New York
– RightsFlow, a provider of mechanical licensing and royalty services, on
Monday announced a deal to provide reporting services for Beatport, a digital
retailer of dance genre music. Beatport offers an international online music
service that provides music downloads to DJ and fans of dance and electronic
music.
Disclosure: RightsFlow
is a sponsor of Digital Media Wire.
Related Links:
http://www.beatport.com
New York
– The New York Times on Monday published a profile of streaming music service
Pandora and its founder and chief strategy officer, Tim Westergren. The story
traces the company from its launch in 2000, to late 2001 when the company was
begging employees to work unpaid, to landing $9 million in funding in 2004, to
Pandora reporting $50 million in revenues for 2009.
Related Links:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/technology/08pandora.html
New York
– Google (NASD: GOOG) is testing a TV and Web video programming search service with
satellite TV provider DISH Network (NASD: DISH), The Wall Street Journal reported, citing
people familiar with the matter.
The service operates on set-top boxes that are
running elements of Google’s Android operating system, and lets users search
both broadcast and online video sources, such as YouTube.
It is currently being
tested with a "very small number of Google employees and their
families," sources told The Journal.
The company hopes to combine the
programming search service with its own TV advertising service.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/upq7e
(WSJ)
London – Bundled digital
music services could potentially earn ISPs in the U.K. an extra $155 million in
revenues by 2013, according to a report conducted by Ovum and commissioned by
record label trade group BPI on behalf of major label Universal Music Group.
The figure depends on a "medium adoption" scenario from consumers; an
"accelerated adoption" scenario could up the figure to as much as $306
million in 2013. The "medium adoption" figure would also be
equivalent to 41% of the total U.K.
digital music market in 2009.
The report also found that bundled music services
could reduce ISP subscriber churn rates.
"A big ISP with around 3.5
million customers would generate indirect value of more than $30 million per
year if its bundled music service cuts churn by just 10%," the report
states.
"It’s increasingly clear that it isn’t smart to be a ‘dumb pipe’. This
report shows that the revenue potential of digital music services alone makes
sound economic sense for ISPs," said BPI chief executive Geoff Taylor.
Ovum recommends that ISPs offer a subscription
service that incorporates bundled download-to-own tracks and "additional
recommendation-driven retail."
"With the right service platform, user
experience and merchandising strategy, ISPs have an opportunity to reach a
green-field digital music market that mainstream download-to-own services such
as iTunes do not reach today," said Ovum principal analyst Adrian Drury.
Some
ISPs were wary of the findings of the report, due to its ties to the major
labels.
"TalkTalk thanks the BPI for its strategic business advice. Though
some may question the value of such insight from an industry which has failed
to acknowledge the impact of new technology on its own business models and is
pressing the Government to criminalise its biggest customers," a
spokesperson for the U.K. ISP told TorrentFreak.
Related Links:
http://snipurl.com/upolr
(BPI statement)
http://snipurl.com/uponx
(Billboard)
http://snipurl.com/upp06
(TorrentFreak)
Los Angeles
– EMI Music Publishing has reached an out-of-court agreement with lyrics
provider TuneWiki, heading off a possible court battle over licensing terms,
Digital Music News reported, citing sources.
TuneWiki’s initial deal reportedly
included the rights to offer lyrics from EMI artists on its website and
applications for the iPhone and Android platforms.
The company then began offering
EMI lyrics on the Vevo video portal and via several other partners, which led
sources to tell Digital Music News that EMI was considering a cease-and-desist
order.
However, as a result of negotiations, TuneWiki is now licensed to offer
EMI lyrics on Vevo and other services not covered by its initial agreement.
"This
deal is the perfect example of how the rightsholder and the end user can come
together to solve a problem," Michael Abitbol, vice president of legal and
business affairs for EMI Music Publishing, told Digital Music News.
"It’s
in everybody’s interest to expand the market for music and music-related products."
Founded in 2007, TuneWiki’s social media music player integrates licensed song
lyrics, combining subtitled lyrics translated into over 45 languages with music
and music videos.
The company recently announced a $7 million second round of
funding, from investors including Motorola Ventures, Benchmark Israel and
NoCoMo Capital.
Related Links:
http://www.digitalmusicnews.com/stories/030810tunewiki
http://snipurl.com/upoxz
(DMW previous coverage)
London
– Four in five adults polled said they believe Internet access should be
considered a "fundamental right," according to the findings of a
survey of 27,000 adults in 26 countries conducted by GlobeScan for the BBC
World Service. The survey found 78% said the Internet has brought them greater
freedom; nine in ten also called the Internet a good place to learn.
More than
half said they believe the "Internet should never be regulated by any
level of government anywhere," although only 16% of respondents in China agreed
with this belief.
"Despite worries about privacy and fraud, people around
the world see access to the Internet as their fundamental right," said GlobeScan
chairman Doug Miller.
"They think the Web is a force for good, and most
don’t want governments to regulate it."
Related Links:
Los Angeles
– CBS (NYSE: CBS) is expected to launch a "March Madness" application for Apple’s (NASD: AAPL)
iPhone that offers live streaming video of the basketball tournament over a 3G
connection.
A free version, sponsored by Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) and
also to be made available for BlackBerry (NASD: RIMM), will offer on-demand video
highlights, updated scores and news.
The new $9.99 application, developed by
CBS Sports Mobile in collaboration with MLB Advanced Media, will include live
video in addition to live radio broadcasts from Westwood One, and a variety of
‘push’ alerts.
CBS Mobile said it will also offer live mobile video of the
games to AT&T subscribers to the FLO TV mobile TV service.
Related Links:
http://www.cbspressexpress.com/div.php/cbs_sports/release?id=24455
http://snipurl.com/upmmo
(PaidContent)
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/cbs-sports-mobile/id356988414?mt=8
Boston
– DataXu, the provider of a bidding platform for online display advertisers,
announced on Monday that it raised $11 million in its second round of venture capital,
was led by Menlo Ventures.
Founded in 2007, Boston-based DataXu offers a
technology platform that values, buys and optimizes ads on an
impression-by-impression basis, across ad exchanges operated by Google, Yahoo
and others.
Other investors in the company include Atlas Venture and Flybridge
Capital Partner.
Related Links:
http://www.dataxu.com
