Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/9303
8B – Daily News – Monday, April 19, 2010 ‘Cloud’ music plans no longer just pie in the sky LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s no more need to own songs before being able to listen to them at your convenience. No more buying music to download onto comput- ers and mobile devices — and certainly no more stack- ing CDs on shelves. Virtual- ly the whole world of recorded music is at your fingertips at any time, for a subscription, over the Inter- net. Barber Shop $ Cheers 600 Senior Cuts Open 6 days 9-6 570-2304 259 S. Main St. Tractor Supply Center Services that make this scenario possible haven’t proven very popular yet. But new price cuts and advances in technology could finally drive the idea to the mainstream. For instance, Rhapsody International Inc. and Thumbplay Inc. now offer the ability, for $10 a month, to choose and play almost any song or album instantly on a mobile device that can connect to the Internet over Jack the Ribber • Ribs •Tri-Tip • Pulled Pork • Specials Mon.-Fri. 11am-8pm Sat. 5-9pm 1150 Monroe St. 527-6108 a cell phone network. Justin Darcy, a 32-year- old sales director at a resort company in San Francisco, says he consumes so much music it would cost him $10,000 a year if he didn’t have a Rhapsody plan. He calls it ‘‘one of the greatest values in consumer goods I’ve ever come across.’’ Given the obvious bene- fit of being able to listen to millions of songs as if they were in your personal stash, Welcomes Photographer & Western Artist Linda Rosser 40 years of “Red Bluff Round Up” Photos Plus 34 frames of Lane Frost on Red Rock Friday April • 2nd 5-7 April 10th • 10-4 April 17th • 12-3 623 Main St. 527-5180 why haven’t services like these gotten more use? Partly because of poor marketing, previously clunky execution and the fact that people are more familiar with compact discs and downloading songs from Apple Inc.’s iTunes music store. People who spend less than $120 a year on music also wouldn’t see the subscription plans as such a great deal. But the music providers hope they can get more cus- tomers by making the ser- vices easier to use, taking advantage of increasingly robust cell phone networks to deliver the music. And in general, consumers are get- ting more comfortable using many kinds of ser- vices that rely on files stored on distant computers and accessed remotely, a con- cept known as ‘‘cloud com- puting.’’ The subscription services have come down in price — they generally were $15 a month until recently — and broader adoption could push prices lower still. One big boost could come if Apple begins offering such a ser- vice. In December it bought an online music retailer called Lala.com that offers access to songs that users can store in a digital locker. Apple declined to comment on its plans. The subscription ser- vices funnel royalties to recording companies, which are eager for new revenue streams to replace CD sales. That once-lucra- tive business has been declining for years as con- sumers have shifted to buy- ing individual tracks or pirating music altogether. ‘‘We are very bullish on ATTENTION LICENSED CONTRACTORS! The Daily News is publishing the 2010 Contractors Guide Tehama County Information provided by the State of California. To confirm your state information or inquire about enhanced or duplicate listings, contact Nadine Souza at 527-2151 x132 or nsouza@redbluffdailynews.com before Monday, May 3, 2010 We have a factsheet that we’ll be happy to email to you. D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY – Thank You – thanks to the generosity of these local businesses & individuals. • M & M RANCH HOUSE • ROSE HABLITZEL, ENROLLED AGENT • RED BLUFF INTERIORS • MOTHER LODE HOLDING CO. • LP BUILDING PRODUCTS • LOUISIANA PACIFIC • STATE FARM INS. KEITH THOMAS • TEHAMA ESTATES • CALIFORNIA WALNUT CO., INC. • MR. PICKLE’S SANDWICH SHOP • AIRPORT AUTO REPAIR • JOHN WHEELER LOGGING D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 • KAY STEPHENS, MD • QRC • GREENWASTE OF TEHAMA • TRI COUNTIES BANK • MOSS LUMBER & HARDWARE • BRETNEY SUTTERFIELD • HOYT-COLE CHAPEL OF THE FLOWERS • TEHAMA COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS • FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE CO. • SUSANNE WHALEN, DMD INC • PLACER TITLE CO. NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION Please help sponsor a classroom subscription Call Kathy at (530) 527-2151 to find out how. Through the Newspapers in Education program, area classrooms receive the Red Bluff Daily News every day Come see us at the Children’s Fair on April 24th Recently expanded and moved near Bidwell Elementary License # 525405817 My qualifications include: B.A. in Elementary Education and experience teaching grades K-8. Accepting state pay programs & cash pay, etc. (530) 209-8743 ! the prospects of subscrip- tions over time,’’ says Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy for Warner Music Group Corp. One problem is finding the right price for the ser- vice and having as many people as possible sign up. If only hard-core music fans subscribe because it lets them reduce their spending, the music industry might end up cannibalizing its other sales. Right now the median U.S. music buyer spends about $80 a year — not enough to make these new services a revolutionary deal, according to Sonal Gandhi, a Forrester Research media analyst. More than half of con- sumers don’t spend any- thing at all. She predicts the number of U.S. subscribers for such plans will rise from 2.1 mil- lion now to 5 million by 2014. Why not more? Among other things, ‘‘not everyone wants to be tied to a monthly bill,’’ she says. ●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●● Everyone’s Talking about it... TEHAMA BEAT Le t e v e r y o n e k n o w ab o u t y o u r e v e n t OR Kn o w wh a t ’ s h a p p e n i n g Check out Tehama Beat @ www.redbluf fdailynews.com D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY THE V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 CONCERTS COMMUNITY EVENTS ART SHOWS WINE TASTING SALES SPORTS EVENTS SPORTS FREE FREE FESTIVALS