Wednesday Bits & Pieces: Apple’s New iTunes, Sony’s iTunes Rival & Amazon Enters the Fray
As predicted Steve Jobs did not announce a new cloud-based version of iTunes this morning, however the rumored social features were announced in the form of Ping. In the words of Jobs, it’s “Facebook and Twitter meet iTunes,” … “But it’s not Facebook, it’s not Twitter,” adding “it’s a social network all about music.” There is also a new logo that replaces the CD, which Jobs remarked as fitting, as he expects that by next Spring Apple’s music sales will surpass all CD sales in the United States… The update to iTunes 10 will be available today and will include Ping. If you missed the action this morning, head HERE to watch the keynote… In what cannot be coincidental timing, this morning Sony Corp announced Sony Qriocity (“curiosity,” get it), which is the company’s new subscription-based music and video streaming service, the backbone of which will be the Playstation 3 console. It’s expected to launch in the UK before the end of the year… And not to be left out of the race to streaming dominance, Amazon is reportedly gearing up to launch a service similar to Netflix, which will allow unlimited access to movies and TV shows for a monthly fee.
Apple Invites You to Tomorrow’s Big Event
Streaming Live
Apple has announced that it will be streaming its big event tomorrow, which is being dubbed a music event, as many predict that in addition to announcing new iPod and Apple TV products, the iTunes store will be getting a major revamp that will likely include a longer song sampling time and other social features. Sorry, probably no iTunes cloud-streaming service. And .99 TV show rentals? Looks like uncle Rupert is the swing-vote… Tune in to see.
08.25.10Wednesday Bits & Pieces: Playlist.com, Elevation Partners + Pandora & More…
News of Playlist.com’s bankruptcy filing this week did not come as a shock to those following the start-up, who is now headed down a similar path of other online music services in recent times. Following Chapter 11 filing, which was spun by the company as a “breathing spell” – presumably from litigation (3 of the 4 major label groups had filed lawsuits) – further reports revealed just how much Playlist owes in royalty costs to its top creditors, who include Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, Sony Music, EMI Music as well as indie label network Merlin and ASCAP. And that “breathing spell” apparently includes funding a restructuring effort with cash from its biggest, and sole secure creditor, UMG, who is not on the same page… Elsewhere, it appears in talks with television companies, Apple is nearing an agreement with Disney for 99-cent TV show rentals via iTunes… Yesterday it was tipped by TechCrunch that private-equity firm Elevation Partners, who counts Bono among its directors, would be investing in Pandora in the range of $100 million, though both sides are remaining quiet at the moment… And check out a profile of Jason Hirschhorn on Silicon Alley Insider, where he discusses his time at MTV, MySpace and what’s next…
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Apple’s Antennagate & Live Nation’s Slideshow
Become an Arena Act in the time it will take to get your free iPhone 4 Case
Lots of chatter continued over the weekend on the heels of two high profile presentations last week… Steve Jobs addressed the infamous antenna on Apple’s new iPhone 4 with a range of figures and explanations, including a comparison of other popular smartphones that were shown to be equally or more deficient in the same area that is raising huge concerns over the new iPhone. The other phones mentioned included the Blackberry Bold, made by Research in Motion, who following the presentation issued a statement declaring, ”Apple’s claims about RIM products appear to be deliberate attempts to distort the public’s understanding of an antenna design issue and to deflect attention from Apple’s difficult situation.”… Elsewhere Live Nation is facing increased derision, adding to an already highly publicized poor summer concert climate, after last week’s investor presentation from Michael Rapino and Irving Azoff. The presentation included one slide in particular that is getting a lot of industry attention for its illustration of the company’s “new model,” which has an artist’s trajectory going from relative anonymity to arena sell-out in just 3 months…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
The Best Things in Life Aren't Free?
