The title is about as excited as I can get about Omnifone's MusicStation mobile music service, which got a pretty thorough review by Listening Post. It sounds great. Downright promising. I can't say what it will take to get me on board mobile music -- nothing has piqued my interest enough to jump in -- but MusicStation appears to be a step in that direction. MusicStation launched last month in the U.K. It is not yet available in the U.S.

Extra credit reading:

• PhoneContent.com: "Omnifone's MusicStation goes live"
• The Guardian's Technophile blog. "Pros: Intuitive, cheap, good range of tracks, 'community.' Cons: Sucks up batteries: your phone needs regular recharging."

Posted by Glenn at 4:57 PM | Link
|Mobile Music|

An interview with Omniphone CEO Rob Lewis at paidContent:UK offers a peek at the MusicStation mobile subscription service. I'm terribly interested in this particular mobile service, which looks to have a better than average chance of moving the needle. (Keep in mind that an average chance for a mobile service is still pitifully low.) Half a million downloads in ten days is a decent start.

The juicy stuff is in the "How It Works" paragraph:

The handset maker pays Omnifone a fee for including its service. The mobile network then pays the phone maker and could add a specific 'music plan' alongside data tariffs. Royalties are paid on a per-play basis rather than for each download (Lewis reckons it’s fairer) - tunes plucked from free-access services count in a separate UK 'play chart'. Tracks take an estimated 30 seconds to download over 3G and can start playing before the download finishes. The number of tracks users can download is limited only by the size of their memory card. Users also get their song library on the desktop because new tracks downloaded to the mobile (AAC+ format) are also pushed down over wired broadband (format yet to be announced).

Lewis predicts a record industry resurgence in the next 12 to 18 months. "All of the music labels are definitively of the view that their time has come and this brave new chapter of delivering unlimited services over the network is the key to that revival."

We shall see.

Posted by Glenn at 9:26 AM | Link
|Mobile Music|

Interesting post at MocoNews from the World Mobile Congress. Rob Wells, Universal Music Group SVP of Digital, talked about the goals of the company with an almost cinematic flair.

The start and endgame for Universal and, indeed, the industry worldwide, is providing consumers with blanket access through a celestial jukebox anytime, at home, in the car. This is the next step in the utopian future for music...

And this about temporal pricing:

If an artist has just delivered an album from studio, we could potentially deliver it to a limited number of users for a higher price. It’s something we’re quite keen to develop; for example, through our own B2C channels - artists websites.

There are different definitions of "utopian future." UMG sees paid services as the future, as evidenced by its Total Music plan and Nokia's Comes With Music mobile service.. Others see the best route as unhindered P2P, which would certainly have more content and would be closer to a true celestial jukebox.

The pricing comment is worth taking a look at. Labels have yet to do a whole lot of direct-to-consumer stuff (other than merchandise) but that should change. Fan clubs and artist websites offer ways to deliver music and bring a sense of scarcity to digital downloads. If the iTunes and the Amazons of the world won't raise their prices for time-sensitive releases, artists and labels can go it alone.

Posted by Glenn at 2:37 PM | Link
|Comes With Music||Mobile Music||Total Music||Universal Music Group|

• The New York Post got its hands on a confidential investor presentation in which EMI owner Terra Firma outlines its plans to improve its position in the music company. Highlights: Terra Firma is looking for $223 million in fixed costs savings (mostly in recorded music); it plans to cut $31 million from sales and distribution; it expects to save $58 million in A&R costs by utilizing social networking websites to find and promote artists; and it hopes to improve cash flows by 766% over five years by taking advantage of improved digital and mobile margins. In addition, Terra Firm has set aside $100 million for acquisitions of smaller indie labels. That's quite a wish list. (New York Post)

• The new Microsoft Zune devices officially launch today, but there was a lot of coverage yesterday. Engadget compiles some (positive) reviews of the updated portable media player. As always, most of the fun is in the comments. (Engadget)

• Silicon Valley Insider wonders how low Warner Music Group's stock can drop. Pali Research's Richard Greenfield, who just helped prompt a drop to his target price of $7.50, has now set a target at $5.00. Greenfield is worried about the loss of CD shelf space after Christmas. Is that really the only reason for the lower target price? That should have been built in a while ago since we've known for a while -- and has been speculated for eons -- that labels are going to get less love from the mass merchants and chains after the Christmas selling season. No secret there. (Silicon Valley Insider)

• Music-oriented social networking are the new social networking sites, which were the new coffee houses, which were the new bagel shops, which were the new video arcade/ice cream parlor. Here's an article on Cyloop.com, which has deals with Warner Music Group and The Orchard and plans to wrap up Sony BMG and Universal Music Group by the end of the year. Unlike most social networking site,s Cyloop has a niche: the Hispanic market. (Miami Herald)

• Warner Music Group chief executive, Edgar Bronfman Jr., is warning mobile operators to improve their music offerings or lose ground to the likes of Apple and Google. "With Apple's iPhone innovation and Google coming in, if the mobile phone industry doesn't respond with highly competitive offerings, they're going to watch their share of the opportunity diminish," he said. And as operators' share of the opportunity wanes, so do labels' fortunes. (Financial Times)

• For you lawyer types or those simply interested in RIAA lawsuits: "Examining Hard Drives During Discovery." Here's a sample: "The right to examine the contents of an opponent's computer hard drive has been categorized as unusual relief, yet can prove valuable during the discovery process. Nonetheless, under the federal rules, courts will not, as a matter of course, grant a party's demand routinely. Rather, imaging is generally permitted when there is a finding that an adversary's document production has been inadequate and that a hard drive examination could uncover omitted, relevant materials. In the absence of such a strong showing, courts can be reluctant to allow an examination, particularly given that hard-drive imaging can be a costly procedure that adds to the litigation expenses of all parties." (Law.com)

