by Charlie Morris

Online music distribution is hurtling forward like an 18-wheeler down the Autobahn. As usual in computing, the only thing acting as a brake is the jungle of competing standards, feuding browser versions, confusing plug-ins and just general anarchy.
July 1999

Well sir, how would you like to be able to distribute your music in a neat little package that can be downloaded from the Web, stored on a floppy disk, or indeed moved around any way your heart desires? This format allows you to include text, graphics, links to the Web, and whatever else you can think of, and you can use any type of sound file, bit depth or sampling rate you please.

But wait, there's more! This miracle format will work perfectly on any computer, and depends on no plug-ins, browsers or anything else. The user downloads it, double-clicks on it, and it plays. Period.

Is this some new breed of Java? A new miraculous breakthrough? Vaporware? An April fool? Ah, but nay! 'tis the lowly .exe file. Think about it. A mini-application can present the user with a transport control, graphics, links, whatever. You, the creator, can make it as big or small as you like, and you can include whatever you can program in. Sound formats and all the rest of that rat's nest are irrelevant.

There's only one problem. To program an application, you need to be a programmer. Some knowledge of a programming language, such as C++ or Visual Basic, is called for. Of course, what we're talking about here is child's play for a skilled programmer, and there are various development tools available that presumably make it even easier.

For some examples of what I'm talking about, check out Global Music One (http://www.globalmusic.com). They whip up nifty little musical applications that they call "Digital Audio Postcards." A typical "postcard" is a little box about an inch by two inches, with a transport control, a picture, a link to a Web site, and even a little waveform display that bops along in time to the music. Of course, the possibilities are limited only by your imagination and how large a file you can accept.

I can't figure out exactly what the business model is at Global Music One. They aren't selling a development tool that would allow folks to make their own "DAPs," although I imagine such a tool would be a big hit. Their angle seems to be creating the DAPs for clients to use as marketing tools - HBO and Chrysalis Records are two distinguished names that have utilized their services.

A musical executable file, of course, doesn't require any proprietary technology - just a little programming expertise. So once these things catch on, I don't see how Global Music One is going to keep competitors from "commoditizing" the service of creating them. Alas, in the computing business (and the music biz too), innovators all too often watch in frustration as later entrants cash in.

The idea is very simple - instead of downloading just a file, you're downloading a file with its own player built in. The potential, however, is huge. It allows music distributors to package graphics or anything else they like with music, and to sidestep compatibility issues. Music is hardly the only application. Movie trailers, games…anything that needs a "player" application is a candidate for being packaged this way.

So, programmers, how about it? We want an easy-to-use development tool that lets us package audio and video into a small stand-alone application. Note that the key word here is "stand-alone." We're not talking about Shockwave, RealVideo, or anything that requires a "player" on the client side, or on a Web server either. Just a plain-old, garden-variety executable file. To be able to build these nifty little guys, we need a basic development tool designed for audio. You build it, I'll trumpet it (or criticize it if it's lame).

What's your opinion on the online music distribution revolution? Or perhaps you have a question. Express yourself on our Online Music Discussion List.