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Breaking Digital Music NewsRealNetworks, MTV to Spin-off Rhapsody Music ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 10:53am.
 Seattle
- RealNetworks (NASD: RNWK) and Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) MTV Networks, partners in the Rhapsody digital
music service joint venture, have announced plans to spin-off Rhapsody into a
new, independent company. Real, which currently owns 51% of the equity in
Rhapsody, and MTV, which owns 49%, will reduce stakes so that each hold an
equal stake of less than 50% of the company. The remaining shares will be made available
to "one or more minority stockholders."
Foreign Market Sales Boost Warner Music Group ResultsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 10:00am.
 New York
- Major record label Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG) reports that revenue from its fiscal
first quarter, ended in December, was up 3% to $918 million, although the
company posted a net loss for the quarter of $17 million. Foreign sales were up
12.7%, helping to defray sales that were down by 9.5% in the U.S., making
for an overall 3.4% increase in income.
Report: EMI Plans 'Radical' Cost Cuts, More LayoffsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 10:06am.
 London
- Major record label EMI is planning "radical cost cuts, including a
further reduction in its 3,500-strong workforce," in a bid to make the
company more attractive to investors, the Telegraph reported. Terra Firma, the
private equity firm that acquired EMI for $4.7 billion before the recession hit,
is seeking an additional more than $160 million from investors, in order to
meet loan repayment deadlines and prevent a possible takeover by lender Citigroup.
Court Dismisses EMI Charges Against Seeqpod FoundersAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 9:27am.
 New York
- A federal judge this week dismissed copyright infringement charges brought by
major record label EMI against the founders of streaming music site Seeqpod,
GigaOM reported. U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Seeqpod's
motion to dismiss the case, citing lack of jurisdiction.
Terra Firma Seeks Another $160 Million for EMIAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 8:28am.
London
- Terra Firma, the private equity firm that owns major record label EMI, is
seeking to raise an additional $160 million to help repay loans to Citigroup,
which helped finance the firm's $4.7 billion acquisition of EMI, according to
published reports. Terra may soon default on loan payments due, if it fails to
raise the additional capital.
Tapulous Releases "Riddim Ribbon" iPhone Music GameAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 12:14pm.
Palo Alto,
Calif. - Tapulous, developers of the
"Tap Tap Revenge" music-based games for Apple's iPhone and iPod
touch, have released a new game, "Riddim Ribbon," with tracks from the
Black Eyed Peas and Tiesto. The $2.99 game, which was co-produced by Black Eyed
Peas' will.i.am., lets users "create their own unique mixes to hot tracks
as they race down a crazy ribbon, pick up pebbles, choose forks in the road and
avoid obstacles."
Bally Total Fitness Taps Universal for Music Download PromotionsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 11:56am.
Los Angeles
- Universal Music Group on Tuesday announced a two-year deal with Bally Total
Fitness, to provide MP3 downloads to be used as enticements to acquire new
members, reward loyal members and incentivize employee sales. Under the deal,
Bally agreed to buy 4.5 million downloads from Universal. Next month, most new
Bally gym members will receive 20 music downloads with their Bally membership,
redeemable at a co-branded site accessible via Ballyfitness.com.
Yahoo Hires Universal Music's Bronikowski to Head Music UnitAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2010 - 9:48am.
New York
- Yahoo has hired senior Universal Music Group executive Jeff Bronikowski to
head Yahoo Music, Billboard reported.
MySpace Music Testing Audio AdsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 1:03pm.
Los Angeles
- MySpace Music, the joint venture between the News Corp.-owned (NYSE: NWS) social network
and the major record labels, is testing 30-second audio ads that users must
listen to before they can access free song streams, the Associated Press
reported. The ads "are timed so that a user can listen to up to 100 songs
on a playlist or to a full album with just a single interruption after the
first song," AP reports. The company is working with TargetSpot to sell
the audio ads.
Italian Court Reinstates ISP Block on The Pirate BayAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 11:25am.
Los Angeles - An Italian
court has ruled that ISPs in the country must block access to file-sharing hub
The Pirate Bay, reinstating a ban that had been previously overruled, then
reaffirmed by Italy's
Supreme Court, TorrentFreak reported.
