By Prashant Mahesh

Music. This most searched word on the web is driving music companies against a wall. Reason: many of them are wondering how to cater to the booming market. Not just music companies, even artistes are being driven to the wall. Thanks to easy accessibility to music, new artistes are emerging which is causing furrows on the foreheads of established artistes.

A simple comparison here. Just like free e-mail facilities were offered to generate Internet users, the purpose of these music sites is to convert simple music listeners to music addicts. The way it works is simple: a listener visits the radio site and makes a request for a song. If the song is available, the surfer has to provide on the site another song of his liking, which can be downloaded the next time. Thus, a chain database is created.

Spreading frenzy
The Net frenzy in music is spreading on to books now. Books have an obvious advantage: easy delivery over the Net, courtesy computer software which is digitally downloadable.

So, it is manna for music and book lovers. Today, music lovers are getting so used to free downloads that they do not want to pay for a song any longer. But, there is an important question here: where is the music industry headed? The answer to that question lies in the music-selling strategies on the Net.

True, the Net is changing the way music is sold. Companies taking music lovers for a ride may well be over. Consider this example. A major music company had recorded a leading rock band and happened to release the concerned tapes after thirty years at a high premium. Until then, these recorded tapes were preserved in the archives. Music lovers had no other option but to obtain these tapes at such prices without complaining.

Things are not as bad as that now. There are signs around that indicate that the music buyer is emerging supreme. Thanks to the launch of radio sites, music companies will now have to compete with each other. It is no longer possible to archive popular recordings and release them at a later date at a high premium.

Charge of piracy
This is now hurting music companies. They are terming music-vending on the web piracy and have threatened legal action against these music websites. Results are already showing: only a few "free music downloadable" sites are active today. Most music available on the web can just be listened to but cannot be downloaded.

Fine. Where is the music industry going now? The music business is already heading towards e-distribution. This has placed the industry in a shake-up mode. Public Enemy was the first commercial piece of music to be distributed over the Net, even before it made its appearance in record shops. Already, the MP3 format has spread within the music industry. Reason: the possibility of making an infinite number of copies. That is why most music industry-watchers are viewing the Internet as a threat. This might hold true for books too.

One thing is certain, however. Music sales on the Net has a huge potential. "As far as music is concerned there is a whole new market which is opening up," says K Vaitheeswaran, vice president (marketing) of the Bangalore-based Fabmart, an e-tailer of books and music. The rationale behind Vaitheeswaran's assertion is clear: there are many who may want to buy music and books but do not have the time to do so. For them the Net is an ideal place to shop around. Just key in your credit card number and wait for the product to arrive at your doorstep. Not just that, retailing books and music on the Net is easy: they can be digitalised very fast and hence hassle-free delivery.

Personalisation
Not everyone is in agreement. Traditional brick-and-mortar retailers argue that prospects need to browse through a book before they make a buy decision. That is true, but it is not an obstacle for buying a book on the Net. Consider the case of Amazon.com, the world's largest bookseller. At this website, there are exclusive author reviews, essays, excerpts and customer reviews. That is how Amazon.com recreates the experience of browsing through a book in a brick-and-mortar bookshop. Going a step further, Amazon.com has been creating cybercommunities through purchase circles which allow customers to access a list of top selling titles in their town.

What should be understood from the Amazon.com example is this: personalisation is the key to success. Consider the example of CDNOW, which allows customers to comb its extensive inventory and search by artiste, song, album and music label. It has been CDNOW's experience that more the features and search options you offer, the more you attract the consumer.