I just wanted to let you know that my entire July 19, 2002 set from Wicked in San Francisco is now online.

You can hear the first half at this link:
http://www.universalrhythm.co.uk/hoochie/mixes/qburns.ram

The second half, which has just been posted, can be found at this link:
http://www.universalrhythm.co.uk/hoochie/mixes/qburns2.ram

(Super special thanks to Hoochie Productions for hosting these mixes.
Please visit their site at:
http://www.geocities.com/hoochieproductions/
Also stayed tuned for information on the Hoochie Halloween Party at Knock Knock in Orlando, starring myself and DJ Huggy)If you are the high speed connection type, then for a limited time you can download a high quality MP3 of Part 1 of my Wicked set for your CD burning pleasure. Go to this link to download:
http://homepage.mac.com/qburns/FileSharing1.html
It’s a 70 minute mix so the file is about 60 Meg …

Asad Rizvi will be releasing his first album on Reverberations from UK on 21.10.2002.

Silverlining Exposures Volume 1 is the first long-player of any kind by Asad Rizvi. Seamlessly mixed together by Asad, the album brings together the best of his productions and remixes from the last five years in the house genre. The CD features (amongst others) reworks of TJR feat. Xavier, Haris, Dark Male and The Deal, as well as original tracks under his own name and the aka’s of Silverlining and Impossible Beings. Accompanying the album will be a 12 inch sampler featuring some of Asad’s more sought after rarities.

coming soon:

Release Date - Sept 16th 2002

CPEN AKA Chris Penny is not your average house producer. Relying on his heavy music background, CPEN is a true musician who can produce brilliant material while still pushing the house envelope. Based in Los Angeles, CPEN has worked alongside JT Donaldson as ‘Untitled Orchestra’, and with Lance Desardi as ‘Curb Feelers’. Also, Watch for the upcoming release from ‘Untitled Orchestra’ on Straylight. CPEN has also released tracks on Naked Music, Seasons and Glasgow Underground.

With his new release on Straylight, CPEN gives us an intense 2-track 12″. ‘Broken’ is a deep track with a throbbing bassline, addictive rhythm and smooth synth melody. ‘Hi-Tek’ is a well laid-out broken beat cut, with a good build, solid break and plenty of bass for the dance floor.

REVIEWS
“Hailing from Los Angeles, Penny has worked with both JT Donaldson as Untitled Orchestra and with Lance Desardi as Curb Feelers. This is Penny’s first solo performance. “Broken” is a deep aural soundfest of broken beats, meaty synths and sub bass in an outlandish, off-the-wall but nonetheless appealing dub. “Hi-Tek” mashes up vocal samples laid over stabby ethereal chords, melodic breaks and breakbeat rhythm boosted by punchy bass. 3/5.”
- Mark Moore, Blues & Soul, Issue 871
“Los Angeles, California is an area that boasts its fair share of musical talent, and Straylight are amongst their finest. This brilliant powerful two tracker from CPEN should send them soaring even higher. “Broken” sees hammered percussion, a sinister ‘chic’ bass, a beautiful synth and the title vocal line combine for an intense production to blow the rest out of the water. “Hi-Tek” is a slippery affair, with a cut break, a doped bass and a spider like synth that draws you in and will not let you go.”
- Jon Freer’s Reviews 26th June 2002

“No pigeonholing for the Los Angeles based label, with Chris Penny relying on a rump-shaking rezzy Detroit b-line and crisp house beats to power a sublime mix of styles on ‘Broken’. ‘Hi-Tek’s broken beat programming makes the track-listing seem slightly perverse, a deeper blend of chord patterns more in line with the warm-up stint. 4 (Floor Filler)”
- Alex Moran, 7 Update, 26 June 2002

CHARTS/PLAYLISTS
Jonene - Top Choons June 17th, 2002

CPEN * BROKEN * STRAYLIGHT
MIKE DIXON * COOL DOWN DADDY * G SWING (001)
JONENE & TOUCHDOWN * FEARS REMIX * TRONICSOLE (CDR)
LANCE DESARDI & WARIC CAMERON * LETS DO LUNCH * LOWDOWN
MARTIN VENETJOKI * HEARTBURN EP * PANHANDLE (014 WHITE)
MIKE DIXON VS. GREENSKEEPERS * YOU AIN’T SHIT * G SWING (002)
EASTCOAST BOOGIEMEN * SCRATCH N SNIFF * AROMA
??? * I NEED A FREAK * WHITE LABEL
MARTIN VENETJOKI * BABY * ELOGE
TIM DELUX * IT JUST WON’T DO * UNDERWATER
Mazi aka Audio Soul Project :.
Chart Return: August 5th 2002 :.

