PassAlong Networks
Encyclopedia
PassAlong Networks, also known as Tennessee Pacific Group, LLC, was a developer of digital media innovations and services located in Franklin, Tennessee
. The company had a digital music library of 3 million licensed songs—two million of which are raw MP3 music files, and provided a series of products and services in the digital media marketplace.
The company had digital music catalog agreements with the four major record labels: Warner Music Group
, Universal Music Group
, EMI
, and Sony/BMG. PassAlong’s catalog was composed of non-DRM, MP3
music files. The other major catalogs were DRM-protected files based on Microsoft WMA technology. The Independent MP3 catalog included songs from The Orchard, Nettwerk
Music, IODA
, CD Baby
, Naxos Records
, and many others.
The Company Products include:
, the company moved their headquarters to the Factory at Franklin, south of Nashville. The founders included former Microsoft
executive Dave Jaworski, digital media producer Brad Edmonson, former EMI
executive Scott Hughes, Scott Lewis, Robin Pou, and independent music producer Jozef Nuyens, who also owns The Castle Studio in Franklin, Tennessee.
In September 2004 PassAlong launched its first digital music download store in conjunction with eBay
. The store became the largest store on eBay. The Ebay relationship is longer in place however. Since then the company has launched over two hundred stores, including Procter & Gamble's
Home Made Simple
store and the f.y.e.- for your entertainment
, digital download store.
PassAlong became Microsoft PlaysForSure certified in December 2004. In 2006 the company released a non-DRM solution that helps guard artist content without restricting interoperability on the consumer side. In that year PassAlong joined DDEX to develop metadata
standards across the industry. Members include Microsoft and Apple Computer
.
Current initiatives include: variable-pricing programs and in-car music downloads; digital video libraries and social networks.
The company stopped operations on May 5th, 2009.
The company shut down in late June, 2009, evidently a result of losing investors who were forced to pull out by the effects of the waning economy.
to protect digital music files. They are called WMA
or Windows Media Audio
files.
The certification program developed by Microsoft to ensure that portable devices (portable media players, phones, etc.) and content services
have been tested against several hundred compatibility and performance requirements, is called Microsoft PlaysForSure
. PassAlong is PlaysForSure certified.
Alternative artist rights/royalty models and open source:
Consumer rights, user experience, and device interoperability:
News, Blogs and Sources:
Franklin, Tennessee
Franklin is a city within and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 62,487 as of the 2010 census Franklin is located approximately south of downtown Nashville.-History:...
. The company had a digital music library of 3 million licensed songs—two million of which are raw MP3 music files, and provided a series of products and services in the digital media marketplace.
The company had digital music catalog agreements with the four major record labels: Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
, and Sony/BMG. PassAlong’s catalog was composed of non-DRM, MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
music files. The other major catalogs were DRM-protected files based on Microsoft WMA technology. The Independent MP3 catalog included songs from The Orchard, Nettwerk
Nettwerk
The Nettwerk Music Group is the umbrella company for Nettwerk Management, Nettwerk Records, Nettwerk One Publishing, Nutone Records, and Artwerk. With over 150 employees, the Vancouver-based company has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Boston, Nashville, and Hamburg...
Music, IODA
IODA
IODA is an abbreviation that may refer to:* Independent Online Distribution Alliance, a digital distribution company* International Optimist Dinghy Association, see Optimist...
, CD Baby
CD Baby
CD Baby is an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs and digital music downloads from independent musicians to consumers. The company is also a digital aggregator of independent music recordings, distributing content to several online digital music retailers.CD Baby has achieved recent...
, Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
, and many others.
The Company Products include:
- StoreBlocks: online retail store-building platforms, media libraries, metadata, and web services. Its technology includes turnkey templates, Web services, reporting systems, storefront showcases, a music referral system, consumer rewards programs, legal music sharing, and a library of raw MP3s to enable consumer interoperabilityInteroperabilityInteroperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
. This platform currently powers over 120 digital stores, including BreakthruRadio, TransWorld’s f.y.e.F.y.e.F.Y.E., standing for "For Your Entertainment," is a chain of entertainment media stores in the United States. As one of many Trans World Entertainment brands, it began in 1993 and was expanded in 2001 after buying out and rebranding mall-based Camelot, Strawberries, Record Town and Coconuts stores...
online music store and Procter & Gamble'sProcter & GambleProcter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
Julie's Jukebox, a digital music store on HomeMadeSimple.comHome Made SimpleHome Made Simple is a a lifestyle brand that features tips, advice and ideas for the home primarily on its website, TV show and through email. It is supported by the Procter & Gamble brands: Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Gain Ultra, Mr...
http://www.homemadesimple.com. See www.StoreBlocks.com for more information.
