<span class="gmail_quote"></span><br>=================================================================<br> J@pan Inc Magazine Presents:<br> M U S I C M E D I A W A T C H<br> Commentary on Japan's music technology news
<br>=================================================================
<br><br> Issue No. 112<br> Friday June 8, 2007<br> Tokyo<br><br> ----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>CONTENTS<br><br>++ FEATURE: JASRAC Wins Again<br><br>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS: <br> ** Warner Music Japan to sell music on iTunes
<br> ** Napster, NTT DoCoMo start 'Uta-houdai' flat-rate <br> subscription service<br> ** Label Mobile records 100 million full-song downloads<br> ** Dwango releases Flash application for making music
<br> ** NTT DoCoMo starts new i-mode service in Hong Kong<br><br><br>++ FEATURE: JASRAC Wins Again<br><br>For the past few weeks, much of the buzz in digital media circles<br>here has centered around a recent court victory claimed by
<br>JASRAC, the main copyright collection organization for Japan, <br>over a local company that had attempted to operate an online <br>digital music storage service. <br><br>Back in November 2005, Tokyo-based Image City (called Computer
<br>City at the time) announced the beta launch of MYUTA, a new <br>service allowing subscribers to store their digital music files <br>(for their own personal use) on a central server. A key feature <br>of the service was the capability for subscribers to access and
<br>play the stored music tracks on their mobile phones. JASRAC <br>immediately stepped in and contacted Image City, claiming the <br>service required its approval in order to launch. Image City <br>disagreed, saying the service was outside of JASRAC's domain,
<br>and the stage was set for a legal battle.<br><br>Not wanting to operate under the cloud of legal uncertainty, <br>Image City suspended the MYUTA service in April 2006. The company<br>then filed a motion with the Tokyo Court seeking confirmation
<br>that MYUTA fell under the category of 'private use' copying for <br>a single individual, and was therefore not subject to JASRAC's <br>authority. On May 25 of this year, however, the court ruled that <br>
because Image City owns the servers from which the stored files
<br>are downloaded, the company is responsible for public <br>transmission of copyrighted works, and therefore subject to <br>JASRAC's authority.<br><br>The decision has sparked a storm of protest from many in the <br>
Japanese online and digital media community who feel a dangerous <br>precedent has been set. If online services for individuals can be<br>shut down because the servers might be storing copyrighted <br>material, then JASRAC could apply similar pressure to other
<br>existing 'personal use' services such as Yahoo's Briefcase and <br>Apple's .Mac. <br><br>As Japan's primary copyright organization, JASRAC has always <br>drawn mixed reviews from those in the music and tech sectors. On
<br>the plus side, JASRAC has played a major role in the overall <br>success of mobile music in Japan. The organization was quick to <br>establish a single 'one-stop clearing house' system for paying <br>royalties on ringtones, and kept the rates down to a reasonable
<br>5% of sales. Japanese music content providers who venture out <br>overseas to deal with other rights organizations often return <br>with a renewed sense of appreciation for JASRAC.<br><br>On the other hand, JASRAC has also acquired a reputation in some
<br>circles for arbitrary and high-handed behavior. Night club and <br>restaurant owners in particular have been critical of the way <br>fees are collected, calling for more transparency and clarity in<br>both the calculation of payments and distribution of royalties.