Sifter “Departed” (Departed Mix)/Honchos CDR
DJ Linus “Who Stole The Soul” (The Usual Suspects Rmx)/BR Traxx
CPEN “Broken” /Straylight
Mazi “Music As Communication” /Detour
Spectrum Is Green “Elephant” /Low Pressings
Shuffle Heads “Roll Call” (Asad Rizvi’s Silverlining Mix)/Fremont
Hanna “Time” (Doza’s LawnChair Generals Mix)/Viva
Fries & Bridges “Affiliated Drums Vol.1″ /Primal
J-Rod & Pat Nice “The Tuesday Nite Chronicles” /Roam
Derrick Carter & Red Nail “People” /Robsoul
Dani Mitchell (Gatecrasher uk) Chart 24/07/02 to 31

Haris & Dedan - Electro Ore (4/4 & Asad’s Silverlining Boggie Dub) (Laus)
Haris & Stubbs - My Love (Swag)
Haris - Chekeba (Special Needs)
Josh One - Contemplation (Alex Neri Mixes)(1Off)
Presslabboys - Ill Never Kick There Arse (Stella)
Sasha - Wavy Gravy (BMG)
Ernest St Laurent - Body Flowers (Cyber)
Nils Hess - Big Calm (Tide)
Royksopp - Remind Me (Zabelia Ingenborg Mix) (Wall Of Sound)
Lussan & Shukie vs Rich Medina - Dance For Life (Invincis)
Milk & Honey - U Me And The Music (Scumfrog mix) (Blue Black)
Julez - My Groove (Valentino Kanzyani Mix) (Premier)
Chris Lum & Jay J - Broken House Beats (Siesta)
Solaris - Midnight (Airtight)
Subtech - Soft Focus (Subtech)
Stefano Greppi - Freedom Is… (M.A.S Collective Mix)(Alternative Route)
Brett Johnson - Were Gonna Move (Hi Phen)
Cpen - Broken (Straylight)
Seig Uber Die Sonne - You’ll Never Come Back (Multicolour)
Seafoam - Dirty Sex (Lo -Rise)

:Link:

While I was perusing the ‘net I found an interesting resume. The Software Developer had created ‘fraud detection software’ for WorldCom. Maybe they should have used it on their own company.

Senior Systems Analyst
Contract position at WorldCom designing and implementing a call record monitoring and fraud detection system. C++ core (over 265,000 lines of code), CLIPS rule-based engine and AI modules for implementation-specific record analysis, scaling to handle feeds of several million records per day. Currently deployed at telecoms in the United States, Canada and Brazil, saves WorldCom millions of dollars annually.

Increased scope of fraud detection through implementation of new algorithms and modules in response to exploited vulnerabilities in the phone networks.

Improved productivity and reduced development time through creation of C-, Perl- and Lisp-based tools.

James Stinson, one of the members of the Detroit
legendary electro duo Drexciya has passed away due to hearts complications. Here is the Drexciya discography:DISCOGRAPHY :

REPHLEX (UK)

Drexciya - Drexciya 3: Molecular Enhancement EP (12″) - CAT017EP - 1996
Side 1. Alpha:
1. Antivapor Waves
2. Intensifies Magnetron
Side 2. Beta:
3. Hydro Cubes
4. Aquatic Bata Particles
Songs under license from Underground Resistance Detroit, U.S.A. Special thanks to: God and Mad Mike from U.R. All songs were particle accelerated by Drexciya in Drexciya, ion filtered at Black Planet Studio in Detroit.
NOTE: released also on Submerge as SVE-6 (with different track list).