• Optimal's VinylDisc, one side vinyl and the other side CD, will be chart-eligible in the U.K. (mi2n.com)

Posted by Glenn at 9:03 AM | Link
|EMI||Mobile Music||Warner Music Group|

• Britney Spear's new album, Blackout!, is likely to debut at #1 on the album chart with first-week sales of up to 350,000. (Billboard.biz)

• At the final public hearing on media ownership, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said he supports the easing of low-power-FM rules, allowing AM stations to operate on FM translators, reinstating tax breaks to minority investors and requiring that a radio station have a physical staff at all hours of operation. (Radio Ink)

• The National Association of Ticket Brokers issued a statement about the Hannah Montana ticket controversy. and pointed the finger at Ticketmaster and its secondary market operation, TicketExchange. The company, insists the brokers group, "actively encourages" consumers to buy and sell tickets on its secondary market exchange. (Ticket News)

• The U.K. Nokia Music Store is set to launch today. Users can buy tracks for 80p each ($1.60), buy albums for £10 to £12 ($22 to $24) or stream an unlimited number of songs for £8 ($16) per month. The service downloads tracks to Nokia N81 and N95 8GB mobile phones as well as the user's home PC. (Webuser)

• As was previously rumored, the CD version of Radiohead's In Rainbows will be distributed by XL Recordings outside of North America. (Hollywood Reporter)

• If you noticed some fancy cars in the video for 50 Cent's "Amusement Park" video, they were part of the marketing deal the rapper inked with General Motors. The Pontiac G8 -- a one-of-a-kind custom -- and G6 GXP were placed in the video to help spotlight new Pontiac models. So add cars to the long list of projects for 50 Cent: Recorded music, concerts, a movie, two autobiographies, Vitamin Water advertisements... (SOHH)

• Guitar legend Robert Fripp lambastes EMI over sales of King Crimson downloads after the license period expired. (The Inquirer)

• A Q&A with imeem.com's chief executive and chief marketing officer. "We think our direct ad sales from brand sponsorships and our multiple ad network partnerships will be our primary sources of revenue. We’ll also have commerce-related offerings, like digital downloads and ringtones. Right now we are the #1 iTunes affiliate partner." (New York Times' Bits blog)

Posted by Glenn at 8:57 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Radio||Ticketing|

• Album sales increased 5% last week but were 17% lower than the same week last year. Carrie Underwood's Carnival Ride debuted at #1 with sales of 527,000 units (9% digital). For the year, album sales are down 14%. Sales of digital tracks dropped 2% last week and were 38% higher than the same week last year. Chris Brown's "Kiss Kiss" was the top digital track again last week, with sales of 187,000 units. For the year, digital tracks are up 46%.

• Sony BMG UK is the last of the four majors to sign on with Cliq, a music purchase system that will allow -- on 85% of U.K. mobile phones -- users to buy music when they hear it streamed on their mobile phones. (Thomson Financial)

• Though the Sony BMG merger passed a second European Commission review, a member of the European Parliament has questioned the commission's reasoning. Said Guy Bono, member of the Committee on Culture and Education, "The European Parliament is exercising democratic control over European institutions by interrogating the Commission on the Sony BMG merge." He continued to say that "music suffers from chronic concentration" and that "cultural diversity" should be at the heart of EU policy. (Billboard.biz)

• The Forms gave away a copy of their new CD to each ticket buyer at last night's show at NYC's Cake Shop. And an open bar. Free music and free alcohol, a combination for an ailing industry. (The Forms, via Brooklyn Vegan)

• An interview with Trent Reznor, who is now free from his contract with Universal Music Group. "Radiohead is one of my favorite bands. When they announced they were releasing that album for free, I got dozens of text messages. It gave me goose bumps? It's such an exciting way to sell a record. ... I think there were some serious flaws with how they executed but it was a good idea." (News.com)

• A Maryland couple has ended its lawsuit against Wal-Mart stemming from obscene lyrics in an Evanescence purchased at a Wal-Mart store. The judge refused to classify the suit as class action. The couple settled with Sony BMG in 2005. A similar lawsuit is still alive in Illinois. (AP)

• It's hard to say much about a greater trend, so let's keep this as an isolated incident for now: a radio station in Hartford has gone back to alternative rock after switching to hip hop four years ago. Said the local operations manager for Clear Channel, "What we've been hearing since the [modern rock] format left the city, is ... that women and men between the ages of 25 and 34 in the Hartford area really don't have a radio station to listen to." (Hartford Courant)

Posted by Glenn at 8:32 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Sony BMG|

• AT&T will offer Napster's catalog -- over five million songs -- available for wireless download next month. The service will not work with the iPhone even though the device uses AT&T for wireless service. Here's the bad news: songs will cost $1.99 each or $7.49 for five downloads per month. Slightly better news: mobile downloads come with a free-to-the-PC download. No word yet on the file format of either the mobile or PC downloads. It's good to see the growth of mobile music service, but I'd be surprised if this gains much traction. Its per-download price is not competitive for a market of sideloaders, and the service does not offer the all-you-can-eat music buffet for which Napster is known. I'm in agreement with Silicon Valley Insider: this pricing scheme is a non-starter. At the very least, this service gets AT&T up to speed with its competitors. (New York Times)

• Terra Firma's Guy Hands is hoping to sell off EMI's pension fund if it can get squared away with the Pensions Regulator over contributions. (This Is Money)

• Canada has set a tax of three cents for single downloads and one and a half cents for album track downloads. Personalized radio stations such as Pandora and last.fm will pay 6.8% of their subscription fees for the tax. (Radio Ink)

• Live Nation is reportedly in talks to buy merchandising company Signatures Network for $50 million. The company has the rights to license and market such artists as Bruce Springsteen and U2. (New York Post)