- OnTour: consumer-direct media showcases, widgets, data services, and notification systems. Its core product notifies users when their favorite artists are performing a concert in their area. The OnTour Barenaked LadiesBarenaked LadiesBarenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
Special Edition won the 2006 BillboardBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Demmxpo Award for Best Use of Technology by an Artist. See www.OnTour.net for more information
- Connected Consumer: interactive CEConsumer electronicsConsumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
interfaces and media services for the digital mediaDigital mediaDigital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital form. It can refer to the technical aspect of storage and transmission Digital media is a form of electronic media where data is stored in digital (as opposed to analog) form. It can refer to the technical aspect of...
ecosystemEcosystemAn ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
.
- FreedomMP3: protection technologies and media tracking services
- Speakerheart: a subsidiary to empower independent artists to self-publish and promote their works online. See www.Speakerheart.com for more information.
History of PassAlong Networks
Founded in 2002 in Nashville, TennesseeNashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, the company moved their headquarters to the Factory at Franklin, south of Nashville. The founders included former Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
executive Dave Jaworski, digital media producer Brad Edmonson, former EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
executive Scott Hughes, Scott Lewis, Robin Pou, and independent music producer Jozef Nuyens, who also owns The Castle Studio in Franklin, Tennessee.
In September 2004 PassAlong launched its first digital music download store in conjunction with eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
. The store became the largest store on eBay. The Ebay relationship is longer in place however. Since then the company has launched over two hundred stores, including Procter & Gamble's
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
Home Made Simple
Home Made Simple
Home Made Simple is a a lifestyle brand that features tips, advice and ideas for the home primarily on its website, TV show and through email. It is supported by the Procter & Gamble brands: Cascade, Dawn, Febreze, Gain Ultra, Mr...
store and the f.y.e.- for your entertainment
F.y.e.
F.Y.E., standing for "For Your Entertainment," is a chain of entertainment media stores in the United States. As one of many Trans World Entertainment brands, it began in 1993 and was expanded in 2001 after buying out and rebranding mall-based Camelot, Strawberries, Record Town and Coconuts stores...
, digital download store.
PassAlong became Microsoft PlaysForSure certified in December 2004. In 2006 the company released a non-DRM solution that helps guard artist content without restricting interoperability on the consumer side. In that year PassAlong joined DDEX to develop metadata
Metadata
The term metadata is an ambiguous term which is used for two fundamentally different concepts . Although the expression "data about data" is often used, it does not apply to both in the same way. Structural metadata, the design and specification of data structures, cannot be about data, because at...
standards across the industry. Members include Microsoft and Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
.
Current initiatives include: variable-pricing programs and in-car music downloads; digital video libraries and social networks.
The company stopped operations on May 5th, 2009.
The company shut down in late June, 2009, evidently a result of losing investors who were forced to pull out by the effects of the waning economy.
DRM and Microsoft PlaysForSure
The PassAlong library of digital songs includes both DRM files and MP3 files. The DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology used was developed by MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
to protect digital music files. They are called WMA
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
or Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio
Windows Media Audio is an audio data compression technology developed by Microsoft. The name can be used to refer to its audio file format or its audio codecs. It is a proprietary technology that forms part of the Windows Media framework. WMA consists of four distinct codecs...
files.
The certification program developed by Microsoft to ensure that portable devices (portable media players, phones, etc.) and content services
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...
have been tested against several hundred compatibility and performance requirements, is called Microsoft PlaysForSure
Microsoft PlaysForSure
Starting in 2004, Microsoft PlaysForSure was a certification given by Microsoft to portable devices and content services that had been tested against several hundred compatibility and performance requirements. These requirements include codec support, DRM support, UI responsiveness, device...
. PassAlong is PlaysForSure certified.
