Why was Giovanni first directed at music?
We believe that the market for audio is characterized by far higher reproduction quality standards and turnover of product than any other commercial media market. It is also the first successful market for digitized media. Some offhand examples: the low cost and low barrier to entry for musicians, the predominance of expensive, high-fidelity audio equipment, the vastness of broadcast opportunities, and the passive nature of the media. Establishing a watermark technology for audio could provide a demanding benchmark for the level of quality that can be established because of the highly demanding nature of the human ear. Any flaws will be obvious to the discriminating listener. As interactive visual media, the brain is more likely to compensate for watermark visibility than for the more difficult inaudibility standard for music watermarks.