• The International Music Score Library Project, home to public domain musical works, has shut down after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from music publisher Universal Edition. (Slashdot)

• An article on EMI Publishing's new digs, a renovated 65,000-square-foot former textiles warehouse in Manhattan. Roger Faxon is using this space to get a formerly fractured staff under one roof and improve the way they work. "Faxon terms the system 'neighborhoods,' designed to encourage communication and collaboration between disciplines such as licensing, copyrights, and royalties." (BusinessWeek.com)

• CMJ is over. Here's a link to the New York Times' blog entries on the annual music festival. (Arts Beat)

Posted by Glenn at 1:27 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Napster|

• Album sales dropped 6% last week and were down 17% versus the same week last year. For the year, album sales are down 14%. Kid Rock's Rock 'N' Roll Jesus debuted at #1 with the modest sum of 172,000 units (zero digital). Sales of digital tracks were flat last week but were up 56% over the same week last year. For the year, digital tracks are up 47%. Soulja Boy Tell'Em's "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" remained the #1 digital track last week even though the album sank 64% last week and fell to #16.

• Jean-Bernard Levy, chief executive of Universal Music Group parent Vivendi, told Reuters UMG will retain its superstar artists. In the wake of the mega-deal between Madonna and Live Nation, Levy predicted artists "feel good" working with UMG and mentioned that UMG is already signing artists to 360-degree contracts. (Reuters)

• Lime Wire will sell DRM-free INgrooves tracks at its upcoming digital store. INgrooves' catalog has about 100,000 tracks. (Press release)

• In an email sent out to its affiliates this morning, Amazon.com said it will pay its affiliates a 20% commission on MP3 sales through the end of 2007, and 10% thereafter. In comparison, iTunes pay affiliates only 5%. That will obviously hurt margins on sales generated by affiliates, as Silicon Valley Insider points out, but what percent of total sales comes from affiliates? Honestly, I have no idea but I can't imagine it being too great. Affiliate programs use a break-even or loss-leader strategy to get incremental revenue and convert that to future business. Don't be concerned about Amazon.com's music margins. This is the price of building awareness and repeat customers. (Silicon Valley Insider)

• Groove Mobile has inked a licensing deal with Redeye Distribution to offer Redeye's catalog -- which includes Yep Roc, Arena Rock and TKO Records -- though Groove Mobile's mobile music service. Groove Mobile powers the Sprint music store in the U.S. and 3UK's mobile music store in the U.K. (Press release)

• Nettwerk Records has joined with Passalong Networks and Digonex Technologies to create a variable-priced MP3 pilot program. Using Digonex's pricing technology, the price of Nettwerk MP3s will be adjusted weekly based on demand. Albums will range from $3.30 to $9.99 while singles will have three price points: $0.33, $0.66 or $0.99. Tracks can be purchased at Passalong's StoreBlocks site. (Press release)

Posted by Glenn at 1:01 PM | Link
|Amazon||Mobile Music||Universal Music Group|

• Amazon.com's digital music store could launch next week, which would put it right on track for the rumored date we heard a few weeks ago. Billboard.biz reports something that really stands out to me, that the new store will have four different price points. Antony Bruno wrote, "Amazon also is planning a tiered pricing scheme that will sell new releases at one price, and older tracks at another. In all, the Amazon digital service will have four pricing tiers, which major labels find attractive." We'll get to see if Steve Jobs is correct in his belief that tiered pricing is not simple enough for consumers. (Billboard.biz)

• Gracenote has acquired Musicphone technology to beef up its Mobile Music 2.0 song identification platform. The Gracenote mobile platform is linked to its global media database of over 80 million tracks. (Press release)

• SpiralFrog, currently bleeding money as it awaits its U.S. launch, has licensed INgrooves' catalog for its ad-supported download service. With those 100,000 songs, SpiralFrog should have about 1,800,000 now. (Press release)

• iBiquity Digital CEO Bob Struble on HD radio's last step to the mainstream: "From the technology standpoint, the FCC has adopted the standard, and the broadcast industry has built out the infrastructure. The last major hurdle – and it is not insignificant – is to get people to go into places and ask for HD Radio," "The goal is that about five years from now, when you go into a store and buy a radio, it will already have HD. ... For radio to continue to be as ubiquitous as it is, radio has to be on these devices. And it is up to all of the radio business – not just us." (Radio Ink)

• Here's a tidbit that's related to the constant copyright-vs-fair use debate in music circles: Much of the economic growth of the last ten years, according to a study released by the Computer and Communications Industry Association, can be credited to the doctrine of fair use. Fair use exceptions to copyright law, it estimates, account for $4.5 trillion in annual revenue for the U.S. economy, 18% of growth and 11 million U.S. jobs. (That's a huge number considering the U.S. has a GDP of $13.2 trillion. After scanning the report, it looks like the authors include an industry's total revenue even though only part of it relies of the fair use doctrine. Keep in mind that this report was comissioned by a non-profit trade group of which Google is a member.) Download the PDF of the 45-page report here. (InformationWeek)

• The Washington Post's Marc Fisher has a good overview on the recorded music industry's push to receive royalties for terrestrial radio play and lawmakers' plan to push through legislation to grant them those royalties. (Washington Post)

Posted by Glenn at 11:07 AM | Link
|Amazon||Mobile Music||Research|

• As part of the 100-day plan of new Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang, Yahoo Music is expected to be trimmed and its subscription music service could be retooled or shut down completely. (Reuters)

• Antitrust lawyers insist the new line of iPods indicate Apple is as anticompetitive as ever. Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins and other lawyers have a class-action lawsuit against Apple over its "anticompetitive products." The issue is the iPod's inability to play protected formats other than its proprietary FairPlay protected AAC format. A court date has not yet been set. (Wired)