See also
Artist-rights, Rightsholder organizations, and royaties:- RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America
- CRIACriaA cria is the name for a baby camelid such as a llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. It comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, crya , was coined by British sailors who explored Chile in the 18th century and were quick to describe the camelids onomatopoeically...
- the Canadian Recording Industry Association - ASCAP - performance rights organization for songwriters, composers, publishers
- BMIBroadcast Music IncorporatedBroadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
- performance rights organization for songwriters, composers, publishers - SESACSESACSESAC, originally the Society of European Stage Authors & Composers, is the smallest of the three performance rights organizations in the United States. SESAC was founded in 1930, making it the second-oldest performing rights organization in the U.S. SESAC is also the fastest-growing PRO in the...
- - performance rights organization for songwriters, composers, publishers - SOCAN - Canadian performance rights organization
- Harry Fox AgencyHarry Fox AgencyThe Harry Fox Agency is the United States of America's largest agency collecting and distributing mechanical license fees on behalf of music publishers.-External links:*...
- agency that collects and distributes mechanical licenseMechanical licenseA mechanical license is a license that grants certain limited permissions to work with, study, improve upon, reinterpret, re-record something that is neither a free/open source item nor in the public domain....
fees on behalf of music publishers - CMRRA - Canadian agency for mechanical licenseMechanical licenseA mechanical license is a license that grants certain limited permissions to work with, study, improve upon, reinterpret, re-record something that is neither a free/open source item nor in the public domain....
fees - Soundscan - Performance tracking used by Billboard MagazineBillboard (magazine)Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
and others - RoyaltyShareBob KohnBob Kohn currently serves as founder, Chairman and CEO of RoyaltyShare, Inc., an outsourced royalty processing solution for the music, book publishing, brand licensing, and motion picture industries....
- an outsourced royalty processing solution for the music industry - DRMDigital rights managementDigital rights management is a class of access control technologies that are used by hardware manufacturers, publishers, copyright holders and individuals with the intent to limit the use of digital content and devices after sale. DRM is any technology that inhibits uses of digital content that...
- Digital Rights Management - DMCADigital Millennium Copyright ActThe Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
- The Digital Millennium Copyright Act, made law in 1998, and validated DRM
Alternative artist rights/royalty models and open source:
- Creative CommonsCreative CommonsCreative Commons is a non-profit organization headquartered in Mountain View, California, United States devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright-licenses known as Creative Commons...
- Creative Commons licensesCreative Commons licensesCreative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
- FairShareFairshareFairshare Voting Reform is a cross-party and non-party organisation set up in February 2001 to campaign for the introduction of the Single Transferable Vote system of Proportional Representation for local government elections in Scotland...
- Open contentOpen contentOpen content or OpenContent is a neologism coined by David Wiley in 1998 which describes a creative work that others can copy or modify. The term evokes open source, which is a related concept in software....
- Open sourceOpen sourceThe term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
- Public domainPublic domainWorks are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
- Share-alikeShare-alikeShare-Alike is a descriptive term used in the Creative Commons project for copyright licenses which include certain copyleft provisions. The Share-Alike license comes in two varieties, CC-BY-SA and CC-BY-NC-SA.-Share-alike license types:...
Consumer rights, user experience, and device interoperability:
- Electronic Frontier FoundationElectronic Frontier FoundationThe Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
- American Electronics Association - AEA, which runs CES, and many programs
- IEEE - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers focuses on the advancement of technology
- User experienceUser experienceUser experience is the way a person feels about using a product, system or service. User experience highlights the experiential, affective, meaningful and valuable aspects of human-computer interaction and product ownership, but it also includes a person’s perceptions of the practical aspects such...
- Fair useFair useFair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
- US copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from rightsholders - Consumer rights
- InteroperabilityInteroperabilityInteroperability is a property referring to the ability of diverse systems and organizations to work together . The term is often used in a technical systems engineering sense, or alternatively in a broad sense, taking into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system to...
- connecting people, content, devices, and digital ecosystems - DMCRA - Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (proposed law)
News, Blogs and Sources:
- Digital Media WireDigital Media WireDigital Media Wire, Inc. was originally started in May 2000 as a publishing company dedicated to the coverage of media, entertainment and technology news...
External links
- Digital Music News
- PaidContent.org
- Can't Stop The Music - the blog of Dave Jaworski, CEO of PassAlong Networks