April 8, 1999

Since the beginning of the year, hundreds of independent micro-broadcasters have appeared on the Net delivering high-quality streaming "radio stations" in the MP3 format. If this growth trend continues, by the end of the year there will be more streaming MP3 online stations than there are college radio stations.

MP3 Report, a new online charting service, plans to cover the evolution and the revolution from ground zero.

Featuring a no-hassles automated method for stations to report their top playing songs, the MP3 Report system will provide the best glimpse of music trends among these micro-broadcasters. MP3 Report is now alpha testing the system with a limited number of live broadcasters.

When MP3 Report launches publicly in May, 1999 it will be the first source for "What's Hot" on the playlists of streaming MP3 micro-broadcasters around the world. By providing the Internet community with weekly "Top 20" charts for different musical genres, MP3 Report will help showcase the efforts of independent online micro-broadcasters and the original artists and musical genres they support.

"Right now, we're looking for a few ShoutCast stations that broadcast techno for the initial alpha test," says GMD Studios' Brian Clark. "By early May, we'll be ready to start tracking stations on a broader scale and publishing weekly charts for the public."

MP3 Report is the first of a series of MP3-focused content properties planned for launch in 1999 by GMD Studios.

"MP3 Report represents a return to our roots," says Clark. "When our firm founded in 1994, it was in great part our excitement regarding the potential for the music industry that motivated us. Hailing from the production community, the early efforts of sites such as the Internet Underground Music Archive clearly showed the potential the Internet held for musicians and filmmakers."

One example of those early experiments by GMD Studios was the free distribution of the single "Cage" by King Crimson in MPEG format on RockSlide in 1995. "The single from Vrooom was owned entirely by the band," remembers Clark. "What was then MP2 was the only format available at the time that preserved enough quality to be artisticly acceptable." King Crimson's release of a "Net single" was one of the earliest experiments in free online digital music distribution by a major recording artist.

"We couldn't be more excited that a critical mass audience for music online has finally developed," explains Clark. "We've been waiting and preparing for these opportunities."