Posted by  Jon Newton in on July 10, 2003 at 3:44 PM
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If you've always wanted to own mp3.com, go no further. Because it's still up for sale, although owner Vivendi Universal has apparently now given up on trying to flog the European version.
Of course, whether or not anyone would actually want to buy either is an entirely different question.
France's Vivendi Universal acquired MP3.com in 2001 for $372M, and only The Shadow knows how much has been sunk into it since then.
And all to no avail.
MP3.com was once a haven for independent artists looking to showcase their music for free. Then it became a kiddie trading site. Then Vivendi bought it and today, it's a travesty of its former self.
Back in 2001, "MP3.com's expertise will be a tremendous advantage, especially in the digital distribution of all Vivendi Universal content and the creation of common technology platforms," said then chief executive Jean-Marie Messier.
The French version is slated to go down on August 8 with around 20 redundancies in Europe, "although analysts are doubtful whether a buyer will be found willing to operate it as a going concern," says Britain's The Guardian Unlimited here, going on:
"It is understood that the Vivendi Universal board originally hoped to find a buyer for MP3.com Europe, but with few offers forthcoming have decided to close it down and sell off the domain name separately.
"The US version of the site will remain up for sale in the hope that a buyer can be found."
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User Comments
 TameasDust
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 4:24 PM
Well it was going downhill. couldnt find anything on it. maybe the RIAA will buy it.  |
 BadSyntax
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 4:35 PM
Yeah, The RIAA could try to sell the songs for $5 each and blame the loss of money on P2P networks.
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TameasDust
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 4:42 PM
well if they sold for $5 a song and there are average 15 songs on a cd they would make more money than they do now. ooooooooooo
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Stardaemon
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 6:58 PM
I have actually found a few good artists there  |
 directive
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 7:21 PM
Does this give the boycott a victory? Add another success story to the pile.
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NiceGuy2003
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 7:32 PM
Or we could all pool our resources together and buy it and return it to it's former glory. If we had enough money, that is.
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newjon
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Date: July 10, 2003 @ 9:28 PM
THAT's an idea - pass the hat and buy MP3.com (Europe). And then the US MP3.com. Because Yeh, it was good. Once upon a time.
We could turn it back - (except for the trading ; )
But on second thoughts, why bother? Now we've got dmusic. heh
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 Jazzmary2U
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Date: July 11, 2003 @ 12:25 AM
Well that is REAL interesting. Is one stealing if the booty is worthless?
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Jazzmary2U
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Date: July 11, 2003 @ 12:26 AM
newjon, you be a postin' fool! Keep it up.
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 Elu
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Date: July 11, 2003 @ 11:38 AM
It is definately a sad thing that happened to mp3.com. I would like to add that although mp3.com has rapidly gone down hill and has made numerous bad judgements and has caused their own downfall, it is something of a tool for all up and coming musicians. It is still exposure and if all the music sites dissapear, then what will we have left? I'm sorry but one or two sites for independent bands to showcase their material is not an option. If all were to jump onto one site, then how would anyone be discovered underneath the piles of crap that gets uploaded. It is important to remember that it takes many sites to really help distribute independent music. Mp3.com is definately the largest and now unfortunately the most run-down. They continue to grope for money from their independent artists and then slowly, even the artists who have paid begin to get the promises pulled away so we are left to pay for something that gets smaller and smaller every day. I remember when I was in the top 40 for the easy listening charts and I was pulling in about $500.00 every six months, sometimes over $1000.00. And then it sold. I was getting phone calls from people who wanted to use my music, and I was getting at least 10 e-mails a day from fans. This has all changed because of the new owners incompetance to run an independent music site.
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thumbtack
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Date: July 11, 2003 @ 12:37 PM
I was on MP3.Com in the beginning. Before Vivendi?universal came in and it statred its downhill slide. I've found a lot of great indie artis there, but the feedback I received from many mp3 artists is that it is now focused on Major label acts, and not on the independent as it once was. As the changed the pay for play, the DAM cd program etc. More and more artists trickled away.
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Karmatic
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Date: July 11, 2003 @ 6:05 PM
This sucks. I've been illegally streaming their music from my site for months--did I say that--what I meant to say was, I bought a license from them and offered them to customers.
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 shinkaide
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Date: July 12, 2003 @ 1:06 AM
Good thing I never signed up there! I must have been away for awhile- I've no idea about this...
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armydiller
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Date: November 20, 2003 @ 5:57 PM
SOLD! CNET bought it for $2 mil, closing it down Dec. 2, 2003 to make room for a new service. EVERYTHING on MP3.com will simply be deleted. Pathetic, really.
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