DMW’s CEO & Publisher provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

I spent the past week at our Digital Music Forum in New York City with 500 senior industry insiders immersed in two days of high level discussions about the future of the music industry. I don’t often toot our own horn, but this was one heck of a great event. Here are a few highlights and a list of news stories on the event:

• The State of the Industry: The overall mood at the event was very upbeat with most of the discussion on the opening “State of the Digital Union” panel focused on deal making and the positive outlook for the future. Several speakers suggested that while digital deals are getting done, there is concern that participants on the digital side of the equation are not receiving more favorable deal terms from their partners at the majors. Napster’s President Brad Duea pointed out that it has taken $40 million and years of operating at a loss for the company to reach positive cash flow. David Del Beccaro, President, Music Choice questioned whether the tough terms negotiated by the majors are slowing the growth and development of the digital music ecosystem. Ted Mico, Head of Digital for Interscope Geffen A&M, who was on receiving end of these complaints as the sole major label executive on the panel, responded that perhaps the companies complaining need to hire better negotiators, setting off a heated discussion over whether the majors have an obligation to invest more in the growth and development of the digital music ecosystem, by way of dropping advances and offering a better split to their industry partners.
  
• DRM is Dead, but not the CD: A few weeks ago, I suggested in my column that despite signs that the major labels are experimenting more than ever with new digital business models and DRM free music, it would be wrong to assume that they are throwing in the towel on CDs. In his keynote, Sony BMG Music Entertainment’s President of Global Digital Business Thomas Hesse described the company’s decision to release unprotected music on MP3s through the Amazon music store: “We made a decision that it is more important to be consumer friendly than safe.” When asked about the future of the CD, Hesse pointed out that more than 30% of Americans have no Internet access, a statistic that is unlikely to change much over the next five years, meaning that the CD market, while in decline, is far from dead. On the topic or subscription versus downloads, Hesse suggested that the company has a big opportunity “to create an access model for the consumer, where the consumer can consume the music in a virtually limitless way.”
• What’s the Best Strategy? One of the most heated exchanges occurred during the “Digital Media Trends” panel, when Gerd Leonhard of Sonific suggested that some companies, like imeem, have achieved licensing partnerships with the majors by first side-stepping the law to offer unlicensed music while building up a strong user-base that will be attractive to the majors when they go to negotiate. According to Leonhard, the majors are often not interested in licensing to companies like his company, Sonific, because it doesn't have millions of users and potential revenue to share, leaving many no choice but to go the illegal or grey route to get music from the majors on their sites. Although acknowledging that the lawsuit by the majors against imeem, Steve Jang of imeem countered that Leonhard has the facts wrong and that the company built up its user base through Indie content not content from the majors. However, Leonhard point seemed to be well taken by the audience. For details more on this, see Washington Post reporter Kim Hart post.

There was a lot of news coverage from the event. Thanks to all of you who covered the event. Here are some of the stories:

· The Debate Over Digital Lockers
Washington Post – Feb 27, 2008

· Stream vs. Download
Washington Post – Feb 27, 2008

· eMusic CEO on DRM and iTunes
Washington Post – Feb 27, 2008

· Label and Tech Execs Discuss Marketing Music on Social Networks ...
Wired Blogs - Feb 27, 2008

· Fragmented European market hurting digital music sales
Ars Technica, MA - February 28, 2008

· Social Networks and Music Discovery
PSFK, UK - Feb 27, 2008

· The music business is dead. Or dying. Or morphing...
ZDNet Blogs - Feb 27, 2008

· Qtrax CEO Blames Media for Misunderstood Launch...
Wired News - Feb 27, 2008

· Information Revolution
Statesman, NY – Feb 27, 2008

· Just An Online Minute... Bragging Rights For Qtrax?
MediaPost Publications, New York – Feb 27, 2008

· Is Breaking The Law the Secret to Success in Digital Music?
Washington Post - Feb 27, 2008

· Nobody likes DRM, including attorneys for Microsoft, Real
BetaNews – Feb 27, 2008

· @ Digital Music Forum: Keynote Interview, Thomas Hesse...
paidContent.org, CA - Feb 26, 2008

· Dropping Off The Beat
Forbes, NY – Feb 27, 2008

· Digital Music Startups Claim That Majors Are Forcing...
Idolator, NY - Feb 27, 2008

· Qtrax: The free music is coming. Trust us.
Ars Technica, MA - – Feb 27, 2008

· Michael Robertson Discusses MP3.com, EMI Lawsuit, New MP3Tunes ...
Wired News - Feb 27, 2008

· Keynote Interview with Thomas Hesse, Sony/BMG...
Wired News - Feb 26, 2008

· Interview: Brad Duea, President, Napster...
paidContent.org, CA - Feb 27, 2008

Other interesting music news of the week:

• Facebook introduced its new music section that allows bands to create profiles and post songs, photos and music videos. Around 80 artists have already set up profiles, including Alicia Keys, Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Justin Timberlake and the Decemberists. The section streams songs though a Facebook Music Player application, and provides links to purchase tracks at the iTunes Store.
• The New York Post reported that managers of several top recording artists are considering legal action against three of the majors, saying that Universal, Warner Music (NYSE: WMG) and EMI have yet to distribute to artists hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements from copyright infringement lawsuits against file-sharing firms like Napster and Kazaa. "Artist managers and lawyers have been wondering for months when their artists will see money from the copyright settlements and how it will be accounted for," attorney John Branca, who has represented Korn and The Rolling Stones, told the Post. "Some of them are even talking about filing lawsuits if they don't get paid soon.
• Universal Music Group, a unit of Vivendi, announced that it will acquired the Latin music recording and publishing division of Spanish-language media firm Univision Communications, making it the largest player in the U.S. Latin music market. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Univision owns labels including Univision Records, Fonovisa, Disa and La Calle, whose roster acts include Los Tigres del Norte and Marco Antonio Solis.
• XM Satellite Radio (NASD: XMSR) and Sirius (NASD: SIRI) announced that they have extended their merger deadline until May 1. The companies are awaiting approvals from the Justice Department and Federal Communications Commission.