<br>If JASRAC determines that a venue has not been paying its dues <br>properly, it can charge the owner for up to 10 years of <br>retroactive payments. And when it wins a major court battle such <br>as the one against Image City, it is quick to get the word out
<br>and use its victory as a deterrent to other would-be challengers <br>of authority.<br><br>It is unclear at this point if Image City will appeal the ruling,<br>but even if they did, the odds of a reversal are practically
<br>negligible. Of perhaps more far-reaching importance is the degree<br>to which this case will act as a precedent for similar conflicts <br>which are bound to arise in the near future. <br><br>---------------- ICA Event - June 21 ----------------------
<br><br>Speaker:Peter Butterfield<br>Vice President and General Counsel, KVH Co., Ltd.<br>Speaker:M.S. Rangaraj<br>Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, KVH Co., Ltd.<br><br>Topic:Offshoring to India-Key Factors to Consider
<br><br>Details:Complete event details at<br><a href="http://www.icajapan.jp/%28RSVP" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.icajapan.jp/(RSVP</a> Required)<br>Date:Thursday, June 21, 2007
<br>Time:6:30 Doors open, Light buffet and Open Bar included<br>
Cost:3,000 yen (members), 5,500 yen (non-members)<br>Open to all-location is Ristorante Conca d'Oro<br><a href="http://www.websanko.com/b_info/akgardencity/details.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.websanko.com/b_info/akgardencity/details.html
</a><br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br><br><br>++ NOTEWORTHY NEWS<br><br>** Warner Music Japan to sell music on iTunes<br>In brief: Apple Japan announced on June 6 that it would begin
<br>offering tracks from Warner Music on the iTunes Music Store in <br>Japan. Warner had been a notable holdout on iTunes Japan since <br>the service started nearly two years ago, and the inclusion of <br>its catalog is expected to give a the iTunes store here. The only
<br>major label that is still missing for iTunes is Sony.<br>Source:<br><a href="http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070606-00000061-zdn_lp-sci" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20070606-00000061-zdn_lp-sci
</a><br><br>** Napster, NTT DoCoMo start 'Uta-houdai' flat-rate subscription
<br>service<br>In brief: With the release of the N904i and SH904i handsets on <br>May 25, Napster and NTT DoCoMo officially kicked off the start of<br>their new 'Uta-houdai' service. For JPY1,980 (US$16.50) per <br>
month, subscribers have unlimited access to over 300,000 songs. <br>From June 9-17, a promotional campaign will run allowing users to<br>sample songs from the service for free. Songs downloaded during <br>this time will be playable for 24 hours. The current 'Napster to
<br>Go' service is also being extended to support the new 904i DoCoMo<br>models.<br>Source:<br><a href="http://www.towerrecords.jp/company/pdf/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.towerrecords.jp/company/pdf/</a><br>070525NapserToGo%20utahoudai.pdf
<br><br>** Label Mobile records 100 million full-song downloads<br>In brief: On May 21, Label Mobile announced that it had recorded <br>a total of 100 million paid full-song downloads since starting <br>the service on KDDI in November 2004. This figure includes
<br>downloads from not only KDDI, but also SoftBank and NTT DoCoMo. <br>It is estimated that over 75% of all full-song downloads in Japan<br>come from the Label Mobile site. Label Mobile is joint venture of<br>record labels in Japan, and has also been the target of an
<br>ongoing investigation by the Japanese Fair Trade Commission for <br>cartel-like behavior. <br>Source:<br><a href="http://recochoku.jp/press/070521/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://recochoku.jp/press/070521/</a> <br><br>** Dwango releases Flash application for making music
<br>In brief: Dwango recently introduced a new Flash application <br>called 'Hasshin Melody' on its <a href="http://dwango.jp" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">dwango.jp</a> mobile music download
<br>service that lets users make music by pressing the number keys
<br>on the phone. Each key corresponds to a particular instrument or<br>vocal pattern, which is synched to a short animation. <br>Source:<br><a href="http://info.dwango.co.jp/pdf/press/2007/070601_2.pdf" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://info.dwango.co.jp/pdf/press/2007/070601_2.pdf
</a> <br><br>** NTT DoCoMo starts new i-mode service in Hong Kong<br>In brief: On May 30, NTT DoCoMo announced it had started a new <br>i-mode service in Hong Kong, in conjunction with Hutchison <br>Telephone. The new service will initially be supported on three
<br>handsets made by Motorola, Samsung and NEC. The new Hong Kong <br>offering marks the 18th i-mode service started by DoCoMo.<br>Source:<br><a href="http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/info/news_release/page/070530_03.html" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/info/news_release/page/070530_03.html
</a> <br><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br>Start a Company in Japan<br><br>Entrepreneur's Handbook Seminar 9th of June, 2007<br><br>If you have been considering setting up your own company,
<br>find out what it takes to make it successful.<br>Terrie Lloyd, founder of over 13 start-up companies in Japan,<br>will be giving an English-language seminar and Q and A on<br>starting up a company in Japan.<br>This is an ideal opportunity to find out what is involved,
<br>and to ask specific questions that are not normally answered<br>in business books.<br>All materials are in English and are Japan-focused.<br><br>For more details: <a href="http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
http://japaninc.com/terrie_lloyd/
</a><br>-----------------------------------------------------------<br><br>DON'T MISS JAPAN INC MAGAZINE'S SUMMER ISSUE:<br>Featuring our Real Estate Special, Web 2.0 Marketing and more!<br>Subscribe now at <a href="http://www.japaninc.com/mgz_subscriptions" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
www.japaninc.com/mgz_subscriptions</a><br>
<br clear="all"><br><br>