CD-ROM Maker Seeks Net Gain as ‘Music Megasite’

Because the Internet presents a vast and largely undeveloped technological landscape, it is often compared to the American frontier of the early 1800s or the California Gold Rush.

The difference, Norm Block of Graphix Zone Inc. in Irvine points out, “is we carry notebook computers at our sides instead of guns.”

Graphix Zone, best known for making multimedia CD-ROMs that feature the works of musicians such as Bob Dylan, made its first big move into cyberspace last week when the company announced it had acquired WILMA, a popular concert listing site on the Internet.

The move offers a glimpse of the way companies are flocking to the Net to stake claims to an electronic market that isn’t fully understood, but is expected to be huge. Block declined to say how much the company paid for WILMA, a site founded by three Hollywood designers in 1994.

WILMA, which stands for the Worldwide Internet Live Music Archive, lists news and concert information about hundreds of performers, as well as schedules for thousands of clubs and other concert venues across the country.

“If you wanted to go down to San Diego, you could click on WILMA and see which clubs are there and the bands appearing there this weekend,” said Block, chief operating officer of Graphix Zone.

The site, which can be found at https://www.wilma.com, is seen by Graphix Zone as a foundation for building “the music megasite on the Internet,” Block said.

WILMA will eventually anchor other connected sites, including one that sells Graphix Zone’s CD-ROMs, Block said. The company also hopes to collect ad revenue from companies, ranging from guitar manufacturers to record companies, that wish to reach music fans.

Graphix Zone’s core business remains the production of CD-ROMs with sound and video from famous musicians. But perhaps someday, when modems and cables can ship data far faster than they can today, consumers will download Graphix Zone products from its Internet site the way software is retrieved.

Those kinds of applications on the Internet could be years away, but companies like Graphix Zone are already scrambling to stake their claims. “Interactive media companies need to establish a presence on the Internet,” Block said, “or plan an exit strategy.”

Greg Miller covers high technology for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-7830 and at greg.miller@latimes.com.