SHOCKWAVE (Detroit, MI., USA)

Drexciya - Deep Sea Dweller EP (12″) - SW1007 - 1993
A1. Sea Quake
A2. Nautilus 12
B1. Depressurization
B2. Sea Snake
Written, mixed and produced by Drexciya.
Published by Dance Threat Music (BMI)
Inscriptions: Side A: “Techno From The Deep” / Side B: “Deep H2O”
NOTE: the first Drexciya release.

SOMEWHERE IN DETROIT (Detroit, MI., USA)

Drexciya - Uncharted EP - S.I.D-005
A. Hi-Tide
B. Dr. Blowfin’s Experiment
NOTE: The S.I.D. series 12’s were EP’s that were supposed to be exclusive to the Submerge Somewhere In Detroit store. The idea was that the only way you could get them was to physically visit the shop on the ground floor of Submerge’s building. A few of them occasionally turn up at other shops, though. There were a few previously unreleased tracks from Drexciya, UR, and a couple of other artists released this way.
Thanks to Submerge’s refusal to play the “release and delete” game, though, these don’t fetch the exorbitant prices a lot of other limited availability releases do. - Dave Walker on IDM list

SUBMERGE (Detroit, MI., USA)

Drexciya - Drexciya 4: The Unknown Aquazone 2xEP (2x12″) - SVE-3 - 1994
1. Intro
2. Living On The Edge
3. Aqua Jujidsu
4. Aquabahn
5. Mantaray
6. Lardossen Funk
7. Take Your Mind
8. Intro
9. Aquarazorda
10. Bubble Chamber
11. Water Walker
12. Red Hills Of Lardossa

Drexciya - Drexciya 3: Molecular Enhancement - SVE-6 - 1995
1. Anti-Beats
2. Antivapor Waves
3. Intensified Magnetron
4. Bata-Pumps
5. Hydro Cubes
6. Aquatic Bata Particles
Produced by Drexciya
NOTE: released also on Rephlex (CAT017EP) with different track list.

Drexciya - The Quest (2x12″ / 2-CD) - SVE-8 - July 1997

CD 1:
1. Intro (?)
2. You Don’t Know (UR-039)
3. Dehydration (unreleased)
4. Bang Bang (UR-037)
5. Antivapor Waves (SVE-6)
6. Intensified Magnetron (SVE-6)
7. Hydro Cubes (SVE-6)
8. Aquatic Bata Particles (SVE-6)
9. Hi Tide (S.I.D.-005)
10. Depressurization (SW-1007)
11. Sea Snake (SW-1007)
12. Aqua Jujidsu (SVE-3)
13. Beyond The Abyss (UR-026)
14. Lardossen Funk (SVE-3)
15. Red Hills Of Lardossa (SVE-3)
16. The Mutant Gillmen (an experiment gone wrong)

CD 2:
1. Seaquake (SW-1007)
2. Bubble Metropolis (UR-026)
3. Living On The Edge (Instrumental) (SVE-3)
4. Aquabon (Remix) (SVE-3)
5. Positron Island (UR-026)
6. Doctor Blowfin’s Water Cruiser (UR-026)
7. Wave Jumper (UR-030)
8. Take Your Mind (SVE-3)
9. Dead Man’s Reef (unreleased)
10. Vampire Island (unreleased)
11. Neon Falls (unreleased)
12. The Last Transmission (?)

Vinyl version (SVE-7, 2x12″):

A1. Depressurization (Bonus Beats)
A2. Beyond The Abyss
A3. You Don’t Know
B1. Living On The Edge (Instr.)
B2. Aquabon (Remix)
C1. Reff Rhythms (Bonus Beat)
C2. WaveJumper
D1. Dr. Blowfin’s Watercruiser
D2. Bubble Metropolis

All songs produced by Drexciya.

NOTE: a compilation with 28 tracks on CD; also a shorter version as a 2x12″.

