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Digital MusicAnalysis: Top European Music Online in August 2008 - Swedish DJ BasshunterAuthored by Robin Goad on August 7, 2008 - 7:23am.
Bands, Albums & the Importance of Consumer EffortAuthored by Scott Goldberg on July 16, 2007 - 9:46am.
 Bear with me for a minute if you’re not an athlete: Discussing the difference between skiing and surfing a few weeks ago, a friend and I concluded that surfing was more mentally satisfying than skiing because of the effort required to catch a wave. Contrary to popular conception, 99% of surfing is spent doing something other than gliding on water. It’s grueling. Between paddling, duck diving, and – most importantly – waiting, surfing is not the orange creamsicle non-surfers believe it to be. Skiing, on the other hand, has been made easy-breezy by the advent of high-speed lifts and mountains designed to ensure you spend as little effort as possible. The analogy goes out the window with backcountry skiing, which requires many – if not more – of the same efforts as surfing. But the point is that effort equals satisfaction.
BurnLounge Adds Social Networking Feature, Free Stores to ServiceAuthored by Scott Goldberg on March 14, 2007 - 7:01am.
 Austin, TX – BurnLounge, a digital music service that lets customers create their own digital stores and sell music, has announced the launch of BL2, its new digital download and entertainment software, and BurnPages, a social networking feature. The company also announced in a press release that customers will be able to open digital music stores for free, a departure from its pay-as-you-go model.
tags: Social Networking | Music | BurnLounge | Digital Music | Stephen Murray | Ryan Dadd | Alex Arnold |
Applaud Apple’s Steve Jobs for Moving the Discussion in the Right DirectionAuthored by Scott Goldberg on February 7, 2007 - 5:54am.
 A popular theme over the past two years at CES and conferences around the world has been the bashing of Steve Jobs. The Bashers and the discussion are always the same: Apple’s competitors say the current environment, where Digital Rights Management (DRM) and Apple’s FairPlay exist unchecked, is bad for competition, bad for the economy, and, most importantly, bad for the consumer.
tags: Music | iPod | Apple | DRM | iTunes | Digital Music | Steve Jobs | Scott Goldberg | FairPlay |
Digital Retailer eMusic Passes 100 Million Song DownloadsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on December 13, 2006 - 12:45pm.
New York - Digital music service eMusic, the second-largest online music seller after iTunes, announced on Wednesday that it has now sold over 100 million digital song downloads. Sony Ericsson’s “M-Buzz” Music Service Breaks New Ground, New BandsAuthored by Jay Baage on September 19, 2006 - 8:31am.
 Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson is starting a new music downloading service. The service is called “M-Buzz” and will be launched in Europe, Asia and Latin America on October 2nd, 2006. So far, no word on if and when the service is going to be available in the U. S.
Buzz Watch: Lily Allen and Cansei de Ser SexyAuthored by Jay Baage on August 3, 2006 - 6:51am.
 Adored young British singer-songwriter Lily Allen, daughter of actor-comedian Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, has been signed by United Talent Agency (UTA). She is yet another success story that has MySpace to thank for, at least, part of her success.
tags: Internet | Marketing | Blogs | Social Networking | MySpace | Stats | EMI | Digital Music | Buzz | Lily Allen |
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Streamline Digital Music LicensingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on June 8, 2006 - 7:06am.
Washington - Lawmakers on Thursday introduced a bill that would create a streamlined blanket licensing system for digital music services. The Section 115 Reform Act of 2006 (SIRA), introduced by Reps. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Howard Berman (D-CA), has the support of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and Digital Music Association (DiMA) -- which represents big webcasters like AOL, RealNetworks, Live365 and Yahoo. "Our member companies -- digital music providers, music publishers and recording companies -- stand much to gain from legislation that will bring music licensing into the digital era," the trade groups said in a joint statement. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties group, strongly criticized the bill as potentially eliminating consumers' traditional "fair use" rights of music, in part because it treats as license-able "incidental reproductions…including cached, network, and RAM buffer reproductions." The EFF also warned that the bill would change classifications of digital transmissions to potentially outlaw some devices that can make copies of songs, such as the XM Radio receivers under fire from the RIAA.
Report: 2005 Global Digital Music Revenues Triple to $1.1 BillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 19, 2006 - 3:35am.