• The Times Online profiles Rough Trade Records and looks at what the influential indie has done since it teamed up with Beggars Banquet. "We’ve got the first solo album from (the former Cocteau Twins vocalist) Elizabeth Fraser, new work from the Strokes and Belle and Sebastian; Antony (and the Johnsons) is making a new album, Green (Gartside) is working hard on a new Scritti Politti record and Sufjan is making a new record. Which state? He hasn’t revealed that yet.” (Times Online)

• Following LiveNation's entry into the Facebook widget scene, TicketLeap.com now has a widget that will allow Facebook users the ability to sell up to 5,000 tickets to their own events. TicketLeap.com caps each ticket price at $200. (Ticket News)

• Vodafone U.K. has unveiled its new music service. MusicStation, a collaboration with Omnifone, will allow users to download an unlimited number of songs from a catalog that includes all four majors. The service costs ₤2 ($4) per week. That's more than an annual subscription to either Rhapsody, Napster or Zune. (MarketWatch)

• Indie label firm PIAS Group has acquired a 50% stake in mobile marketing and distribution company Indie Mobile. PIAS looks at the deal as a tool to better serve its roster of over 400 labels. Five-year-old Indie Mobile offers such services as mobile licensing, content creation, retailing and marketing. (Billboard.biz)

• Try as I might, I just don't have much of an opinion on the ringle format. Billboard's Ed Christman calls ringtones a "phenomenon." Christman knows his stuff, but aren't ringtones stagnant? If ringtones weren't a stagnant format, would labels be putting them on physical discs and selling them in national retail chains like Wal-Mart and Target? No. But hey, leave no stone unturned. P.S. Somebody start a ringle Wikipedia page. The only current ringle page is for Ringle, Wisconsin. (Billboard)

Posted by Glenn at 10:22 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Online Stores/Services|

• Album sales dropped 5% last week and were 19% lower than the same week last year. For the year, album sales are 14% lower than last year. High School Musical 2 topped the chart for the third straight week even though it dropped 43% to 210,000 units. Casting Crowns' Altar & The Door was the top debut with 129,000 scans. Sales of digital tracks dropped 7% last week and were 31% higher than the same week last year. Digital tracks are up 47% this year.

• New owner Universal Music Group has decided to close Sanctuary's UK recorded music division. Said Universal, "In consultation with senior management of the Sanctuary Group, it has been decided that its Sanctuary Records UK division will no longer continue as a stand alone, front-line record label." (BBC News)

• Groove Mobile received $6 million in funding from ORIX Venture Finance to aid its expansion. (Press release)

• Target has landed another exclusive: “Live From SNL! Music Performances From Saturday Night Live," a collection of musical performances from the last four seasons of the show. The CD will retail for $13.98 and have recordings of Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, Foo Fighters and others. (Billboard.biz)

• Congress will hold hearings on media stereotypes and the degradation of women. Rep. Bobby Rush, the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection, will hold the hearing on September 25. On the witness list so far are Universal Music Group's Doug Morris, Warner Music Group's Edgar Bronfman, Philippe Dauman of Viacom and rapper Master P. The event is currently titled "From Imus to Industry: The Business of Stereotypes and Degradation." (Variety)

• He's back. Garth Brooks' "More Than A Memory" became the first song to ever debut at the top of the country singles chart. (Music Row)

• Reuters wonders about the 2007 album total. How much of this year's 14% deficit can the back-loaded release schedule make up? Eyes are on Tuesday releases by 50 Cent and Kanye West. (Reuters)

Posted by Glenn at 10:13 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Universal Music Group|

• National retailer Borders Group reported a 10.4% increase in sales for Q2 2007. With the help of the latest Harry Potter book, U.S. comp store sales were up 4.6%. Music sales "continued to decline," though no hard number was given in the release. I listened to the conference call, and unless I zoned out at some point, music sales were not mentioned. (Earnings release)

• Music and video distributor Handleman reported a loss of $17.7 million for the quarter ended July 28, 2007. Revenues were up 14% even though last year's loss was only $5.9 million. The company's music category revenues decreased by $13.8 million versus last year. (Press release)

• Sony has another rootkit problem, this time from a USB drive that contained software that installs a hidden directory. (The Register)

• Jupiter's Mark Mulligan on Nokia's new mobile music store, Ova: "So was it worth the wait? Well the devices were, the latter two Xpress Music devices in particular from a music perspective. The three way sync is also a nice, innovative alternative to dual delivery. But beyond that, the music service is a disappointment. The music subscription service is a PC only streaming service that does not support portable downloads and as such is a generation behind current offerings. And it begs the question, why is a mobile handset manufacturer launching a music subscription service which does not support portable downloads or mobile streaming? Similarly the download service is essentially a ‘me too’ offering, based around 99 cents, windows DRM wrapped single track downloads." (Mark Mulligan's blog)

• Ween has signed to Rounder Records.

• Curb Records has signed 16-year-old Ashley Gearing, who is in studio with producer Bryon Gallimore. (Country Standard Time)

Posted by Glenn at 11:33 AM | Link
|A&R||Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Mobile Music|

• Album sales dropped 5% last week and were 16% lower than the same week last year. For the year, album sales are down 14%. It was a slow week for new releases as Talib Kweli debuted at #2 with sales of only 60,000. High School Musical dropped 40% from its debut tally but still retained #1 with 367,000 scans. Digital track sales dropped 2% last week and were 40% higher than the same week last year. For the year, sales of digital tracks are up 48%.

