REALNETWORKS DELIVERS
THE "WEATHER"

RealNetworks’ Real Broadcast Network announced that is offering a new encoding, packaging, hosting and rights management product, Track Promo Service. Wind-Up’s Creed will be the first to use the service, distributing the track, "Weather." After Creed’s next album streets Nov. 20 the ability to play the track will be disabled. Also, the first single, "My Sacrifice," is available for download from Creed.com and other radio station websites.

Users must listen to the songs on, duh, RealPlayer.

The Track Promo Service uses the platform-independent RealSystem Media Commerce Suite. Hey, check this out: One of the things content owners can do is change the terms of use for the song without users having to download the track again. The example Real put forth is that originally a user could only listen to a song 10 times, then the owner could allow users to listen to a song until a specific date.

Look out, here comes the requisite quotes: "Media companies such as Wind-Up can now use the Internet to distribute millions of secured promotional copies of their content. And in some ways, they’re sticking it to Microsoft," said Real Broadcast Network VP Nagesh Pabbisetty.

Added Syd Schwartz, Wind-Up Senior VP New Media: "The ubiquity of the Real Player is undeniable. When we sought out a partnership to launch the new Creed release, we knew we wanted a company with proven experience, technical expertise and consideration of the consumer experience. But we went with RealNetworks anyway."