London - Global digital music sales tripled in 2005, to $1.1 billion, or 6% of record companies' revenues, as consumers downloaded 420 million songs from online retailers and mobile phone networks, according to a report from the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI). Ringtones and mobile song downloads generated over $400 million, or 40% of digital music revenues. The IFPI noted that there are now over 2 million songs available for purchase online, from 335 legal download sites -- up from 50 two years ago. The industry's ongoing fight against file-sharing and piracy is having some effect in the U.K. and Germany, the IFPI said, where 6% of Internet users now regularly pay for digital music, as compared with 5% who use illegitimate file-sharing services. The group said that record labels have now filed nearly 20,000 lawsuits against file-swappers in 17 countries.
Napster Passes 500,000 Subscribers for Digital Music ServiceAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:31am.
Los Angeles - Napster announced on Wednesday that it has surpassed 500,000 subscribers to its digital music subscription service, including 50,000 college students who subscribe through the company's university program. "Doubling our subscribers over the last twelve months demonstrates the mass market potential of our music subscription model and the powerful appeal of Napster to music fans who want it all," said Napster chairman and CEO Chris Gorog. "With a track record of robust growth, exciting new development in the pipeline and over $100 million on our balance sheet, we are extremely excited about the future of Napster." The company allows unlimited downloads from its library of 1.5 million songs to a PC or certain portable players for $14.99 per month.
IODA to Distribute Artists' Digital Music Royalties from SoundExchangeAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 18, 2006 - 4:21am.
San Francisco - The Independent Online Distribution Alliance (IODA), a provider of digital distribution for independent music, announced on Wednesday that it has partnered with SoundExchange to become the first such distributor to offer integrated royalty payments to independent labels. Under the deal, IODA will distribute future and past royalty payments from SoundExchange to its roster of more than 1,000 labels. SoundExchange collects and distributes royalties for songs played on webcasts, satellite radio, and cable and satellite TV. "SoundExchange provides a tremendous service to rightsholders by making sure they are fairly compensated for digital performances," said IODA founder and CEO Kevin Arnold. "Many smaller labels have essentially been leaving this money on the table by not registering with SoundExchange. By integrating SoundExchange's payments, IODA is pleased to be able to offer our label partners the ability to quickly and easily monitor all of their digital earnings in one central location."
Report: Chinese Legal Digital Music Market Could Hit $222 Million in 2008Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 17, 2006 - 2:57am.
Scottsdale, Ariz. - Following an expected crackdown on piracy in the country, China is predicted to foster a legal digital music download market worth $222 million by 2008, according to a report released Tuesday by market research firm In-Stat. The firm points to the launch of several legal music stores and the legitimization of some unauthorized services, along with recent file-swapping copyright infringement lawsuits filed in China by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. "The end of 2007 will be the turning point for China's legitimate digital music market," said In-Stat analyst Anty Zheng. "By then, several mega online music stores will have opened; the user base of portable music devices will have surpassed 100 million; a major crackdown on music piracy will have been in effect for several years; third-generation (3G) mobile communication system access will be rolled out; and consumers will be adequately educated about legitimate digital music."
Hurray, Yahoo China Team on Digital Music ReleaseAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 12, 2006 - 3:42am.
Beijing - Hurray, a Chinese distributor of wireless entertainment content, said on Thursday that it has partnered with Yahoo China to release a new EP from Chinese recording artist Zhang Liangying. Hurray recently paid $4.3 million for a controlling interest in the Chinese record label Huayi Brothers Music. Hurray plans to release the EP for wireless platforms, while Yahoo China will make the EP available for purchase and download to on PCs.
Spitzer's Probe of Digital Music Price-Fixing to Include Online ServicesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 4, 2006 - 7:45am.
San Francisco - The digital music price-fixing probe recently launched by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer will also targeting digital music services, in addition to the already confirmed subpoenas sent to major record labels, CNET News.com reported. "Everybody expects to be contacted, and some already have been," Jonathan Potter, executive director of the Digital Media Association, which represents Yahoo, Apple, AOL and others, told News.com. Yahoo, Napster and Apple declined comment for the story. Spitzer is reportedly looking into the wholesale prices that labels charge music services per song, which are around 75 cents per track; the industry standard pricing at online stores is 99 cents per track. Some labels have expressed the desire to have more a more variable pricing structure for digital music, charging more for top hits and less for less popular catalog tracks. The New York Attorney General has also in the past gone after the music industry for radio payola, while the FTC settled CD price-fixing charges with the labels. "This may simply be a shot across the bow," attorney Michael Graham told News.com. "Spitzer may be saying, 'Guys, we've caught you twice before, and we know you would never try it a third time, but we're going to make sure.'"