Motorola Leads Investment in Social Music Player TuneWikiAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 8, 2010 - 9:13am.
Schaumberg,
Ill. - Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Ventures
announced on Monday that it has led a new investment round in TuneWiki, a
provider of social media music players and related applications.
tags: Deals | VC | Social Networking | Music | Lyrics | Motorola Ventures | Novel TMT | Hillsven Capital | Intellect Capital Ventures | TuneWiki | Benchmark Israel |
Hachette Joins Macmillan in Seeking Variable E-book PricingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 5, 2010 - 11:58am.
New York
- A second large publishing house has joined Macmillan in seeking a variable
pricing model for e-books, challenging Amazon.com's bid to set an industry
standard price of $9.99 for e-books, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Lagardere's Hachette Book Group said in a letter to book agents that it would
seek a pricing formula from all retailers like the one that Apple has proposed,
where publishers could set prices ranging up to $14.99 for some titles.
Sirius XM Radio Launches Streaming to BlackBerryAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 12:40pm.
i>New York
- Sirius XM Radio (NASD: SIRI) announced on Thursday that streaming versions of its
satellite radio channels are now available on RIM's (NASD: RIMM) BlackBerry. The Sirius XM
App for BlackBerry will stream radio content over cellular and Wi-Fi networks
to models including the Storm, Bold, Tour and Curve.
Slacker Web Radio Now Available on Palm SmartphonesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 12:39pm.
San Diego
- Streaming music service Slacker on Thursday announced the availability of a
mobile radio application for the Palm (NASD: PALM) webOS platform. The Slacker Radio Mobile
application is available for the Pre, Pre Plus, Pixi and Pixi Plus smartphones
in the U.S. and Canada.
AT&T Allows Live TV Streaming on iPhone via SlingPlayerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 11:03am.
Dallas
- AT&T (NYSE: T) has reversed its stance and will allow live TV streaming over its 3G
network to iPhones using Sling Media's streaming service.
AppFund to Fuel Development of Apple iPad ApplicationsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 4, 2010 - 8:51am.
New York
- CNET and E! Online co-founder Kevin Wendle and MusicNation fo-founder Daniel
Klaus have teamed to form AppFund, a new investment firm that will provide
funding and expertise to developers working on applications for Apple's new
iPad.
Spotify: U.S. Launch Within 60 Days; Music Discovery UpgradedAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 10:47am.
London - Spotify, the ad-supported
European streaming music service, is set to launch in the U.S. in one or two month's time, CEO Daniel Ek
said at a music conference in Los
Angeles, Billboard reported. Ek also said that the
company is adding "a few thousand" paying subscribers a day in Europe to the premium, ad-free version of its service.
The company said separately in a press release on Wednesday that it has updated
its artist discovery feature, and now includes its own "cross-referencing
data collected over millions of users listening hours to power
recommendations." Spotify's recommendations were previously created using
tagging data provided by AllMusic.
Thumbplay Signs 20 New Partners for Music ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 10:26am.
New York - Mobile entertainment distributor Thumbplay said on Wednesday
that it has signed deals with 20 new content partners that will expand the catalog
of music available on its new Thumbplay Music application. The deals with
labels and distributors including Beggars Group, Merge Records, Redeye
Distribution and Tunecore will grow the service's catalog to more than 8
million tracks. Thumbplay already licensed the four major labels for the $9.99
per month service, which is currently still in an invitation-only beta.
File-Sharing Raids in Sweden Net Alleged Site OwnerAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 3, 2010 - 9:44am.
Los Angeles
- Swedish authorities have conducted new raids and arrested the alleged
operator of a file-sharing hub under its new IPRED law, which authorized
greater resources to go after file-swappers, TorrentFreak reported.
Study: Over 60 Million Americans Listen to Web RadioAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 2, 2010 - 9:32am.
Glendale,
Calif. - Over 60 million
Americans listen to Internet radio each week, a number expected to reach 77
million by 2015, according to a new report from Bridge Ratings.
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