the original five members of the band played a few one-off warm-up shows during the summer in Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. Those sell-outs, combined with November's projections, led keyboardist Nick Rhodes to believe that "the chemistry is intact."
"Everyone is excited about playing the shows, and the audiences have been electric," he observes. "Never, ever in our career have we played to audiences like this. I have to say that it's been a real shock."
Drummer Roger Taylor left the group in 1986 for personal reasons. Guitarist Andy Taylor exited at the same time to work solo. Bassist John Taylor split in 1996 and also embarked on a solo project. But all three Taylors (who are not related) have reteamed with Rhodes and vocalist Simon LeBon, who have continued to perform as Duran Duran. And 2003 also marks the 25th anniversary of the band's formation in 1978.
On Nov. 4, EMI rolled out the DVD anthology "Greatest." It contains the group's classic videos, including previously unreleased versions.
Rhodes says that the band's past required it to lay down new material before setting out on a full-fledged tour.
"That was the first priority," Rhodes says of the new album, targeted for release in early 2004. (Management currently is negotiating a label deal.) "That's really the center of it all to us. We had to make sure we could get that right. We didn't just want to get together and play the old songs."
He continues, "This year has been very much about reintroducing Duran Duran as this lineup and trying to let people know that 'Yep, we're back."'
To accomplish that, Laister and Rhodes say the number of dates and the venue sizes had to be limited. Both promise that Duran Duran will launch a 2004 world tour that will stop at arenas and amphitheaters. It will intersperse new material with old favorites.
The band's glory days were during the 1980s, with such albums as "Rio" (1982). Its last major success came a decade ago with "Duran Duran (The Wedding Album)," which sold 1.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
"We kind of hoped that there would be an audience out there who would want to come and see us -- but you never really know," says Rhodes, who's taken aback by the quick sell-outs of the shows.
By carefully mapping out its comeback, Rhodes believes Duran Duran has a strong shot at a lasting reunion.
"If we're going to do it, let's do it properly," he says, noting that the group's new songs feel as satisfying as anything it has written before.
What is interesting about playing together after so long, Rhodes, observes, "is that we've become a little more graceful with each other, allowing the space for each person to do what they are best at."
He describes the new material as a mix of edgy rock and dark, electronic synth pop. Others, he says, have described the sound as "Duran Duran, but what should sound like now."