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RealNetworks Plays The Role Of Internet Bully

Chris Richardson — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 20:36:16 +0000

While researching this topic, something occurred to me: who uses RealPlayer anymore to begin with? And so, after a quick jaunt over to RealNetworks Twitter page, I noticed they only have about 3700 followers. By comparison, Winamp, a RealPlayer competitor from those Internet days of yore, has over 7000.

Apparently, Winamp is still whipping the llama’s ass, if the llama in question is the oft-maligned RealPlayer.

As you well know, these are small amounts in the grand scheme of Twitter, and it should clue you into just how popular the service is. Granted, they’ve expanded from the days of being known as the streaming video player that brought the word “buffering” to popularity, but even with the new services, they can’t escape their past, something Oh Internet expands on quite nicely.

Now, as if to add to their sterling reputation, RealNetworks is suing a Dutch webmaster because he had the audacity to link to a free alternative to the RealPlayer, called Real Alternative. The webmaster in question runs a software downloads site, but instead of hosting these files, he simply links to places they can be downloaded.

Naturally, RealNetworks’ complaint has to do with trademarks and copyrights, but the question is, if they are truly worried about that, why not go after the developers of the Real Alternative instead of some webmaster who doesn’t have the same resources to defend himself?

Obviously, the answer lies in the question.

Instead of going after companies like CNet’s Download.com, a site that apparently hosts the program in question and Google, who has more links for “Real Alternative” than the webmaster being sued, undoubtedly, RealNetworks goes after the little guy, much like a bully who picks on the weaker of the bunch.

Apparently, going after the little guy is safer than getting your collective ass handed to you by Google’s legal team. That being said, we’re throwing down the gauntlet at WebProNews. This is us linking to a site that links to Real Alternative downloads, essentially the same thing the Dutch webmaster did. This should also give some insight into the lead image, which is defiance in the face of RealNetworks’ bullying strategy.

RealNetworks’ problem is with the developers of Real Alternative, not the people who link to the download. Considering the fact that RealNetworks have been around since 1995, you’d think they’d have a little bit more Internet/business savvy than…

Sorry, that last part of the article hasn’t downloaded yet because of buffering issues.

Thoughts On Napster & Best Buy

Bruce Houghton — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 19:31:47 +0000

4 Thoughts On Best Buy & Napster

Napster was worth even less than I thought. Given the $67 million in cash that Napster has on hand, the purchase for $121 million by Best Buy puts the valuation at just $54 million. Not much for a company with 700,000 subscribers, decent technology and a strong brand name.
This purchase is a blow for RealNetworks’ Rhapsodywho previously powered Best Buys download store. It’s not fatal, but it isn’t good news as Rhapsody struggles to gain traction. (Thanks to an alert Hypebot reader for pointing this out.)
The integration of Napster into Best Buy may confuse consumers and tarnish wha ist left of the Napster brand. Or is that the point? There’s not much left to Napster’s once powerful brand.
I’m having trouble imagining the synergies between online and brick and morter Best Buy that would help Napster grow. Do you see any?

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Yahoo, AOL, RealNetworks Must Pay Music Royalties

Doug Caverly — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:51:47 +0000

The last thing either Yahoo or AOL wants to do right now is give away money; the companies are having enough trouble without handouts. Yet a federal court has ruled that Yahoo and AOL (along with RealNetworks) must pay millions in licensing fees to the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

The court established that all three businesses must share about 2.5 percent of the revenue they’ve received from streaming music. All in all, licensing fees for the period between mid-2002 and the end of 2009 may total as much as $100 million.

Marilyn Bergman

It’s hard to feel too sorry for the companies, though; instead of being a greedy record company, ASCAP is a non-profit organization with over 320,000 "songwriter, composer and music publisher members." Lots of little guys are involved, while names like Elvis Costello, Avril Lavigne, and Coldplay lend it some power.

ASCAP president and chairman Marilyn Bergman stated, "It is critical that these organizations share a reasonable portion of their sizable revenues with those of us whose content attracts audiences and, ultimately, helps to make their businesses viable. This decision will go a long way toward protecting the ability of songwriters and composers to be compensated fairly as the use of musical works online continues to grow."

More specific figures, in addition to objections from Yahoo, AOL, and RealNetworks, should become available within the next few weeks.

The New MTV

Bruce Houghton — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 21:47:23 +0000

MTV is once again retooling itself in an attempt to maintain relevance in the digital age. Highlights of the new strategy include:

MTV offers an embeddable video player that allows users to re-post any MTV owned content
Creation of wide variety of highly targeted loosely connected web sites that focuses on programming like "Jackass", "VH1 Classics" and "Sucker Free". In the last year, MTV added 32 new sites. If sites find an audience they will be nurtured and those that don’t will be re-tooled or shut down.MTV will rely primarily on content and viral promotion to grow each site
After a failed foray into digital music sales with URGE, MTV has high hopes for its new
RealNetworks’ Rhapsody relationship
MTV will continue to invest aggressively in gaming making a $500 million investment in a sector where they sold 1.3 million units of Rock Band last year and helped MTV sell hundreds of thousands of music downloads.

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