We7 Says Ads Now Covering Cost of Music Streaming

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– We7, a U.K.-based streaming music service backed by musician Peter Gabriel, announced
on Wednesday that in the past month it was for the first time able to cover
costs associated with licensing the music it streams from its site through
advertising. The company, which recently signed a display ad deal with Yahoo
and counts some 3 million users, noted that its model has been able to outlast
ad-supported rivals including imeem, SpiralFrog, iLike, Lala and Ruckus —
which have either shuttered or been acquired.


 

Related Links:
http://www.we7.com/about/press/stories/we7-shows-ad-funded-music

MP3tunes Boosts Free Digital Locker Offer to 10GB

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Diego
– MP3tunes, the digital locker service founded by MP3.com creator Michael
Robertson, announced that it has expanded its free hosting offer from 2GB to
10GB — or enough space to hold about 2,000 MP3 files. The service lets users
upload their song libraries and then stream them from MP3tunes servers to any
Internet-connected device.


 

Related Links:
http://mp3tunesnews.blogspot.com/2010/04/get-10-gb-for-free.html

http://www.mp3tunes.com

Rovi to Power Music Metadata on RollingStone.com

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Santa Clara,
Calif. – Rovi (NASD:  ROVI) (formerly
Macrovision) announced on Wednesday that Wenner Media’s RollingStone.com will
use the Rovi database to add album titles, artwork and information about
tracks, labels and release dates to its directory of artists. Rovi’s database
contains information on more than 1.8 million albums and 16 million tracks.

*Disclosure: Rovi is a
sponsor of Digital Media Wire.


Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vumy1

http://www.rollingstone.com

MusicRevolution.com Debuts Production Music Marketplace

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Trumbull,
Conn. – MusicRevolution on Wednesday
announced the launch of its new online marketplace for royalty-free production
music, which may be licensed for use in TV, movies, advertising and other
productions. The company was co-founded by former Jupitermedia president Chris
Cardell and Mike Bielenberg, who was general manager of Jupiterimages’ online
music business.


 

Related Links:
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/04/prweb3929254.htm

http://www.musicrevolution.com

MediaNet Adds E-books to Digital Distribution Platform

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

New York
– MediaNet, a provider of distribution services for music and other digital
media, on Wednesday announced its expansion into the e-book market. The company
said it will make a broad catalog of e-books, including the most popular titles
found in physical and online stores, available in Adobe ePub and PDF formats.
MediaNet currently powers media distribution for more than 100 customers.


 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vun90

http://www.mndigital.com

TuneCore Offers Discount to MySpace Music Artists

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Los Angeles
– TuneCore, a provider of low-cost digital music distribution and promotional
services, on Wednesday announced a discounted rate for artists and labels
registered with the MySpace Music service. MySpace Music artists who sign up to
use TuneCore will also be given a free MyAds credit to market and support
themselves on MySpace.


 

Related Links:
http://www/tunecore.com/myspacemusic

Global Music Revenues Dip 7% in 2009; Digital Gains 9.2%

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London
– Worldwide recorded music sales fell 7% in 2009 to $17.03 billion, as sales of
physical products like CDs dropped 12.7% globally, according to a new report
from record label trade group IFPI. Meanwhile, global digital music revenues
were up 9.2% in 2009, to $4.31 billion; 30 countries saw double-digit growth in
digital sales, and 17 markets saw growth of more than 40%.Digital now accounts
for 25.3% of all music sales globally, and 43% of the U.S. recorded
music market.

Overall, the U.S.
and Japan
were said to account for 80% of total industry losses, as the worldwide decline
in revenues outside these two territories was just 3.2% for the year.

The
sharpest declines in revenues were seen in Italy
(-17.4%) and Spain
(-14.3%), which the IFPI said have "some of the world’s weakest legal
defenses against piracy."

IFPI noted that the best-selling album globally
in 2009 was Susan Boyle’s "I Dreamed a Dream," which sold 8.3 million
units.

Despite gains in revenues from live music, songwriters’ music copyrights
and the performance rights market, IFPI found that the broader music industry
— whose definition also includes radio advertising, live performance sales and
the sale of audio equipment — declined 8% to an estimated $140 billion in
2009.

 

Related Links:
http://www.ifpi.org/content/section_news/20100428.html

http://snipurl.com/vulkr
(Billboard)

HP to Acquire Smartphone Maker Palm for $1.2 Billion

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

Palo Alto,
Calif. – HP (NYSE:  HPQ) announced on Wednesday
that it will acquire smartphone maker Palm (NASD:  PALM), in a deal valued at $1.2 billion. Under
the terms, HP will pay about $5.70 per share for Palm, whose stock price closed
at $4.64 on Tuesday.

"Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal
platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience
spanning multiple mobile connected devices," said Todd Bradley, executive
vice president of HP’s personal systems group.

"And, Palm possesses
significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is
large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an
integrated device and experience command a higher share."

Other potential
suitors for Palm had been rumored to include Dell and Taiwan’s HTC.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vulm8

http://www.palm.com

Report: Hulu Shelves U.K. Plans After Broadcaster Talks Falter

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

London – Following
unsuccessful licensing talks with British broadcasters, video portal Hulu has
shelved plans to launch in the U.K.,
the Telegraph reports. The joint venture between News Corp. (NYSE:  NWS), NBC Universal (NYSE:  GE) and
Disney (NYSE:  DIS) has reportedly been in talks with U.K. broadcasters including ITV,
Channel 4 and Five for nearly a year.

Sources told the Telegraph that ITV
believed that providing content to Hulu would conflict with its own on-demand
ITV Player, while neither Channel 4 nor Five are keen on having Hulu sell
advertising inventory alongside their programming.

The Telegraph had reported last
August that ITV was nearing an exclusive deal with Hulu that would include the
broadcaster taking an equity share.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vulia
(Telegraph)

Prosecutors Halt Exam of Seized Gear in 'Lost' iPhone 4G Probe

By
Mark Hefflinger
-
0

San Francisco – San Mateo County, Calif.
prosecutors have suspended their examination of computer equipment seized from
the home of the reporter who posted a story about a prototype Apple (NASD:  AAPL) iPhone 4G
left in a bar, while they examine whether their search violated laws protecting
the privacy of journalists. An attorney for Gizmodo, the blog that reportedly
paid $5,000 to the person who found the lost smartphone in a bar, told CNET
News.com the company may file suit over the handling of the search of reporter
Jason Chen’s residence.

San Mateo
County chief deputy
district attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told CNET that the journalist privacy issue
was considered before the search was conducted, but that the prosecutor
"had some good reasons why he and the judge felt the warrant was properly
issued."

Some legal spectators have posited that the privacy protection
laws for journalists don’t apply if the journalist is suspected of a crime,
while others maintain that a subpoena for the equipment should have instead been
issued, and that law enforcement is at fault.

Meanwhile, Wired.com reports that
Apple may have identified the person who originally found the lost iPhone
prototype, and that "people identifying themselves as representing Apple
last week visited and sought permission to search the Silicon Valley address of
the college-age man," citing a source close to the matter.

The source also
recounted that the finder of the iPhone attempted to notify Apple, but was
unsuccessful.

 

Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/vukyi
(San Francisco Chronicle)

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20003615-37.html

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20003664-37.html

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2010/04/dude-apple

http://snipurl.com/vukyu
(DMW previous coverage)

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