• Nokia announced its new mobile music store, Ovi. The service, to go live later this year, will sell WMA files over the air and downloaded to PCs. Ovi will have access to existing third-party services like social networks. (paidContent)

• Luaka Bop has found a new, post-V2 home at Red Eye Distribution. (Pitchfork)

• eMusic has renewed agreements with some of its most popular labels: Beggars Group (4AD, XL and Rough Trade), Matador Records, Concord Music Group and ATO Records. (Playlist)

• Sony BMG's "Dave Matthews & Tim Reynolds: Live at Radio City," out September 4th, will be its first music Blu-ray release with support for Dolby TrueHD. (Afterdawn)

• Market research company iSuppli sees a slowing in digital (both downloads and subscriptions) growth through 2008, but expects a "small resurgence" due to greater broadband penetration. (iSuppli)

• Satellite news: XM is moving its Nashville studio to the Sommet Center (home of the Nashville Predators, owned by the City of Nashville and just around the corner from the current studio at the Country Music Hall of Fame), and Sirius is adding a Grateful Dead channel. (The Tennessean and Variety, respectively)

Posted by Glenn at 10:36 AM | Link
|Distribution||Mobile Music||Research||Sirius||XM||eMusic|

As an amendment to my previous mention of the MTV-RealNetworks mobile music service joint venture, here's some information (via paidContent) on the deal. RealNetworks filed a Form 8-K that contains some specifics on the financial side of the venture. This looks like a marriage of necessity for RealNetworks (which needs to expand Rhapsody's mobile subscriber base and needs a big checkbook) and one of very few options for MTV (URGE has faltered, and mobile subscription has got to be a big strategy for the Viacom-owned company).

The joint venture is a limited liability company agreement. MTV will contribute a five-year, $230 million note, and RealNetworks will be obligated to buy $230 million in advertising on MTV cable channels -- which will include integrated marketing -- over five years. Real will control 51% and MTV will control 49%. Neither can transfer their interests for five years, and MTV gets a right of first refusal if Real decides to sell its interest. Expectations for 2007 revenue are between $2.5 and $3.5 million.

Here are some sections of the filing.

• "The assets contributed by Real generally consist of its Rhapsody service subscribers, a cash contribution, certain employees, contracts, revenue from existing Rhapsody subscribers, marketing materials, player hardware, rhapsody.com and related URLs, and distribution arrangements."
• "Real will also license certain assets to Rhapsody America, including Rhapsody content, the Rhapsody brands and related materials."
• MTVN will contribute cash, a five-year note for $230 million and other assets, including its existing URGE subscribers and marketing materials.
• "MTVN will also license certain assets to Rhapsody America, including URGE content, brands and related materials."
• "Real expects the formation of Rhapsody America to generate incremental revenue of approximately $0.5 million for the third quarter of 2007 and approximately $2 to $3 million for the remainder of 2007."

Posted by Glenn at 3:12 PM | Link
|Mobile Music||RealNetworks||URGE|

• RealNetworks, MTV and Verizon are teaming up for a mobile music service called Rhapsody America. MTV's URGE music service will join with RealNetworks' Rhapsody subscription service to create a music service that can be accessed via PC, mobile phone or (compatible) portable media device. Verizon's V CAST will be the service's mobile platform. (Press release)

• Wal-Mart has announced the launch of $0.94 MP3 downloads and $9.22 MP3 album downloads. The catalogs of EMI and Universal Music Group are available in the MP3 format at 256 kbps. The original, 128 kbps WMA tracks will also be available. The first things I noticed at the music download page were links to $3.88 MP3 albums (which are all EP's and singles), $5.88 MP3 albums (catalog titles like Bon Jovi's Slippery When Wet) and $7.88 MP3 albums (Norah Jones' Come Away With Me, for example). Unfortunately, Wal-Mart's updated digital store does not support Firefox. (Press release)

• Solange Knowles, sister of Beyonce, has signed a worldwide co-publishing deal with EMI Music Publishing. Knowles is currently promoting Baby Jamz, a hip hop-oriented toy line created by Planet Toys and Music World Entertainment, her father's company. (Press release)

• Another Madonna-to-LiveNation? article, but this one has some numbers and word of a rival. "One source estimated the value of the Live Nation offer to be $180 million, with the touring giant potentially licensing the recording rights for roughly $30 million. ... It is doubtful that WMG, the only label Madonna has ever been signed to, would give up the Material Girl without a fight. Sources say that the company has made a counter-offer to Madonna that also includes a touring component that could be helmed by rival promoter AEG Live." (Billboard.biz)

• Said the CFO of Emmis Comminications about satellite radio, "The people that utilize satellite radio often toggle between AM and FM and satellite radio, and it really hasn’t caused a measurable effect in our business yet. ... Satellite radio is a niche business focused on people willing to spend 13 dollars per month for the radio. Which for long-haul truckers or people who are advocates of a music format which may not reach a mass market – if you’re a passionate Blue Grass listener in New York City – it probably makes sense for you. But I think they’re still challenged. It’s a challenging business model to launch a billion-dollar asset in space and try to build up a mass-market audience quickly. And with 15 million subs it’s tough, which is why they’re trying to get the merger done. In large measure they’re trying to work with the government to solve a business model problem." (Radio Ink)

• Verve Music Group has named Mitchell Cohen as its VP of A&R. Cohen was previously SVP or A&R at Columbia Records. (Billboard.biz)

Posted by Glenn at 11:37 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Publishing||Radio||RealNetworks||Rhapsody||URGE||Wal Mart|

• Universal Music Group will buy V2 Records from Morgan Stanley for $14 million (though reported price tags vary). The V2 roster includes Brit legend Paul Weller, the Stereophonics, Elbow and Bloc Party. The deal does not include V2 North America, which was sold to Sheridan Square for $15 million last year. The label merged with Artemis and had been demoted to a catalog-only label. (Reuters)

• The New York Post has an article on the collaboration between Epic Records and Koch Records. "Lacking a dedicated staff to market the songs specifically to hip-hop/ R&B radio stations and music video outlets like BET, Epic hired New York-based Koch, home to rappers including Jim Jones, UNK and DJ Khaled, to do it for them." (New York Post)

