Acquires Cherry Lane Publishing - Eyeing EMI

One of the latest wrinkles in the unfolding tale of Terra Firma and EMI comes this week with a report that the struggling music company is in talks with competing major labels to license portions of its catalogue…  Universal Music followed up with a denial that it was speaking with the music company, while as rumored here, Bertelsmann and KKR’s BMG Rights Management expressed that it is indeed interested in EMI’s assets. In related news, the newly launched publishing company made its largest acquisition to-date by purchasing Cherry Lane Publishing… In what could be interpreted as another step toward ISP bundled music subscriptions, AT&T announced a new music “experience” that will combine song downloads, streaming radio, lyrics and more in a single mobile application for subscribers… Next Big Sound compiled social media data to find the fastest rising bands at the SXSW music festival last week, and it was announced that online radio WOXY.com would be closing its doors.

Lucy Schwartz EP Release Show @ Hotel Cafe - Wed, 1/27

One Haven Music Publishing led by Steve Backer and Michael Caplan is partnering up with the new BMG Rights Management publishing company via an exclusive, worldwide joint venture. BMG Rights Management is the entity formed by the financial firm KKR and Bertelsmann.  Both industry veterans, Backer has had success in the label and publishing arenas (EMI Pub, V2 Records and Epic) while Caplan’s impressive A&R resume includes signing Los Lonely Boys and Matisyahu. Caplan is also the President and Co-Founder of the Or Music independent record label…

The Apple rumor-mill has been churning on high leading up to tomorrow’s “special event” in San Francisco, where many believe Steve Jobs won’t see his shadow and will unveil the highly anticipated, and up until now mythical, Apple Tablet - less likely but still in the running is the formal announcement of an iTunes music-streaming service and an answer to the Favre retirement debate…

Lucy Schwartz celebrates the release of her new EP Help Me! Help Me! (out today) tomorrow night in Los Angeles at Hotel Cafe.  Schwartz first made waves in 2008 while still in high school, with her songs getting airplay on KCRW and placements in the film The Women – www.myspace.com/lucysong…

Friend of the show and Authentik Artists CEO Scott Austin has penned an open letter to Franz Ferdinand, taking the Glasgow group to task for their recent complaints via Twitter about their label and its licensing of one of the band’s songs for a new McDonald’s campaign…

**Update: Read Alex from FF’s response HERE

And mark your calendars for this Saturday at Spaceland where Future Sounds presents Nico Stai, Chief, Fences and Yikes! A Lion!…