Slashdot Mirror
Roxio To Concentrate on Online Music Business
DevGhost writes "Roxio Inc. said on Monday it would change its name to Napster and focus on the money-losing online digital music service, selling its profitable CD and DVD software division to Sonic Solutions for $80 million."
I wonder how many of the board of that company also moved with the profitable portion of the company, leaving the employees and the unpopular directors and managers with the loss making portion?
Napster on the stock ticker... who would have thought that was going to happen 5 years ago?!
I had to rub my eyes to make sure the news was real... I bet there is a really good story behind this. What does Roxio have that Apple and Microsoft don't? Roxio has links with every CD/DVD hardware manufacturer. It's software is embedded in XP. How does the market for online music compare to that of CD/DVD recording software (hmm, its sort of related...). The answer I bet will be in the Sonic Solutions documentation. What are the caveats to the sale? The folks at Roxio aren't dumb... they've done quite well.
Visit Tim's Journal, yes?
What if Microsoft bundles a DVD/CD - burning program with LongHorn? Then this might not be such a bad idea for Roxio. The software is great but if microsoft is playing the browser-war with burning software then its potentially a good thing for the ROxio company.
Also to consider are new DRM rules. Roxio could have to do major upgrading to the software to enable proper DRM and even then Microsoft/MPAA could decide its not good enough.
What is a great product now does not mean that it will always be the best. You have to admit that CD/DVD burning software is kind of a one-trick-pony-kind-of software that does not have great potential for growth. Sooner or later Microsoft will start to integrate burning capabilities like Apple.
Also another thing to consider is with growing HD sizes CD burning I am assuming is decreasing. also with MP3 players, which I am assuming will lead to MP3 car players, CDr's could potentially.. gasp.. die. Leaving ROxio with a sinking ship.
Just some thoughts as to why they would do this drastic move
Roxio commits corporate suicide. Film at 11...
Nah, they are actually very shrewd and forward-looking. They know that if not now, then eventually something like the INDUCE act will be made law, effectively making illegal CD & DVD burners as well as Roxio's (formerly Adaptec's) popular duping software.
They're just gittin out while the gittin is good, see?
you know, throw/kick the ball as far as you can toward the goal and pray someone on your side makes a great play with it.
"Calculated risk" is indeed a business model. Almost every business that isn't funded by a trust is based on risk of losses. It's not like they are shuttering the profitable business, they are cashing it out and throwing everything into what is obviously a make-or-break play. Maybe CD burners are boring. Maybe there are no great business opportunites left worth fighting over. Maybe someone is rich enough to want to play with some money.
It isn't insane, it's just risky. I happen to think it is insanely risky, but that's just me. Still if I were sitting on a cool $80M with everything to lose and not much to gain I would give myself a nice salary, make a great try at stardom, and if it went down badly I'd buy an island in the South Pacific and retire to study beaches and waves.
And how insane is that, really?
=^..^= all your rodent are belong to us