音楽はタダで合法的に聴く時代

ニューズウィークより。Spotifyについて、ロンドン支局　William Underhill 氏の記事。日本語版（2009-4-8号）のテクノロジー欄にも記事がある。タイトルの英語訳は「Music for Free,and It's Legal」。おもしろい内容なので、今後も調べていくつもり。

Imagine a future in which music is free. No, we're not talking about the bad old days of Napster, when illegal downloads of MP3 files sent the music industry into a tailspin.

音楽がタダの時代を想像してみよう。といっても、ナップスター時代、MP3の違法ダウンロードで音楽業界を低迷に追いこんだ時代の再来ではないよ。

In this new world, the record companies would actually make money through licensing deals, and piracy would be a thing of the past. The MP3 player would be obsolete and the shelves would be cleared of CDs. Instead, one vast digital jukebox would supply the needs of every music lover with access to a computer or other digital device connected to the Internet.

未来の世界では、レコード会社は曲のライセンス収入で潤い、著作権侵害は過去の遺物となる。MP3やCDは消え、その代わり１台の巨大なジュークボックスがネットにアクセスできるあらゆる音楽ファンのニーズに応えてくれる。

It's a world millions of Europeans are already inhabiting. Subcribers to an online service called Spotify can now tap a catalog of tunes that is fast approaching Apple's iTunes in scale. It's a kind of Google for music. With connections to PCs and digital devices getting easier and more reliable, the idea is to avoid having to download your music library to your PC and save it on an iPod. Instead, there's unlimited access to a vast library of tunes that can be accessed and played in real time. And for most listeners, it's free as long as they are willing to hear 20 seconds of ads between songs every half hour. Otherwise they can pay a subscription fee of $14 a month or a daily charge of $1.30.

ヨーロッパには既にそんな時代が到来した。スポッティファイは、いわばグーグルの音楽版。パソコンに曲をダウンロードしてipodに保存する手間を省いたのが特徴で、アクセスすれば音楽をリアルタイムで無制限に聴ける。しかも、２０分ごとに流れる約３０秒のCMさえ我慢すれば、料金はタダ。CMが嫌なら月額9.99£あるいは日額0.99£を払えばいい。

業界の推算では、音楽ダウンロードの９５％が違法である。

Perhaps the biggest advantage, from the record companies' point of view, is that the service provides a way around the piracy issue: since there are no downloads, there's nothing to steal. (About 95 percent of music downloads are illegal, according to industry estimates.) "We have no problems with Spotify at all," says Julian Hobbins of the British-based Federation Against Software Theft. "Why would anyone pirate content or steal if they can get it as they want it for free?"

レコード会社にとって最大の利点は、著作権問題を回避している点である。ダウンロードしないのだから、盗むものもないだろう。

The two Swedish businessmen behind the venture, Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon, both serial online entrepreneurs with backgrounds in the advertising business, have reportedly raised more than $18 million to produce the service. With no traditional marketing budget, the company has used the Internet to collect more than 1 million users in seven western European countries since its launch, including 250,000 in Britain.

仕掛け人は、スウェーデンの起業家、Daniel EkとMartin Lorentzon。ブログなどのソーシャルメディアを駆使して欧州７カ国で１００万人以上のユーザーを集めた。

  • 今後

As with any new technology, simplicity helps. Installing the Spotify freeware on a PC takes a few minutes, and songs are available without having to wait for them to download. "They have out-Appled Apple on usability," says Hoye. For the time being, music can't be played on a portable device―it must be heard in real time at a PC―but analysts expect Spotify to roll out mobile service soon. Already it's considering working on a phone-specific application.

新しい技術はシンプルさが肝心。スポッティファイは、まさにiTune以上の使いやすさで「アップル以上にアップル的」。近いうちに、携帯端末でも聴けるようになるみられる。

The big question, of course, is whether the service will continue to grow at its current rate. That depends on whether listeners are willing to endure a few ads in return for their music, as they do with commercial radio and television. If not, subscription revenues alone may not be enough to satisfy the music companies. Continued success might tempt Apple into the market, stealing Spotify's thunder. If free music sounds like the future, it's far from clear who'll be calling the tunes.

今後の成長は、ユーザーがCMをどこまで許容するかにかかっている。有料ユーザーのライセンス料収入だけでは、レコード会社は十分納得しないだろう。また、成長し続ければアップルの参入を招き、市場を奪われる恐れもある。


誰が音頭を取るのかは分からない。