TRESOR, Berlin, Germany

Drexciya - Neptune’s Lair (2-LP/CD) - Tresor 129 - November 1999

CD:
1. Intro: Temple of Dos de Agua
2. Species of the Pod
3. Andreaen Sand Dunes
4. Running Out of Space
5. Habitat.O.Negative
6. Universal Element
7. Drifting Into a Time of No Future
8. Polymono Plexusgel
9. Surface Terrestrial Colonization
10. Funk Release Valve
11. Organic Hydropoly Spores
12. Draining of the Tanks
13. Devil Ray Cove
14. Fusion Flats
15. Triangular Hydrogen Strain
16. Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam
17. Quantum Hydrodynamics
18. Lost Vessel
19. Bottom Feeders
20. Jazzy Fluids
21. C to the Power of X+C to the Power of X=MM=Unknown
2xLP:

A1. Intro: Temple of Dos de Agua
A2. Andreaen Sand Dunes
A3. Running Out of Space
A4. Universal Element
B1. Habitat.O.Negative
B2. Funk Release Valve
B3. Organic Hydropoly Spores
B4. Draining of the Tanks
C1. Surface Terrestrial Colonization
C2. Oxyplasmic Gyration Beam
D1. Triangular Hydrogen Strain
D2. Bottom Feeders
D3. C to the Power of X+C to the Power of X=MM=Unknown

Drexciya - Hydro Doorways EP (12″) - Tresor 137 - February 2000
A1. Quantum Hydrodynamics (01:16)
A2. Polymono Plexusgel (03:08)
A3. Lost Vessel (05:52)
B1. Species of the Pod (03:53)
B2. Drifting Into a Time of No Future (03:33)
B3. Devil Ray Cove (02:49)

UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE (Detroit, MI., USA)

Drexciya - Drexciya: Aquatic Invasion EP (12″) - UR 30 - 1994
1. WaveJumper
2. The Countdown Has Begun
3. Sighting In The Abyss
NOTE: Aquatic Invasion is not Drexciya 1. If anything is, Deep Sea Dweller is. That’s the first Drexciya release, but it’s not labelled Drexciya 1 either. So technically speaking, there is no Drexciya 1. - rbc3

Drexciya - Drexciya 2: Bubble Metropolis EP (12″) - UR-026 - 1994

Side A: Fresh Water
1. Aqua Worm Hole [5:25]
2. Positron Island [4:05]
3. Beyond The Abyss [2:17]

Side B: Salt Water
4. Bubble Metropolis [6:00]
5. Danger Bay [3:20]
6. Welcome To Drexciya [2:09]
Tracks made in Drexciya for UR in Detroit.

Drexciya - The Return of Drexciya - UR-037 - 1996
A1. Smokey’s Illegitimate Report
A2. You Don’t Know
B1. Bang-Bang
B2. Rubick’s Cube
Surfaced by Drexciya for Underground Resistance Prod.
Compiled (p) Mad Mike Music (BMI) 1996

Inscriptions:
Side A: “You don’t know – what lurks in the fog”

NOTE: label art by Frankie C. Fultz.
WARP RECORDS (Sheffield, UK)

Drexciya - Drexciya 5: The Journey Home EP (12″) - WAP57 - 1995
1. Black Sea
2. Darthouven Fish Men
3. Hydro Theory
4. Journey Home

Compilation appearances:

ELYPSIA RECORDS
Various Artists
The Rave Explosion - The Underground Continues..Vol 2. (2-CD)
1995
A4. Drexciya: Black Sea (Warp)

REACT MUSIC (London, UK)
Various Artists
True People: The Detroit Techno Album (CD / 5x12″)
REACTCD71/REACTLP71
1996
* A1. Drexciya: Davey Jones Locker
(Drexciya) BMI. (p) & Compiled 1996.

STUDIO !K7 (Germany)
Various Artists
Andrea Parker: DJ-Kicks (3-LP/CD)
K 7071LP/K 7071CD
24 August 1998
* 19. Drexciya: Hydro Theory (Warp)
NOTE: The 3-LP is unmixed.

Various Artists
Aux 88 presents Electro Boogie (2-LP/CD)
K7078LP/K7078CD
1999
* 16. Drexciya: Bubblemetropolis (UR)
NOTE: The 2-LP is unmixed.