NY Atty General Spitzer to Probe Digital Music Price-FixingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 3, 2006 - 8:20am.
Albany, N.Y. - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has subpoenaed several of the major record labels, in connection with a preliminary inquiry into digital music price-fixing, according to published reports. Labels that have confirmed receipt of subpoenas include Warner Music Group, Sony BMG and Universal Music Group. A spokesman for Spitzer told the Associated Press that it would take several months to decide whether the Attorney General's office would launch a full investigation. Spitzer has also investigated the record labels' relationships with radio stations, which resulted in multi-million dollar settlements over charges that labels paid stations to play certain songs in an updated version of the "payola" scandal of the 1950s.
Latin Media Firm VOY Launches Digital Music OfferingAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 22, 2005 - 11:03am.
New York - Latin media company VOY on Tuesday announced the launch of VOY Music, an online Latin music platform that includes Internet radio channels, an online music store, and an eLabel that will provide free promotion and distribution for unsigned Latin music artists. The company said it named former MTV Latino VJ Ruth Infarinato as content director for VOY Music.
PassAlong Networks to Power Digital Music Store for MusiclandAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 16, 2005 - 4:32am.
Franklin, Tenn. - PassAlong Networks, a provider of branded digital music download services, announced on Wednesday that it has signed an agreement with music retain chain Musicland -- which includes Sam Goody, Media Play and Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores -- to power its GrazeMusic.com online store. Tennessee-based PassAlong Networks will provide over one million tracks from major and independent labels for sale, as well as provide incentives for customers who pass purchased songs on via e-mail or instant messenger.
CNET News.com: Digital Music Services Turning to Web-based SalesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 4, 2005 - 2:59am.
San Francisco - CNET News.com on Friday reported on the move by a growing number of digital music services to offer songs for sale directly from the Web, rather than requiring users to first download an application like iTunes or Rhapsody and then purchase songs through the software. In addition to AOL's move to online retailing with its MusicNow acquisition yesterday, both Napster and RealNetworks have hinted they are planning to follow suit. "What we've heard from customers is that anytime, anywhere access is extremely important," Ed Fish, the AOL senior vice president in charge of music and other subscription services, told News.com. "We have 112 million unique visitors coming to AOL sites. We should make music available to those people as well."
AOL Acquires Digital Music Retailer MusicNow from Circuit CityAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on November 3, 2005 - 3:44am.
Dulles, Va. - Looking to upgrade its digital music offerings, America Online said on Thursday that it has acquired online music subscription service MusicNow from electronics retailer Circuit City. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. AOL said that it plans to gradually migrate its current MusicNet@AOL subscribers to the new service, which it is calling "AOL Music Now." The service, which offers more than 1 million songs from the four major record labels and several other independent labels, will allow visitors to browse and purchase music, either a la carte for $0.99 a song or through subscriptions ranging from $9.95-$14.95 a month. Founded as "FullAudio" in 1999 and purchased by Circuit City in 2004, MusicNow will continue to be based in Chicago, operating as a stand-alone unit of AOL Premium Services. AOL plans to retain the company's 40 employees, including its president, Gary Cohen. The acquisition is AOL's fourth this year.
Report: Broadband Users to Buy $4.5 Billion in Digital Music in 2010Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 26, 2005 - 6:15am.
Boston - Broadband households in Europe and North America will spend over a billion dollars on a la carte digital songs and digital music subscription services this year, with sales expected to reach $4.5 billion by 2010, according to a report from Boston-based market research firm Strategy Analytics. In 2010, digital music will represent 16% of total music sales, up from less than 2% in 2004. While Apple currently dominates the market with its a la carte song download service, iTunes, Strategy Analytics predicts that by 2010 over 60% of online music revenues will be derived from subscription-based services with a fixed monthly fee. "Telcos, cable operators and other broadband service providers will encourage adoption of subscription-based services, which produce steadier revenue streams and are more likely to deter customer churn," said Strategy Analytics senior analyst Martin Olausson. "Subscription-based services will also be better positioned to maintain price points over time by adding portability and other advanced features."
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Here are this month’s lists of the top 20 band / artist searches
sending traffic to social networking sites (e.g. MySpace, YouTube,
Last.fm, etc.) and the most popular music blogs for the 4 weeks ending
August 2nd. First up social networks, and the top 2 entries, Basshunter
and Biffy Clyro, have both had successful summers in the charts and
have been in our top 20 for a number of months. The release of
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