• Sanctuary Group chairman Robert Ayling, as well as James Wallace, Tina Sharp and John Preston, are no longer on the company's board of directors. (Billboard.biz)

• EMI has a deal with Arvato Mobile that will allow Arvato-powered carriers (T-Mobile, Swisscom, Mobilkom) to offer EMI videos to mobile phones or PCs. Content such as videotones, wallpapers and full-track downloads are also part of the deal. (Mobile Entertainment)

• A profile of new industry site The Daily Swarm. "We all saw that there was a ton of music-business information scattered around the Web, but there wasn't really one place that was bringing it all together." Side note: Coolfer will turn four years old this month. Thanks for reading. (Chicago Sun-Times)

• According to the BPI, UK music sales in France and Germany hit a four-year high last year. UK artists represented 23 of the top 100 albums in Germany. (BBC News)

• An interview with Guy Fletcher, head of music publisher MCS. "The internet is fast becoming a major platform for delivery of music in many different contexts. However, the advent of internet social networks, peer-to-peer file sharing, free downloading, etc. have created communication systems whose operators are generally unwilling to enter into licensing agreements with collection societies making it difficult, if not impossible for them to keep track of the online use of our copyrights." (The Telegraph)

• EMI's Blue Note Records is going to change its website to incorporate social networking and direct-to-consumer downloads. (The Register)

• Apple now offers iTunes widgets. (My iTunes, via Digital Music News)

Posted by Glenn at 9:12 AM | Link
|EMI||Mobile Music||Universal Music Group||iTunes|

• Universal Music Group has invested in Loud.com, a hip hop-slanted portal and networking site. (paidContent)

• GodTube.com is a new, Christian-oriented video site now in beta. (Billboard.biz)

• Music Row points out that country album sales are down 29.3% this year, a hit album by Taylor Swift notwithstanding. (After Carrie Underwood and Rascal Flatts had such a huge year, a drop was inevitable.) The end of the year, though, will have some big names: Kenny Chesney on September 11, Rascal Flatts on September 25, Brooks & Dunn on October 2 and Carrie Underwood on October 23, plus unconfirmed rumors of a Keith Urban greatest hits package. (Music Row)

• At the Marketing to Men 18-34 conference in New York, the big topic was branded entertainment, i.e., music with a ton of product placement. (Billboard.biz)

• Judging from the information in Rob Mitchum's article on concert first aid stations, indie rock shows are far safer than metal shows. Only one Pitchfork Festival attendee required transport to a hospital, while a mid-July Ozzfest concert saw "two people with stab wounds, numerous people with dislocated shoulders, facial trauma, sutured up a lot of faces, that kind of stuff, especially from mosh pits." Because of the age of attendees, classical music concerts actually have the highest mortality rate. The winner for highest rate of medical tent visits goes to gospel/Christian events. (Chicago Tribune)

• From 2003 to 2006, the percent of U.S. camera phone users who emailed/transmitted photos wireless dropped 22 points. Is there a parallel with over-the-air music? "People will download music OTA while it is a novelty then they will sideload all their MP3s to their music phone (sideloading is primary way to get music on a music phone). Just like people expect a camera on their phone they will expect an MP3 player, but the carrier will not see any revenue from the use of this feature." (Ad-Supported Music Central)

• Univision is facing another bribery lawsuit, this one brought by Los Angeles-based Platino Records. A previous lawsuit alleging the bribing of radio stations was brought by a former VP for Univision's Fonovisa Records. The company's equity partners are interested in selling some non-core assets, such as the music division, to help pay off debt. (Los Angeles Times)

• Long Gone John has put his label, Sympathy for the Record Industry, up for sale. John Reis (Swami Records) has put in a bid of 30 very expensive llamas. (LA Weekly)

• Localism works in music retail. In Fort Lauderdale, Radio-Active Records is within five miles of Borders, Target, Circuit City, Barnes & Noble and Best Buy, and yet it is growing. "Our biggest strategy is community involvement. It's why Virgin [Megastore] couldn't survive down here: They don't pay attention to what music locals are interested in. I go to the clubs, I see what people are dancing to, and I order that stuff in the store." (Broward Palm Beach)

Posted by Glenn at 8:06 AM | Link
|Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Marketing||Mobile Music||Universal Music Group|

• Mobile carrier Amp'd, which counts MTV and Universal Music Group as its investors, has shut down its service and owes over $100 million to creditors. The company had filed for bankruptcy last month. (Variety)

• Sanctuary has sold its 49% share in the Rough Trade label to the Beggars Group for £800,000 (US $1,651,507). (The Guardian)

• XM and Sirius promised that in the event the two satellite companies merge, the companies will offer a variety of subscription packages. The lowest-priced package would get 50 channels and cost $6.99 a month. Said an analyst, "If the Department of Justice approves the merger, it will be difficult for the FCC to say no." (Reuters)

• Dallas-based hip hop label Clout Records has inked a distribution deal with EMI. Cloud will release Lil Prince's Young and the Wreckless on September 25. (Hip Hop Elements)

• Kansas City-based rock band Vedera has signed with Epic Records. (MySpace, via Kings of A&R)

• Oklahoma state representative Randy McDaniel has proposed a study to find out what incentives Nashville and other cities offer musicians. McDaniel sits on a committee that deals with Oklahoma's tourism, arts and culture. (The Journal Record)

• Ted Cohen, a former EMI exec and now part of TAG Strategic consulting, is on the board of advisers at Txttunes. The company just announced the launch of its text-based distribution and social networking service. Fans can use their cell phones to purchase and download MP3s. Artists can use Txttunes to send text messages to fans. (Press release)