SUBMERGE (Detroit, MI., USA)
Various Artists
Submerge: Depth Charge Two - Escape Into The Void (CD)
SCD-2
1995
* 14. Drexciya: Welcome To Drexciya (2:09)
Produced by Drexciya for Underground Resistance. Produced
in Detroit, MI – Taken from “Bubble Metropolis” EP. – Mad
Mike Music (BMI).

Various Artists
Origins Of A Sound (CD) - SVE 4 - 1995
* 2. Drexciya: The Countdown Has Begun
(Produced by Drexciya for Underground Resistance
Productions, Det., MI. USA.
Recorded at Black Planet.)
* 5. Drexciya: Living On The Edge
(Produced by Drexciya for Underground Resistance /
Submerge, Det., MI. USA.
Recorded at Invisible City.)
* 8. Drexciya: Wave Jumper
(Produced by Drexciya for Underground Resistance
Productions, Det., MI. USA.
Recorded at Black Planet.)

TRESOR (Berlin, Germany) / POW WOW / METROPLEX (US)
Various Artists - Deep Detroit Volume 2 - Magic Tracks Compiled By Juan Atkins (CD) - PWD7445 - 1993
* Drexciya: Positron Island (5:15)
NOTE: The track is misspellt as: “Drexcya: Positron I Stand".

UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE (Detroit, MI., USA)

Various Artists
Interstellar Fugitives (3-LP/CD) - UR-045 - August 1998
* 8. Drexciya: Interstellar Crime Report
* 9. Drexciya: Aquatacizem
NOTE: a compilation of unreleased tracks from Mad Mike, Drexciya, The Suburban Knight, Andre Holland, et al.

Various Artists
DJ Rolando - “The Aztec Mystic Mix CD” - UR049 CD - 1999
* Drexciya: Dr. Blowfin’s Experiment
NOTE: originally released on SID05; all tracks mixed together by DJ Rolando, so not the full-length version.

Remixes:
UNDERGROUND RESISTANCE (Detroit, MI., USA) - UR - Electronic Warfare “The Mixes” (12″) - UR-034
* Proton Side 2) Electric Eel Mix by Drexciya

Related:
(unknown label)
Glass Domain - English & Music by Glassware - cat # - 04753 - 1991
A. Shatter Prone
B. Hiccups
C. Faory
D. Interlock
NOTE: ltd clear vinyl, and some black vinyl.
NOTE 2: very rare, Drexciya people behind this release.

HARDWAX (Detroit, USA?)
L.A.M. (Life After Mutation) - Balance of Terror EP - HW 004 - early 1990’s?
* 6 tracks (with no titles)
NOTE: A pre-Drexciyan release is without a doubt the L.A.M. record on Rob Hood’s Hardwax label. There are no inscriptions in the record (apart from NSC, of course). The A-side runs from inside out whereas the B side is normal. I do not know the publication date but considering the publication policy of Hardwax (number 10 was published this spring) the record came out in the early 90’s. - Benjamin Holzwarth

RED PLANET (Detroit, MI., USA)
Red Planet V: The Long Winter of Mars - RP-5 - Year: ?
NOTE: A guest appearance from Drexciya.

CREDITS:
Alan M. Parry (his discography on Hyperreal), Ines Ackermann, Mario Atienza, pHinn, rbc3, Mark S-Walker, Dave Walker, Benjamin Holzwarth and people on 313 and IDM mailing lists.

DREXCIYA RUMOURS:
It is rumoured that one or more Drexciya members have been or are at the moment in such groups as Elecktroids and Dopplereffekt. Even “Mad Mike” Banks has been connected with Drexciya once or more times. Since very few people know the actual identities of Drexciya, these rumours will undoubtedly go on and on.

