Mobile Marketing Firm ArX Acquires Distributive Networks

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

McLean, Va. – ArX Mobile, a mobile marketing firm, said on
Tuesday that it has acquired D.C.-based counterpart Distributive Networks, as
well as its Tusk Mobile and Constituent Mobile units.

Financial terms of the
deal were not disclosed.

Phil Sweatman, the president and CEO of McLean, Va.-based
ArX Mobile, said the acquisition provides his company with "a proven
technical infrastructure and a dedicated, experienced staff" to take
better advantage of the fast-growing smartphone space.

ArX’s platform includes
marketing campaign tools to interact with users through text alerts, reminders,
voting, real-time polling, coupons, quizzes and sweepstakes.

The company
manages text-based mobile campaigns and provides mobile website development
services for clients such as AT&T, Cable & Wireless, CBS, Disney,
Johnson & Johnson and Viacom.

 

Related Links:
http://www.arxmobile.com

http://www.distributivenetworks.com

Grooveshark

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Apple Pulls Grooveshark App Over Universal Music Complaint

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Gainesville, Fla. – Apple (NASD:  AAPL) has pulled online music service
Grooveshark’s iPhone application from its App Store, citing a copyright
complaint from Universal Music U.K. "Earlier this afternoon, Apple sent us
a letter notifying us that, due to a complaint they received from Universal
Music Group UK, Grooveshark for iPhone has been, strangely, pulled from the App
Store," the company wrote in a post on its blog.

"This comes as an
absolute surprise to us, and we are not sleeping until we figure out exactly
how to fix this — and get Grooveshark for iPhone back in the App Store."

Universal
Music Group sued Grooveshark in January, alleging the company was offering
pre-1972 Universal recordings for free, and using the lure of free access to
drive traffic and ad revenues.

Billboard notes that the two issues are likely
related.

The company was previously sued by EMI, and eventually reached a
settlement and licensed the major label’s tracks for its service — but has not reached deals to date with any of the other majors.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2ezjfk2
(Grooveshark blog)

http://tinyurl.com/29evn92
(Billboard)

http://tinyurl.com/y9l4za7
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.grooveshark.com

Pink Floyd Albums Pulled From Digital Retailers

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Los Angeles – Many of veteran rock band Pink Floyd’s classic
albums have been pulled from digital retailers, after a distribution contract
with EMI expired on June 30, Billboard reported.

The takedown affects albums
including "The Wall" and "Animals," but not earlier
material — "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" through "Dark Side
of the Moon" are still available, as are CD versions of the later albums.

Sources told Billboard the band’s management has been
seeking a new distribution deal, but asking prices were too high.

Billboard
notes that EMI has sold nearly 1.5 million copies of "The Wall" in
the U.S. since 2000, when it took over distribution, 107,000 of which were
digital downloads.

During the two months preceding the expiration of EMI’s deal
on June 30, 41% of sales of that album were in digital format.

Separately, the
band has been embroiled in litigation in the U.K. over the unbundling of its
albums for digital single sales, with the High Court there ruling in March that
EMI could not sell individual tracks from the band.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/28m6y6d
(Billboard)

Nielsen Raises IPO Goal to $2.01 Billion

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York – Ratings firm Nielsen has increased the amount it
hopes to raise in its initial public offering (IPO) to $2.01 billion, up from
the $1.75 billion it planned to raise two months ago, PaidContent reported,
citing a regulatory filing.

In the interim, Demand Media filed to raise up to
$125 million in an IPO, and Hulu reportedly entered talks for an IPO that would
value it at $2 billion.

Nielsen was acquired for roughly $10 billion four years
ago by a group of private equity firms.

The company plans to use some of the proceeds
from an IPO to pay down its $8.42 billion in debt.

 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2daa599
(PaidContent)

http://tinyurl.com/33b6gzv
(DMW previous coverage)

http://www.nielsen.com

IAC Game Studio Debuts "Instant Jam" Online Music Game

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
1

Las Vegas – IAC’s (NASD: IACI) InstantAction game development studio on
Monday launched "Instant Jam," an online music-rhythm game that is
free to play and can be embedded on third-party sites. The game relies on songs
in users’ own music libraries, and supports USB guitar controllers. It is
currently available in a Facebook Beta Profram, and will soon also be available
in beta from the game’s website and embedded versions elsewhere.


 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23j3x2t

http://www.instantjam.com

Founders of Epitonic.com to Re-launch Music Site

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Chicago – The original founders of Epitonic.com, a digital
music destination site that launched in 1999, have announced plans for a
re-launch. The site featured editorial on mainly independent label artists, and
at its height counted "hundreds of thousands" of unique monthly
visitors and garnered a Webby Award. Epitonic was eventually acquired by Chris
Blackwell’s Palm Pictures, but went "dormant" in 2004. The founders
have created a Kickstarter fundraising campaign for parties interested in
helping fund the re-launch.


 

Related Links:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/08/prweb4389724.htm

http://www.epitonic.com

Facebook Debuts New Live Video Channel

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto, Calif. – Facebook has partnered with Livestream
on a new application called Facebook Live, which will offer video highlighting
happenings at the company. The app is expected to stream video of events like
celebrity appearances at Facebook headquarters, new product demos, and coverage
of Facebook-produced events like the f8 conference.


 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/23jcnjc
(ReadWriteWeb)

http://www.livestream.com

http://apps.facebook.com/facebooklive

Zynga Hires Former MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – Social games developer Zynga has hired
former MySpace CEO Owen Van Natta as executive vice president of business
operations. Van Natta served at the helm of MySpace for just ten months, having
previously stepped down after five months as CEO of Project Playlist to take
the MySpace gig.


 

Related Links:
http://www.zynga.com

MOG Site to Showcase Content From 1,300 Music Blogs

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Berkeley, Calif. – MOG, the operator of a music-focused blog
network and digital music subscription service, on Monday launched a new
editorial hub to showcase the best content from its network of 1,300 music
blogs. MOGMusicNetwork.com will feature curated content from MOG blogs, which
collectively reach more than 20 million unique monthly U.S. visitors.


 

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/22vtx8z

http://www.mogmusicnetwork.com

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