Stones rolling on line with collection
by Dawn Chmielewski, Knight Ridder Newspapers (KRT)

   Now you can get what you want from subscription music services-if what you're looking for is 40 years worth of rock 'n' roll from the Rolling Stones.
   The legendary rock band is making its entire catalog-from its 1964 debut album through last year's anthology disc, Forty Licks-available for the first time to online music services, beginning with an exclusive arrangement with RealNetworks' Rhapsody service and retailer Best Buy.
   The deal represents a milestone in the development of fledgling pay music services, which have been hampered by the lack of songs from the Stones and other big-name acts as the Beatles, Madonna and Metallica. These notable gaps are cited as the primary reason customers cancel their subscriptions.
   "When people talk about the legitimate services, and they criticize them for having holes, the two most prominent bands that get mentioned are the Beatles and the Stones," Phil Leigh, digital media analyst for Raymond James & Assoc., said. "I think it's significant because, without intending a pun, this rolling stone can gain some momentum."
   RealNetworks will use its two-week exclusive access to the Rolling Stones' catalog to launch a new retail promotion with Best Buy, which will demonstrate the Rhapsody music service at kiosks in 560 retail stores nationwide and sell subscriptions in the store and though the company's Web site.
   "This is the first time you've seen retail take a step forward and bridge the gap between offline and online," Sean Ryan, RealNetworks' vice president of music, said.
   This major new retail campaign, together with the digital release of songs from rock's most enduring act, shows the gathering forces around pay music services.
   Apple Computer's splashy launch of its iTunes Music Store cast pay music services as hip, chic and surprisingly desirable. Its first week's sales of more than 1 million songs demonstrated consumers were prepared to pay for what they could otherwise readily download for free-even if sales have since stabilized at a more sedate pace of about 250,000 songs a week, according to record executives.
   Apple's success attracted the attention of retailers, including discount online site Buy.com, which rushed to open its own BuyMusic store July 22. Larger retailers such as Amazon.com and Wal-Mart are reportedly developing their own online music stores.
   But the lack of top-selling acts -including the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Garth Brooks-remains a major obstacle to the success of these services.
   Some notable artist hold-outs, including Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, have relented. But not everyone.
   For some artists, it's an issue of artistic control. Some acts object to having their works diced up and sold as singles. And they won't release tracks to services like iTunes, which insist on offering 99-cent downloadable singles.
   "Some of my clients would be totally happy to do it, but they want to control how their music is consumed. In a capitalist system, you're allowed to do that," Peter T. Paterno, whose Los Angeles firm represents Metallica and Dr. Dre, said.
   Other acts use digital distribution rights as a crowbar to reopen contracts talks with music companies and negotiate more favorable terms for online sales.
   The handful of mega-artists with leverage recognize that their music will drive traffic to these budding Internet music stores.
   It's unclear what induced the Rolling Stones to release the band's 500-song catalog, whose earliest recordings are controlled by ABKO and whose 19 albums released since 1971 are distributed by EMI Music/Virgin Records.
   A publicist said the band is on tour in the Netherlands and unavailable for comment. From the perspective of EMI, the details are irrelevant.
   "You've got one of the world's most popular, arguably the greatest, rock bands, bringing their works into digital format. You'll be able to get 'Brown Sugar' and 'Satisfac-tion' or whatever," said Jeanne Meyer, EMI spokeswoman. "It's a big step toward mainstreaming legitimate digital music services."