Not to be left out of the growing media preoccupation with new music services from industry giants like Google and Apple, not to mention the handful of new players who have emerged ahead of the curve like mspot, MOG, Spotify and Rdio, MySpace Music is back in the mix with renewed reports this week of a looming subscription service. The company is said to be in talks with labels about moving away from their current free streaming model to a paid service… Simultaneously MySpace parent News Corp. was quick to deny rumors that the company is in talks to sell the once supreme social network that has been facing a tough transition and revolving door of executives over the last year… An article in the WSJ today examines the increasingly tough road for the live music business – and for those keeping score, Rihanna’s “Last Girl on Earth” tour appears to be the latest summer outing to announce cancellations… Elsewhere, Wilco is planning to start their own label and will be leaving Warner Music after a 15-year relationship, having released albums on both Reprise and then Nonesuch… And CAA + “The Decision” x Kanye West = LeBron to The Heat…
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Wednesday Bits & Pieces: Sony Music, Apple + EMI, A MySpace without Google & More…
“We had to change the stretch limo culture that prevailed in many areas of the music industry,” says Schmidt-Holtz
A Sunday piece in the New York Times takes a look at Sony Music and its head Rolf Schmidt-Holt. Much of the article examines Sony Music’s moves into territory outside of the traditional music industry, including its partnership with Simon Cowell and a consulting relationship with the government of Argentina… The other apple, Apple Records, announced a new partnership with EMI for the digital release of fifteen remastered albums from artists including Badfinger and James Taylor, though it doesn’t appear that any Beatles releases will be included… MySpace’s lucrative ad-deal with Google is just about up, and while the Wall Street Journal recently reported on News Corp.’s shopping of a new partnership, TechCrunch asks some crucial unaddressed questions… And if you thought those Jonas Bros. albums you bought in the privacy of your home would go unnoticed, think again. In a move to further propel its new iAd platform and compete with Google, Apple is mining data from billions of iTunes downloads to study user’s buying habits…
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Tuesday Bits & Pieces: More Google Music, Eminem’s Recovery, Gulf Relief Benefit & more…
Google's Music Plans
Google is headed for the cloud, or so it would seem with further reporting on the search giant’s forthcoming moves into the music space. No concrete details yet, but a download store could launch as early as this year, with a cloud-based service slated for 2011. Should the Apple rival be careful not to move too quickly…? Interscope cleared the release decks this week to make way for the new Eminem album Recovery. The question from many is whether or not the highly-anticipated release that dropped yesterday will live up to its name after the industry’s recent extremely sluggish sales-weeks… Leading up to the Northside Festival in Brooklyn this weekend, Sirius XMU is featuring special artist-hosts starting today including Real Estate, Woods, Au Revoir Simone and Wavves… Jes Hudak is the Los Angeles winner of the Ourstage 2010 Lilith Fair talent search; she will perform at the July 10th festival stop… And tonight at El Cid a Gulf Coast Relief benefit concert for Global Green will feature acoustic performances from local artists Voxhaul Broadcast, Trevor Hall, Heavy Young Heathens and others…
** Today only head HERE to get a %20 discount on badges for Northside Festival with promo code “LMAG”
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Wednesday Bits & Pieces… Google Music, MTV Twitter Jockey, Limewire & OK Go
MTV looks for Twitter Jockey
Chatter is starting about a possible Google Music Store launch as early as this fall – if true could Apple be far behind… MTV has launched a campaign to find its own official Twitter Jockey… Reports have surfaced that AOL had sold its music service Bebo, though the media giant was quick to deny any sale… Limewire has a new legal music service in the works, but many wonder if the bridges are already burned… And OK GO has just released a new music video complete with a Facebook fan-contest…
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In Case You Missed It: Reading Recap
Thom Yorke Shares his Cheery Outlook on the Biz
Apple’s WWDC announcements on Monday did not include a new cloud-based version of iTunes, as many had expected (or hoped for), but Jobs did reveal the company already has a boatload of iAd commitments… Buzzmedia is not the only one bolstering its ad network, as startup MOG announces a new deal that will add Sony Music Entertainment online properties into their network, including 117 major artist websites… In a recent BBC Radio 4 documentary, new EMI Music chief Charles Allen discusses the state of his company and the difficulty of spreading the message that they are in “really good shape”… Following Allen’s positive outlook came comments from Radiohead frontman and former EMI artist, Thom Yorke, predicting the collapse of the music industry within “only a matter of months” and going on to advise aspirant musicians to avoid the “sinking ship”… And a report in Reuters today examines Terra Firma boss Guy Hands‘ gift-giving techniques and the “high concentration, high risk strategy” in his current efforts to save EMI… Elsewhere, a look at the business of selling online fans, followers and viewers to artists… New England area coffee shops and other small venues are facing increased pressure from PRO’s… And Complex Magazine discusses free music, almost signing Drake and f*ckin kids in a brief Q&A with Warner Music boss Lyor Cohen…
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Meet Me in the Cloud: Rdio Launches
Twelve hours ago at the strike of midnight, the new digital music service from the founders of Kazaa and Skype was launched. Called Rdio, the service has deals with all the major labels and some indies, and is the latest to join an arena occupied by other similar services like MOG and mspot. It looks like they have tried to differentiate the site by creating a Twitter-like environment focused on music, in which users can follow what and who other users are listening to in real-time, along with other unique listening data and rankings. Right now the service is invite-only (ala Gmail), an indication that Rdio is in no hurry and intends to create a strong base built on serious music fans… This new service comes ahead of any announcement from juggernauts Apple or Google who many expect will soon unleash their own cloud music services. Meanwhile Spotify continues to be quiet on any U.S. launch, though there’s been recent speculation about one major label holdout in particular and that there is already a small segment of users in the states…
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