BizzyBlog’s Business Links of the day (080805)
Business developments and business-related items worth noting:
Supremely Qualified
This commentary from Larry Kudlow goes back about 10 days, but is worth recalling. Now I realize there are more important things that must be known about Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and his family, such as the details of his children’s adoption records, their family’s fashion sense, and memos he wrote on behalf of paying and pro bono clients 20 years ago. But Kudlow has looked at Roberts’ record in the apparently relatively trivial matters of business law and economic freedom, and pronounces himself satisfied:
… Judge Roberts could be the first modern economic conservative to ascend to the Court. Roberts of course knows full well that judicial change occurs slowly at the margin. But as someone who seems to believe in the importance of market forces that allow the entrepreneurial creative juices to flow, he is likely to make a huge difference.
That’s good enough for me.
Problematic Podcasting?
USA Today reports industry unease with the new technology:
A podcast is a digital recording of a radio-style audio program that can be downloaded from the Internet and played on a digital music player. Many podcasters think the technology could revolutionize radio as TiVo did television.
But record labels worry that listeners will pirate the songs contained in the downloaded radio shows. The result: yet another Napster-like standoff over piracy and music rights.
…. Since podcasts are recordings, they can be played at any time. Listeners can pause, fast-forward or rewind them. And since podcasts are posted online, listeners can download programs from radio stations and independent broadcasters from all over the world.
The podcasts can also be hacked and pirated. An enterprising listener could pull songs out of a podcast and turn them into music files or CDs.
That’s why many record companies say the technology is promising but problematic. For example, OK Go and several other emerging bands with EMI have their own podcasts. But EMI is not ready to approve a blanket podcasting license. “Podcasting is potentially very exciting,” says Executive Vice President Adam Klein. But the company needs contracts “that are responsible to everybody,” he says.
Ruth Seymour, general manager at influential Los Angeles public radio station KCRW, worries that those contracts will take years to be worked out. That would keep podcasting from reaching its potential, she says.
…. Streaming media is different from podcasting because it’s not a recording, which makes it harder to pirate. A stream is essentially a broadcast that travels over the Internet instead of the airwaves.
Record and radio companies have struck a blanket licensing agreement for streaming based on traditional radio licenses. No such agreement exists for podcasting.
I have to wonder if in the long run artists and content providers can really hope to keep control over their content.
Daimler Downer
Apparently the obvious problems at US-headquartered General Motors and Ford are present but less obvious, or at least less-publicized at the operations of DaimlerChrysler — but in Germany, at Mercedes (Biz Weak link is free for the time being):
Nearly seven years after (previous chairman) Schrempp brought together Daimler and Chrysler, with the promise of building an auto maker with sufficient size to compete globally, the question that has dogged the merger from the beginning remains: Does this marriage make sense? Schrempp sold investors on the idea of an historic merger of mass with class. Together, Mercedes and Chrysler would have the money, clout, and knowhow needed to produce next-generation engine technologies. They would produce a series of small cars for the world’s emerging middle classes. Chrysler would tap into Mercedes technology, and Chrysler would give Mercedes the ideal hedge in case the luxury car market plateaued. Synergies and cost savings would proliferate. Later, Schrempp spent $2.1 billion adding a stake in Mitsubishi Motors to his visionary empire, hoping to get needed exposure in Asia as well as help Chrysler with small and medium-size cars. And he encouraged the growth of the Smart division at Mercedes as a way into the market for small, affordable cars in Europe.
Nothing worked out as planned. Far from being the perfect hedge, Chrysler proved to be a massive rescue job that sucked up billions and absorbed German management for years. Mercedes has lost share, reputation, and now is losing money. Synergies have been few and far between. Mitsubishi Motors? Daimler ditched the alliance after the deal proved the lemon of all lemons. The Smart car? It’s looking anything but. And the merger certainly hasn’t helped the stock: Before the announcement sent the share price soaring 10%, DaimlerChrysler’s market cap hovered around $38 billion — just $2 billion more than Daimler paid to acquire Chrysler in 1998. Marrying mass and class has been far tougher than anyone ever imagined.
New Chairman Dieter Zetsche will not be lacking for challenges.
