In all humility, once again I say to you, you heard it here first. Last week on the 19th I talked about how much I like the cable TV Music Choice music service with its 45+ channels - right now I am digging on the "Pulse" downbeat and ambient music channel.

Only a week behind us, the NY Times sings the praises of Music Choice today:

There is already a money-making music alternative to the CD, and it has nothing to with the Internet.

At a radio station in Midtown Manhattan that is not a radio station, there are no on-air disc jockeys and no commercials. Earnest-looking audiophiles compile playlists on their computer terminals, headphones sealing in the sounds as they work. The classical department is a few cubicles down from the programmers who compile the rap and hip-hop shows.

....Music Choice's audio is accompanied by simple graphics, which identify the artist and album. On some systems, purchasing the CD for home delivery is possible by simply using the remote control.

"Typically we play 15 songs an hour, when radio typically plays 8 to 10," said Damon Williams, director of programming for Music Choice. "You hear music that you wouldn't normally hear."

After years of tinkering, televised audio channels like these seem poised for a certain amount of success. While the recording industry struggles with piracy issues created by the Internet, which they blame for rapidly dwindling sales of the venerable compact disc, there are now more delivery mechanisms than ever for music consumption and sales.

....The industry has come a long way since 1987, when David Del Beccaro founded Music Choice. At that point, cable television was still strictly an analog technology, and would-be customers had to purchase a special receiver, pay for installation and agree to a monthly subscription fee.

Back then, he said, "we spent tens of millions to acquire 150,000 customers."

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