• A profile of Ventura, CA-based Salzer's, where vinyl sales are up 20% this year. (Ventura County Star)

• AllHipHop.com got a makeover and has some new features. The site has partnered with Amazon.com to create an e-store that uses Amazon.com's technology and content. AllHipHop is working with iTunes on a Black Music Month promotion. The site will give away 250,000 promotional codes that can be redeemed for a free mix tape at iTunes. (Press release)

Posted by Glenn at 8:03 AM | Link
|A&R||Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Mobile Music||Sirius||XM|

• According to figures just released by the IFPI, the global recorded music market shrank by 5% in 2006. Digital accounted for 11% of shipments (odd that the word is used for a product that really isn't shipped) versus 2% in 2004 (ringtones are not included). Labels' income from performance rights collections rose 8% to $728 million. (Billboard.biz)

• Feisty Russian download store AllofMP3.com has been shut down. The site was singled out by U.S. trade representatives as Russia sought entry into the World Trade Organization. The same company that operated AllofMP3.com has already launched a similar site called mp3Sparks.com. (Times Online, via paidContent)

• The Kelly Clarkson saga continues. The singer has left The Firm and joined Starstruck Entertainment for management. (Bilboard.biz)

• T-Mobile has launched a mobile service in the U.K. that offers over 500,000 tracks at £1 each. The dual download service is called Mobile Jukebox. Each purchase results in an AAC file for the mobile device and a WMA file for the PC. (Mobile Choice U.K.)

• It probably won't have any effect on physical music, but the majors old Minimum Advertised Pricing (M.A.P.) came to mind when I read about the Supreme Court's decision that allows for minimum pricing by manufacturers and retailers. In a case that put Leegin Creative Leather against Kay's Kloset, Leegin defended its minimum pricing system by arguing in part that smaller retailers would be able to compete against discounters. Sounds just like majors labels' argument for their M.A.P. that denied cooperative advertising funds to retailers that advertised below a certain price. After the F.T.C. forced labels to drop M.A.P., mass merchants began their predatory pricing practices that has, along with digital downloading and the accompanying shift in listening habits, has helped put thousands of music retailers out of business. (AP)

• The final 700 or so employees of U.K. music chain Fopp were dismissed today. The company owes £10 million to suppliers who are not interested in extending new terms. Good call. Maybe they learned something from keeping Tower on life support as it failed to adequately update itself for a changed market. (Times Online)

• Napster issued a statement to investors about the possibility that the iPhone, with its lack of compatibility with Napster software, could harm its business. Pretty standard disclosure for a public company, in my opinion. And besides, Napster was always going to have to hitch its wagon to another device. (Information Week, via Engadget)

• At the Huffington Post, music writer Paul Bonanos on Beggars Banquet for its download scheme for vinyl copies of The National's Boxer album. Each vinyl LP comes with a code that allows for up to three album downloads (one for yourself, two for your friends). While "home taping" is hurting the recorded music business, wrote Bonanos, those extra copies benefit other revenue streams. "We're seeing CDs turn into promotional tools for the live tours," Festival Network head Chris Shields told Matt Miller in an article at The Deal. (Huffington Post)

• European antitrust regulators are stepping up their investigation into high-definition DVDs and possible anticompetitive practices in the format war. (Wall Street Journal)

Posted by Glenn at 11:11 AM | Link
|Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Mobile Music||Napster||Research|

• After a three-month delay, the European Union is going to restart its investigation into the Sony BMG merger. That will put date of decision at the second week in October. Regardless of the outcome, a thorough investigation is expected to offer signals that other companies will use for their mergers and acquisitions. (Times Online)

• The Harry Fox Agency and Ingrooves have inked a deal that will see HFA using INgrooves' proprietary software platform for licensing and payment processing. (Billboard.biz)

• BurnLounge has no plans to give refunds to its paid members but will waive all renewal and monthly fees for existing members through the end of 2007. (Hypebot)

• British website Slice the Pie is the latest to provide a fan-based financing tool for unsigned bands. Bands move through stages called The Scout Room, Showcase and Financing, the latter being the stage at which a band that has secured 1,000 £15 offers will release an album. (Get Reading)

• A former Columbia Nashville SVP of promotion has launched Nine North Records, a country label that aspires to break new artists through "innovative independent partnerships." We'll be aligned with several highly experienced professionals who can bring sales, marketing, public relations, digital and artist development skills to the mix on an a la carte basis. This business format will allow us to work with acts from the ground up and with less of a safety net." (MusicRow.com)

• Fortune's Dennis Hau on the economics behind Burgendy Records' contracts with older artists. "Burgundy usually limits itself to one-album contracts with its artists, sometimes with options to release more music. And because it has a full-time staff of only about two dozen employees, it expects to put out no more than two or three albums a year." It takes 24 people to sell about 150,000 units per year? Amazing. (Fortune)

• The Guardian has a very smart take on the move, by bands like Ash, toward releasing just singles instead of albums. "...the looming death of what is still known as the album should cause no little alarm. Doesn't the obligation to attempt a grand artistic statement serve as a reliable litmus test? ... Songs may powerfully denote passing moments, but you surely need more to truly soundtrack your time." (The Guardian)

• Groove Mobile wants to expands its direct-to-consumer trial to more labels and carriers, and has a deal with Vodaphone UK for lower data charges. "Services like this need to be cross-carrier - there's no point in promoting track downloads at a concert, for example, if only a quarter of the people there can take part." (Mobile Entertainment)

• While I try to appreciate both sides of every argument, I can't agree with Ann Power's take on the Clive Davis/Kelly Clarkson dust-up. What separates Powers' belief in artistic development and my belief in a balance between art and commerce is the fact that Clarkson won a singing contest, not a singing-and-songwriting contest. (Los Angeles Times)

