NOW IT'S M'SOFT [Microsoft may bid for Universal Music]

New York Post ^ | April 12, 2003 | TIM ARANGO and ERICA COPULSKY

[HAL9000]

April 12, 2003 -- Microsoft has expressed interest in buying Vivendi's Universal Music Group, setting up a possible bidding war between the software maker and rival Apple Computer, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Microsoft's interest is said to be at the level of "poking around, kicking the tires," but it has indeed had conversations with Vivendi executives about buying the music division, sources said.

[Arkinsaw]

I can see it now. Microsoft Music 2003. It will cost $400 and have 400,000 buttons you never use. Playing the music will consist of 40 simple steps. None of the music will have a bass line or vocals. But if you want a bas line or vocals you can purchase Microsoft Music 2003 Professional Edition. Microsoft Music 2003 will blow up if you have any Sun products on your PC. The software will contact Microsoft over the internet and report what music you play as well as your blood pressure and the contents of your refrigerator.

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[Timesink]

Hey, Microsoft's catching up. Usually it takes them a good 18 months or more to get around to copying Apple's ideas.

[eno_]

It would be a great shot in the arm for the music industry

Translation: "I hope these rich geeks are stupid enough to buy a dying industry."

[DakotaGator]

...which has seen compact disc sales plummet in recent years due to rampant piracy...

What industry propaganda! CD sales have plummeted because the product packaged isn't music and because the price is too high.

Do I advocate piracy? No. But I am disgusted with the recording industry. They not only destroyed "my" music, but they have also refused to listen to the consumer.

I guess the lesson of Detroit's automakers didn't register with the music moguls.

[pcgTheDestroyer]

For some in the beleaguered music industry - which has seen compact disc sales plummet in recent years due to rampant piracy...

Oh yeah? Prove it is piracy that is bringing CD sales down. What was that? Even the RIAA's numbers show other reasons for the downslide? Maybe it's people waking up to the idea that paying nearly $20 for a CD with maybe one or two good songs on it is STUPID?

No, it HAS to be those damn pirates. :-|

[lilylangtree]

According to the RATS, Bush caused the recession when he took over in 2001. Did anyone notice that in 2001 the unprecedented sell of Microsoft stock by the CEO, officers, directors, employees, and former employees of Microsoft? In 2001 alone Bill Gates sold 66,000,000 shares and that wasn't the end. In less than a year, he sold about 100,000,000 shares. The stock price at this time was about $75-$85 per share. Now count up all the shares sold by the rest of the group in 2001. Unbelievable! The price of the stock today is about $24 (there was a stock split a few weeks ago), but eliminating that, the price would be $45-$48. Wonder what all the insiders knew that the rest of the world didn't know?

[eno_]

They know that...

Game consoles are a tough business

Open source will kill Sun and eat a large chunk of their high-margin server business

.NET is two years too late to save their bacon

While Microsoft may come out with some interesting products, like a real-time communications server, their most-profitable business is going to get eaten by open source, and everything else is under price pressure and lacks compelling reasons to upgrade.