1 - SPACEJUNK - SUPERPEDO - LOW PRESSINGS (CDR)
2 - MORGAN PAGE - ALL I NEED [HALO VARGA MIX] - NORDIC TRAX (CDR)
3 - LONDON 909 - AHAMBE DRUM - FRONT ROOM
4 - MOONCAT & RANDAL JONES - VISIONARY SOUND - LOW PRESSINGS
5 - ONIONZ & MASTER D - IT WONT HURT YOU - SHABOOM
6 - IMPOSSIBLE BEINGS - TOO LATE - END
7 - FOUR GONE CONCLUSION - JUST A LITTLE - DROP
8 - FLOW - WANNA DO RIGHT EP - LOW PRESSINGS
9 - MANDARA - GROOVE ON - SHAKES
10 - IAN POOLEY & MAGIK J - PIHA - HONCHOS11 - MAJIK J - AFRO MAGIK - SHABOOM
12 - DJ BUCK - HIGHLIGHTS - F4 MUSIC
13 - SOUL MEKANIK - HOME COOKIN - RIP
14 - MOBIN MASTER PRES… - TRIBAL FUNK VOL 2 - BAMBOO
15 - ATOMFUNK FEAT…AZEEM - LOST IN YOUR MELODY - URBAN TORQUE
16 - FREDRIK STARK - THE EXPERIENCE - CARTRIDGE
17 - PIERRE CAVERT - JOES KITCHEN EP - SENSEI
18 - MODAJI - THINGS U DO 4 ME - PAPA
19 - TONY THOMAS - TIGHT ROPE - SOMA
20 - MIGUEL MIGS - DUBPLATE SESSIONS - NRK
21 - RHYTHMATIC - WIND ME UP - NETWORK
22 - KING UNIQUE - SUGARHIGH - LONDON
23 - SIR DREW - FEET FIRST - KINGSIZE
24 - BLAZE - DO YOU REMEMBER HOUSE [LAID MIX] - SLIP N’ SLIDE
25 - LHK & ALEX MORAN - YOU ARE - STRAYLIGHT

To open a dchub:// URL from a web page with DC++ you will need to make a small change to the Windows Registry. If you have Windows XP, create a registry backup point first.

1. Open regedt32 (type regedt32 at from the StartRun… menu).

2. Go to the key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTdchubShellCommand

3. Set the VALUE to the location of your DC++ installation. example: "C:Program FilesDCPlusPlusDCPlusPlus.exe"

4. That’s it you’re done!

1. Blaze-"Do you remember house?"(Laid Mix)-Slip & Slide
2. Demarkus Lewis-"Troubled Lover"-Lowdown
3. Khan feat.Julee Cruise-"Say Goodbye"-Playhouse
4. Jon Cutler feat.Kemdi-"You Groove me” (Osunlade remix) - Distant
5. DJ Brame-G swing #4
6. Norma Jean Bell-"No ones gonna love"(MM remix)-PFG 017 ?
7. Kemit-"Untitled"(i-cube remix)-Versitile cdr
8. DJ Fussy Britches-"Ain’t no thang ,but a chicken wing"-Freshy fresh
Records
9. Highway Robbery Project-"All Dieties"-Hochokai records
10. Chicken Lips-"Do it properly"(Marice Fulton mix)-Kingsize11. DJ Motion-"Shakin ya’ Vertebrae"-BunchLox Music
12. Brett Johnson-"Selections from the nu House"-Hi-phen Music
13. Focus-"Having your fun"-Versatile cdr
14. Tone Theory LP-Icon. Recordings
15. Laj-"Laj"-Sessions

in no paticular order…
Lance Desardi - [Bluem 008]
Spettro - I Think I - [Aroma]
Slamdance Saturn’s Rivers - [Rainy Day Records #5]
Missy Thing/Fred Everything rmx -Lick Shots - [White]
Tony Senghore & Jonene - where’s The Bullet - [Mouthful Music]
Lance De Sardi feat. Maurissa - Waterslide - [Chez]
Freestyle Man Feat. George Spruce - (Matthias Tanzmann mix) [Mood]
Demarkus Lewis - Why Me - Scott Pace Mix [Bluem]
Stefan Goldmann - The Shnic Shnac EP [Classic]
Midnight Mike - Round and Around - [Flesh]
Brett Johnson - Sweet & Sour Sessions - [Hi-Phen]

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) – Online subscription music sites have finally arrived. But there’s been little fanfare, and so far almost no one is buying.

Free music-swapping services continue to attract millions of new users despite the recording industry’s legal efforts to shutter them, and few consumers are even aware of the handful of pay sites that have emerged over the last year.

