Aussie E-commerce Assn. Planned

SYDNEY-Online retailer ChaosMusic and the Australian arm of Microsoft have initiated plans to set up the Australian Digital Music Assn. (ADMA).
A preliminary meeting of interested parties was set for Saturday (7) to coincide with the fourth bi-annual National Entertainment Industry Conference, two days of seminars in Sydney attended by 550 delegates representing all facets of the music industry. The conference is organized by online publisher Immedia, which has also put together the inaugural Australian Online Music Awards, which kicks off the conference. The 15 categories in the awards were voted for by 15,000 people tapping into various Web sites around the world.
Formal ADMA meetings are expected to be held September in Sydney and Melbourne and in other cities later in the year. Victoria Doidge, ChaosMusic VP of marketing, says ADMA is being set up to "liaise with other trade associations or collection societies in music and video, lobby to state and federal governments over rights issues and development initiatives, as well as serving as a conduit for information on developments in technology."
Harvey Sanchez, product marketing manager of Windows Media Technologies and E-commerce at Microsoft Australia, says he believes the existence of the association will "drive industry growth and stability in the future." No official statistics exist to gauge the size of the digital sector in Australia's $500 million annual turnover music market. But figures collated by Immedia! put digital sales for 1998 at $12.5 million Australian ($8 million), and 1999's would be between $17.5 million Australian and $22.5 million Australian ($11.2 million and $14.4 million).
Immedia! managing director Phil Tripp estimates that in Australia, "in two years 25% of retailing will be done digitally." One issue to be addressed is the 22% sales tax that applies to Australian online retailers but not overseas ones. The ADMA is also expected to urge the government to pass legislation on digital rights by October. Says Tripp, "Protecting the rights of creators and E-commerce is a priority."