|
MusicDish Industry Survey on SDMI
On July 13th, the Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) Forum
released the Portable Device Specification Part 1, Version 1.0 to the
public. The purpose of the Specification is to provide a technical
environment for the secure distribution of digital music to
next-generation portable digital music players (PDMP). As such, it is
of critical importance to all segments of the music industry,
including artists, copyright owners, distributors, retailers and
hardware/software manufacturers.
This prompted Tag It to launch the fourth MusicDish Industry Survey to try to gain an understanding of the impact the standard will have on the music industry. You will find below the aggregate views of 150 music industry members from all segments of the industry who have participated in the survey.
For more information on the Secure Digital Music Initiative, download a MusicDish special report in pdf.
We wish to thank all those who participated in the survey as well as Muska & Lipman, publisher of MP3 Power! with Winamp, BandUtopia*Com, Musician's Resource, and Muse's Muse, Songwriter's Resource.
Results from survey conducted from July 22 to August 20, 1999
Demographics
| Musician : |
22 % |
| Songwriter : |
10 % |
| Executive : |
8 % |
| Label Owner : |
8 % |
| Fan : |
7 % |
| Tech/Engineer : |
7 % |
| Consultant : |
5 % |
| Manager : |
5 % |
| Media : |
4 % |
| Advertising : |
3 % |
| DJ : |
3 % |
| Other : |
3 % |
| Producer : |
3 % |
| Research : |
3 % |
| Sales : |
3 % |
| Web Developer : |
3 % |
| A&R : |
1 % |
| Legal : |
1 % |
| Promoter : |
1 % |
1. Do you or your organization distribute music online?
View pie chart
2. If not, for what reasons have you decided not to distribute music online?
| Other : |
44 % |
| Lack of technical skills : |
20 % |
| No access to a server : |
12 % |
| Piracy & copyright concerns : |
12 % |
| Lack of a revenue model : |
7 % |
| Negative impact on CD sales : |
4 % |
| Audio quality : |
1 % |
View pie chart
3. Which format do you most use to distribute music online?
| mp3 : |
60 % |
| RealAudio : |
20 % |
| Other : |
13 % |
| Liquid Audio : |
2 % |
| MS Audio : |
2 % |
| wav : |
2 % |
| a2b music : |
1 % |
View pie chart
4. Has the lack of a uniform secure distribution system limited your distribution of music online?
| No : |
56 % |
| Uncertain : |
22 % |
| Yes : |
22 % |
View pie chart
5. How important is the SDMI's work to your business/career plan? (Rate from 1-5, 1 being not at all important & 5 being very important)
| 1 : |
35 % |
| 3 : |
23 % |
| 4 : |
16 % |
| 2 : |
13 % |
| 5 : |
13 % |
View pie chart
6. Do you feel that SDMI has furthered the objectives of the RIAA or the industry as a whole?
| Uncertain : |
45 % |
| RIAA : |
33 % |
| Industry as a whole : |
17 % |
| Other : |
5 % |
View pie chart
7. Do you view the major labels' concession on SDMI-compliant players being able to play non SDMI-compliant content produced before Phase II implementation as a sign of a new approach to digital music?
| Yes : |
41 % |
| No : |
32 % |
| Uncertain : |
27 % |
View pie chart
8. Do you feel that the fact that the SDMI decision making process, not being open to the public, press or interested parties, had a detrimental or positive impact on the group's work?
| Detrimental : |
64 % |
| Uncertain : |
21 % |
| Positive : |
15 % |
View pie chart
9. Do you feel that the minimum membership fee of $10,000 significantly restricts broad participation of industry players?
| Yes : |
88 % |
| No : |
7 % |
| Uncertain : |
5 % |
View pie chart
10. Do you feel that firms that are not members of SDMI will have sufficient incentives to make their portable digital music players (PDMPs) SDMI-compliant?
| No : |
49 % |
| Uncertain : |
29 % |
| Yes : |
22 % |
View pie chart
11. If manufacturers of PDMPs incorporate SDMI technology in their products, will you be more or less likely to distribute SDMI-compliant content?
| More likely : |
40 % |
| Uncertain : |
35 % |
| Less Likely : |
25 % |
View pie chart
The Portable Devices Specification's proposed default Usage
Rule would allow users to make no more than four
(4) usable copies of a recording, of which three (3) may be transfered to
other SDMI-compliant devices. In order to make more copies, the original
source must be recopied producing again 4 usable copies.
12. Considering consumers presently have no technical limits as to the manner in which they may copy music, do you feel this rule will have a negative impact on consumer demand for SDMI-compliant applications?
| Yes : |
52 % |
| No : |
25 % |
| Uncertain : |
23 % |
View pie chart
13. As a copyright holder, would you keep the usage rule at the default setting or permit more/less reproduction?
| Unlimited copies : |
38 % |
| Default setting : |
30 % |
| Less than 4 copies : |
17 % |
| More than four copies : |
15 % |
View pie chart
14. SDMI-compliant PDMPs will incorporate a unique ID used to enforce the Usage Rules specified by the copyright holder. Do you feel this raises valid privacy concerns?
| Yes : |
61 % |
| No : |
25 % |
| Uncertain : |
14 % |
View pie chart
SDMI-compliant PDMPs will incorporate a unique ID used to enforce the Usage
Rules specified by the copyright holder.
15. Do you feel that it will raise concerns among consumers and affect the sale of SDMI-compliant PDMPs?
| Raise concerns & impact sales : |
62 % |
| Raise concerns but no impact on sales : |
28 % |
| Will not raise concerns : |
10 % |
View pie chart
16. Do you feel that the two-phase approach being proposed by SDMI will lead to consumer confusion?
| Yes : |
67 % |
| Uncertain : |
22 % |
| No : |
11 % |
View pie chart
17. Do you believe that this will provide an incentive for companies to place significant resources in getting consumers to upgrade their PDMPs from Phase 1 to Phase 2?
| Uncertain : |
40 % |
| Yes : |
32 % |
| No : |
28 % |
View pie chart
18. Do you feel consumers will have an incentive to upgrade their PDMPs to Phase 2, and if so, at what cost?
| Yes, but at no cost : |
42 % |
| No : |
30 % |
| Yes, if cheap and easy to install chip upgrade : |
25 % |
| Yes, willing to buy new PD : |
3 % |
View pie chart
--
Surveys Index
|
News Beat