That’s unlikely to change – unless the new sites begin to offer compelling, innovative features that set them apart from the free networks, consumers and analysts say. Sean Withrow, a music lover and Silicon Valley executive, said he would consider using a subscription service if it could improve his shopping experience and offer more than WinMX, the site on which he spends about two hours a week sampling and downloading music for free.

“I’m music-savvy, but stores can be overwhelming. You can get frustrated,” said the 33-year-old Withrow. “It’s really not about the money.”

None of the leading pay sites, which include Listen.com, pressplay, MusicNet and FullAudio, have done much to employ clever technologies to spice up the experience of discovering and purchasing music. Instead, they offer limited downloads that actually expire when a customer ends a subscription.

“Every day they are not offering widely compelling music across the board money is going out the window,” said P.J. McNealy, research director at GartnerG2 in San Jose.

Analysts estimate that less than 100,000 people have bought pay subscriptions.

The major music labels themselves won’t release the data, saying it’s too early to start measuring success. They say they are still experimenting with their sites’ look and feel, studying payment schemes and negotiating online royalty rates with hundreds of artists, labels and publishers.

P2P simplicity needed
The logistics of building pay sites are indeed enormous, especially compared with the simplicity of the free services that are the stepchildren of Napster and rely on so-called peer-to-peer networking that allows users to share with others the downloaded music on their hard drives.

“With every month that goes by, our services will improve, and simultaneously it’s likely the (free) sites will degrade,” said Alan McGlade, chief executive of MusicNet, a joint venture of the software firm RealNetworks and three of the five major recording companies: AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann and EMI Group. (AOL Time Warner is the parent company of CNN.)

Both MusicNet and pressplay – a joint venture of the other two major recording companies, Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group – say they are close to agreements that would give their customers access to most of the music from all five major recording companies. Currently, each firm has only signed deals with its parent company as well as with various independent labels.

MusicNet and pressplay officials said they will begin aggressively marketing their sites once they have more complete libraries. Pressplay, meanwhile, has won a place in Microsoft’s test version of its latest Windows Media Player, which the software giant is launching on Wednesday.

But exhaustive offerings are just one ingredient of what many would consider a successful online music venture.

Withrow would like to see pay services with software that makes recommendations based on user taste.

Ideally, if he wanted some music for a group of friends coming over, he might type the words “dinner party” and “mellow” and the service would find him good selections.

“They should try to solve the frustrations a customer gets going into a store,” he said.

“Consumer attitudes can’t get much worse,” said Michael Goodman, an analyst with the Yankee Group research firm in Boston.

Consumers aren’t buying
Analysts say the subscription sites are going to have to outperform existing sites including KaZaA, Grokster and Morpheus. According to the market research firm Ipsos-Reid, some 40 million Americans, or 19 percent of the population aged 12 and over, use such services.

That’s a tough proposition as long as pay sites continue to place restrictions on how much content consumers can access and where they can transfer it.

The entertainment industry is also winning few fans among consumers with its backing of federal legislation that would allow it to use invasive electronic techniques against file-swapping services and their users.

Chris Beatty, a 27-year-old music enthusiast in San Francisco, said he’s downloaded about 100 CDs from the free sites and can’t even name a single subscription site.

The $10 monthly fees that most subscription sites charge for basic access – usually involving unlimited streaming and some restricted downloads – is far above the $3 Beatty said he’d be willing to pay.

The whole appeal of getting music online is to get it more cheaply than it sells in a store, he said.

Beatty said he still buys CDs. In June, he bought a reggae CD. But he paid $5 for it at a second-hand retailer.

McNealy, the Gartner analyst, says people are willing to pay for convenience and the music industry should address what consumers really want.

“The demand is there. There’s a huge chunk of people waiting for legitimate services,” he said.

New York-based Jupiter Research forecasts that consumers will spend $27 million on digital subscription services like pressplay and MusicNet this year, just a sliver compared with the roughly $13.7 billion in sales the recording industry posted in 2001.

But by 2005, online subscribers will spend $495 million, rising to nearly $1.2 billion in 2007, Jupiter said.

“The bulk of consumers are not purposely stealing,” said Stacey Herron, Jupiter’s media and entertainment analyst.