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Breaking Digital Music NewsReport: 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.
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 |
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.
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.
Live Nation Execs Get $6.5 Million in Post-Merger BonusesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 11:43am.
Los Angeles
- The top executives at concert promotion giant Live Nation and Ticketmaster
received hefty bonuses after a merger of the two companies was recently
approved, Hypebot reported, citing an SEC filing. According to the filing, new
Live Nation Entertainment (NYSE: LYV) CEO Michael Rapino received $3 million; executive
chairman Irving Azoff got $2 million; executive vice president Kathy Willard
received $1 million; and executive vice president and general counsel Michael
Rowles was given $500,000.
Asian Music Streaming Service KKBOX Plans U.S. LaunchAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 11:38am.
Taipei, Taiwan - KKBOX, a "freemium" streaming
music service operating in Asia, plans to launch a U.S.
version that focuses on providing Chinese-language music to Chinese language
speakers in the U.S.
The company currently counts 6 million users, some 200,000 of whom pay for a
premium version of the service, which costs about $5 per month. KKBOX is aiming
for a third quarter U.S.
launch, and said it will charge U.S.-based users no more than $10 per month.
Grandmother Cleared of Piracy Charge; Internet Access RestoredAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 1, 2010 - 9:53am.
San Francisco
- A 53-year-old grandmother was wrongly accused by copyright holders of
downloading 18 films and TV shows, and further had her Internet service
suspended by Qwest before media inquiries eventually helped resolve the matter,
CNET News.com reported.
MediaNet Served 200 Million Song Downloads in DecemberAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2010 - 11:27am.
New York
- MediaNet, the digital music service that powers music delivery for other
services including iLike, HMV, MOG and Tesco, said on Friday that it delivered
a record 200 million downloads and 150 million on-demand plays during the month
of December. The company said the download figure represents a 124% increase from
the same period a year earlier. The top albums of 2009 via MediaNet included
Tim McGraw's "Southern Voice" and the "Avatar" soundtrack,
while top tracks included "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha and "Fire
Flies" by Owl Cities.
French Streaming Service Deezer Names New CEOAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 29, 2010 - 10:55am.
Paris
- France-based streaming music service Deezer has named Axel Dauchez as its new
CEO, replacing Jonathan Benassaya, who was recently ousted by investors,
TechCrunch reported. Dauchez was previously chief executive at animation firm
Moonscoop. "Deezer is already a fantastic success but is still far from
having exploited its full potential," Dauchez said in a statement.
AOL's Seed.com to Pay Freelancers to Cover SXSW BandsAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 2:05pm.
New York - AOL's (NYSE: AOL) Seed.com freelance content site is
recruiting writers to pen bios and Q&A interviews with all 2,000 bands
performing at this year's South by Southwest music festival, and paying them
$50 per assignment, PaidContent reports. The 1,000-word pieces will be
published on AOL's Spinner.com music site and on Seed.com. AOL's Bangalore, India
operations will reportedly be handling copyediting duties.
Universal Music Taps Netbiscuits for Mobile Artist SitesAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on January 28, 2010 - 2:03pm.
New York
- Universal Music Group said on Thursday that it ahs partners with Netbiscuits
to expand its direct-to-consumer mobile content and services. Under the deal, Universal
will use Netbiscuits' platform to launch additional artist-branded mobile sites
and services, offering features like the ability to make purchases directly
from their phones.
24-7 Entertainment Served 150 Million Song Downloads in '09Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2010 - 11:13am.
Cannes, France - 24-7 Entertainment, an operator of
digital music download services in Europe,
said it delivered a total of 150 million tracks to consumers in 2009, an
increase of 32% from the previous year. The company said that December saw its
highest volume, at 22 million tracks. 24-7 operates 45 music download stores,
for customers such as TDC Play, in 16 countries.
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