• Jupiter Research's Joe Laszlo has a report on over-the-air music purchasing and says that there are obstacles in infrastructure, business models and carriers' ability to take advantage of impulse purchases (which goes for pretty much every digital music store or service). "Approximately 20 percent of online consumers are impulse music purchasers. This segment, already reasonably engaged in mobile music activities, represents the best target for becoming regular users of OTA music stores or services. Tying into key purchase motivators, such as radio play and friends' recommendations, can help drive OTA impulse music purchases more broadly." (David Card's Jupiter Blog)

• Universal Music Group's catalog division has a website, ilovethatsong.com, that currently has a Flash-based puzzle game in which you complete puzzles of UMG catalog titles. Each album's puzzle pages has a link to purchase at iTunes for $7.99 -- or less if you already own one of the album's songs. (Unscramble the Covers)

Posted by Glenn at 6:57 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Online Stores/Services||Research||Sony BMG|

Sony BMG's Australia GM of sales and digital Gavin Parry recently talked about the future of mobile at the Mobile Content World Australasia 2007 (read post at paidContent). He also talked about the complexity involved in digital and mobile music and gave Justin Timberlake as an example. Sony BMG Australia got $45 million in revenue from Timberlake through 71 different pieces of content. The CD represented $33 million of the revenue. "We worked very very hard to get that $12 million from digital content,” he said.

Posted by Glenn at 4:48 PM | Link
|Mobile Music|

Mobile-based subscription service MusicStation got a big endorsement from Universal Music Group SVP of digital, Rob Wells. "It's hard to imagine a more compelling music experience on mobile than MusicStation. It works on almost any phone, giving consumers the freedom to choose whatever device they want, [and] it allows downloads wherever those consumers are."

While most analysts and journalists have been attracted to the timing of the MusicStation rollout -- ostensibly to steal attention from the upcoming iPhone -- I have been taken by how the service is priced. Rather than say it's 11.96 euros ($16) per month, the price being reported is 2.99 euros ($4) per week. (Almost unbelievably, the press is going along with MusicStation's press releases and reporting the price exaclty as the company wants it to be reported. I almost get the feeling analysts who are positive about MusicStation are thinking of the weekly price and not the less attractive -- but ultimately equivalent -- monthly cost.) The weekly cost sounds like a better, more manageable price and will probably help the product roll out.

Posted by Glenn at 3:26 PM | Link
|Mobile Music|

• There's money in them hills: The just-completed Bonnaroo music festival, put on by Superfly Productions, sold out its 80,000 tickets and raised about $17 million in ticket sales -- up from $14.7 million last year. (Billboard.biz)

• Contrary to popular opinion, digital music has been no better for the environment than CDs, wrote Billboard's Anthony Bruno. Discarded MP3 players leak heavy metals and chemicals into landfills, and consumers are buying more blank CDRs to burn the music they have acquired digitally. The Consumer Electronics Association has launched www.MyGreenElectronics.com to help consumers responsibly use their electronic devices. (Billboard)

• Verizon now offers full track, over-the-air downloads from Wind-Up Records artists such as Creed, Scott Stapp, Evanescence and Finger Eleven. An over-the-air track costs $1.99 and comes with one copy for the PC and one for the mobile handset. (Press release, via Digital Music News)

• The Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) announced it has distributed more than $100 million from private copying levies in just four years. In Canada, the CPCC collects levies on blank media, such as CDRs and cassettes, and gives the money to rightsholders. (Press release)

• Inside the guts of a Zune Marketplace desktop software file are hints that Microsot's Zune may be preparing a content partnership with MTV, VH1 and CMT. (Engadget)

• You know there's a premium on news for anything relating to both digital music and the Beatles when news of a Ringo Starr digital reissue makes waves across the Internet. (Billboard.com)

• Music attorney Chris Castle dissects a Washington Post op-ed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Fred von Lohman. (Digital Music News)

Posted by Glenn at 7:31 AM | Link
|Live Music||Mobile Music||Zune|

• Classical music distributor Naxos of America has introduced NaxosDirect, a direct-to-consumer online "boutique" that offers CDs, DVDs and audiobooks from Naxos and distributed labels. It offers a blog for daily reading. The site is a throwback...it streams available titles but does not offer digital downloads. (Press release)

• All four majors and some indies have signed deals with Omnifone that will allow mobile carriers to offer its inexpensive MusicStation subscription service. The first carrier to carry the service will be Norwegian operator Telenor. In coming months, another 30 mobile operators in other countries will launch the service. The term "iPod killer" has not been used much lately -- too many products, too little success -- but it's being used for MusicStation. (Tech Digest)

• All those disparaging "pyramid scheme" names that were thrown at BurnLounge over the years look to be true -- at least in the eyes of the FTC. The music download site is accused of operating a pyramid scheme, making deceptive earnings claims and failing to inform customers that most will lose money rather than make money. (ITWorld)

• Sony BMG will close its Sony Music Studios in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan. Some employees will be able to transfer to a different part of the company. (amNY)

• Prince is partnering with Columbia Records for the release of his next album, Planet Earth. (Hollywood Reporter)

• Norfolk record store Relative Theory will close at the end of the month. (Daily Press)

• There have been scores of articles about today's music being overcompressed and too loud. Yesterday I ran across a YouTube clip that audibly and visually explains what those articles are talking about. (YouTube, via Presentation Zen)

Posted by Glenn at 7:44 AM | Link
|Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Mobile Music||Online Stores/Services||Sony BMG|

• Over 2,500 Sony BMG videos have been added to MobiTV's service. The first initiative between the two companies is a dedicated Avril Lavigne channel. (Press release)

• Cherry Lane Music Publishing has joined the class action lawsuit against YouTube that was brought by Football Assn. Premier League and Bourne Co. last month. (Billboard.biz)

• Hot Topic, which a fe