The proposed look of MusicDNA, a full-service digital music format that is more than a song. (Courtesy Bach Tehnology)Norwegian-based Bach Technology Ltd. has launched a new digital music format that industry observers are calling the most significant development since the MP3.

MusicDNA is a media extension that embeds additional content into a musical file so that users can enjoy lyrics, news updates and music videos when downloaded.

Introduced at the MIDEM music industry meeting in Cannes, the new format is being touted as a way of enticing music fans to buy their music from legitimate sites because of the additional incentives, which can include a range of artist information as well as tour updates and Twitter feeds.

"Standard audio is not enough to convince consumers to pay for content anymore. You have to bring them a better total music experience," said Bach chief executive officer Stefan Kohlmeyer.

To this end, Bach has partnered with leading German research organization, Fraunhofer Institute, who is credited with creating the original MP3 format.

MusicDNA files can hold up to 32MB of content while integrating a number of features, including multi-media, music analysis and textual media.

Music labels, bands or retailers can send updates to the music file every time they have something new to announce such as tour dates or updates to social network pages.

User controls

Stefan Kohlmeyer, CEO of Norwegian-based Bach Technology Ltd. (Courtesy Bach Technology)Through this format, users also have the ability to control the amount of information they receive when they are online.

Also, those who might download the new content illegally in the future would not receive any of the additional material or updates.

Illegal downloads continue to be a problem for the music industry.

For example, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFIP) said the industry made $3.7 billion on digital downloads in 2008. But that amounted to only five per cent of all music downloads, a proportion that has continued to drop over the last decade.

Kohlmeyer said MusicDNA allows for better music navigation as it has the ability to create smart playlists, based on a user's mood or genre preference, through its audio analysis feature.

MusicDNA is also "not a proprietor. It's open standard and works with any audio code," he said.

That means it plays on any standard MP3 device though users won't get access to all the additional media on products like an Apple iPod.

Bach Technology has already signed a number of partners throughout the music industry and is in talks with the big record labels.

Kohlmeyer says MusicDNA will be launched in spring 2010 with two service providers, two retailers and a number of record labels already on board.

Canadian partnership

Bach Technology has teamed up with a start-up business, Recast Media, which has developed the 1Boss platform. 1Boss searches a broadcaster's material to find appropriate content for consumers. The 1Boss platform works with all three types of media — print, audio and video.

Recast says it will use the annotation capabilities of MusicDNA to drive most of the music aspects of its system.

Greg McGovern of Recast Media said the business partnered with Bach because they agreed with the vision of MusicDNA, in terms of increasing public awareness of new music through the use of a larger catalogue.

Kohlmeyer hopes to have a full commercial release by the summer with retailers and record labels from around the world.

The price of MusicDNA has not been determined because Kohlmeyer says it will be at the discretion of the content provider and retailers. But he believes the prices will fluctuate depending on the amount of premium content provided.

As this is an open-standard media extension, MusicDNA's audio quality remains the same as now, but it gives users more content for their money.

Kohlmeyer said consumers want more and "we think that changing the focus from not only about the song to additional multi-media content is the right way to go."