News

CD kiosks let fans do it their way, legally

July 6, 2004

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - Mix & Burn Inc. is letting mix and burn custom CDs, according to an article in the Star Tribune. The laptop-size, touchscreen kiosk called a "Music Tablet" lets consumers download music from a catalog of more than 200,000 songs spread among 200 genres.

Quick and easy - the CD can be created at a Mix & Burn station in about four minutes -- the service addresses a fundamental problem with how the music industry sells its product: People don't like paying $15 for a 10-song album when they want only two of the tracks. At $10 for the first seven songs and $1 per song after that, it's not free, but it is legal

CEO Stephen Russell said he came up with the idea for the Music Tablet after talking to his son about Napster, then an illegal service, and other peer-to-peer networks several years ago. "I thought, 'This is too large an industry to not find a legal way for digital content to be delivered,' " Russell said.

Since services such as Napster require users to pay monthly subscription fees on top of download charges it's out of reach for people who don't own a computer or who lack a high-speed Internet connection.

Mix & Burn's Music Tablets will be located in retail outlets, meaning there's no equipment for consumers to buy. And because Mix & Burn has agreements with five major music publishers, songs are available for download as soon as albums are released in the stores.

According to the article, about 44 million Americans have downloaded music, said Matt Kleinschmit, director of Ipsos-Insight, an international market research organization. "The rise of digital music has redefined the music industry options for consumers. No longer is there only one way to obtain music," he said.