Power Players: Big Names Are Jumping Into the Crowded Online Music Field: "Power Players: Big Names Are Jumping Into the Crowded Online Music Field
By JOHN SCHWARTZ and JOHN MARKOFF

Published: January 12, 2004


eople watching the online music industry say two things about that digital marketplace: business is booming, and the business stinks. Dozens of companies have opened online music stores, drawn by the promise of riches if even a fraction of the tens of millions of people illegally downloading songs turn to legitimate services. But profits in selling songs are slim at best, and the industry is already too crowded."