A new tune for online music

In the latest salvos in the online music standard wars, the industry's point man outlines the difficulties of his new role as technologist-diplomat. Meanwhile, MP3.com contemplates going public, while Microsoft enters the fray with an investment in music technology firm Reciprocal. And the outspoken Chuck D sounds off on the future of music online.

The man behind the music profileThe leader of the studio initiative to deliver secure music online is a long way from Hollywood--Italy, to be exact. But in many ways he's the best person for the job. Chuck D maps Net music's future Q&A The outspoken rapper, who started his own production company, describes the synergy between online music distribution and MP3 and the rap and hip-hop scene. MP3.com plans IPO sometime in '99 MP3.com, a distributor of music over the Internet, plans to sell shares to the public sometime before the end of this year, chief executive Michael Robertson says. Microsoft to invest in Net music firm update Microsoft announces a $15 million equity investment in Reciprocal, which develops technologies for delivering music and other media content via the Internet. Creative's new tune: Portable MP3 PC multimedia software maker Creative Technology launches its expected foray into the portable MP3 digital audio arena.