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CNN Live At Daybreak

Music Web Site Lowers Burning Price

Aired May 28, 2003 - 06:17   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now though. The online music price war is hitting new notes.
Susan Lisovicz live in New York with more on that.

Good morning -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Imagine that, a fair war in the online music business. RealNetworks has launched a new online music service called Rhapsody and cut the price of burning CDs -- burning songs, rather, onto a CD. The new price for subscribers to the Web site is 79 cents. That's down from 99 cents. The Web site also provides downloading and streaming music for $9.95 a month. Of course Apple's successful iTune charges 99 cents.

Rhapsody has more than 330,000 tracks, which are available for listening, and more than 200,000 of them have burning rights. Carol, of course there's a whole generation that does it for free illegally.

COSTELLO: Exactly, but still doing it. Getting away with it.

David Bowie -- you have word on David Bowie that he soon may be singing a sad song. What do you mean?

LISOVICZ: Changes, according to the Moody's Investor Service. I tried to do my best. Moody's Investor Service say it may downgrade about $55 million of bonds backed by music royalties from David Bowie. Bowie issued them in 1997. The first musician to sell bonds backed by expected revenue generated from his recordings and publishing rights.

Well of course we all know that the music business is in a major slump so the flows aren't what they used to be. Other musicians who followed Bowie's lead were James Brown and the Isley Brothers, but there's a lot of us who say that David Bowie's ratings will always be AAA+ and up.

COSTELLO: Yes. Definitely so. Truly one of the greats.

Thank you, Susan Lisovicz.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: You'll check on the futures for us next time. Thanks, Susan. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired May 28, 2003 - 06:17   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now though. The online music price war is hitting new notes.
Susan Lisovicz live in New York with more on that.

Good morning -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Imagine that, a fair war in the online music business. RealNetworks has launched a new online music service called Rhapsody and cut the price of burning CDs -- burning songs, rather, onto a CD. The new price for subscribers to the Web site is 79 cents. That's down from 99 cents. The Web site also provides downloading and streaming music for $9.95 a month. Of course Apple's successful iTune charges 99 cents.

Rhapsody has more than 330,000 tracks, which are available for listening, and more than 200,000 of them have burning rights. Carol, of course there's a whole generation that does it for free illegally.

COSTELLO: Exactly, but still doing it. Getting away with it.

David Bowie -- you have word on David Bowie that he soon may be singing a sad song. What do you mean?

LISOVICZ: Changes, according to the Moody's Investor Service. I tried to do my best. Moody's Investor Service say it may downgrade about $55 million of bonds backed by music royalties from David Bowie. Bowie issued them in 1997. The first musician to sell bonds backed by expected revenue generated from his recordings and publishing rights.

Well of course we all know that the music business is in a major slump so the flows aren't what they used to be. Other musicians who followed Bowie's lead were James Brown and the Isley Brothers, but there's a lot of us who say that David Bowie's ratings will always be AAA+ and up.

COSTELLO: Yes. Definitely so. Truly one of the greats.

Thank you, Susan Lisovicz.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: You'll check on the futures for us next time. Thanks, Susan. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com