Now You Hear It
Now that Napster's gone, we're left wondering how Listen.com not only survives but thrives.
Vital Stats: Rob Reid, 37,
founder and chairman of Listen.com
Company: Online music
company offering Rhapsody, a streaming music service, for $9.95 a
month
Subscribers: Tens of
thousands
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Dual Tones: "One rule
when I was a VC was to never back a company without a soul. Well,
my two big loves are the Internet and music, and I felt it was
possible to build an Internet company where people are really fired
up and enthused, and music is something people are very passionate
about. That was a real lure to me."
"We've done
a lot of things to create a Web that connects every song, every
artist, every album and style of music with countless links to
other music."
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Competition? "There are
five major record label groups, and we have full catalog agreements
with all of them. None of our competitors do. Unlike the limited
access they offer, our service is unfettered and CD quality. It
really replicates ownership."
Pirates Beware:
"Pirating music is becoming an increasingly annoying,
time-consuming process. Back in the days of Napster, it was
extremely fast and efficient because of a directory it maintained,
but the pirated systems out there now don't have this. Most
people value five to six hours of time more than $10."
Musical Chairs: Reid moved
from CEO to chairman in 2001 to concentrate on certain aspects,
including the law. "It's been very clear that the rules of
the road for intellectual property online are being created by
lawmakers. I'm a member of our small and very effective
industry group, the Digital Media Association, and have traveled to
Washington, DC, numerous times to participate in the policy
process."