From the AP:

The FCC voted 3-2 to approve the buyout, with the tiebreaker coming Friday night from Republican commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate.

Tate had insisted that the companies settle charges that they violated FCC rules before she would approve the deal. The companies agreed this week to pay $19.7 million to the U.S. Treasury for violations related to radio receivers and ground-based signal repeaters.

BusinessWeek.com on what has happened over the 17 months that may shape demand for satellite radio:

The state of the economy worsened, forcing folks to think twice about spending on such services as $12.95 a month for radio. Advertising was pinched. And sales of new cars, many that include factory-installed satellite radios, tanked. Meanwhile, products that offer music to listeners, some for free, just kept coming.

Posted by Glenn at 11:44 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius||XM|

Article at Wall Street Journal.

The merger also requires approval from the Federal Communications Commission. While it is unlikely that the FCC will go against the Justice Department's ruling, it has the power to impose conditions that might make the controversial merger slightly more palatable to the groups lined up against it. A ruling from the FCC is expected in coming weeks.

Posted by Glenn at 2:42 PM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius||XM|

• According to BusinessWeek, Sony BMG is "finalizing plans to sell songs without the copyright protection" and "will make at least part of its collection available without so-called digital rights management, or DRM, software some time in the first quarter." (BusinessWeek.com)

• U.S. and Canadian concert revenues rose 8% to $3.9 billion in 2007. That figure shows considerable growth in smaller scale concerts: revenue from the top 20 concerts dropped about 15%. (Forbes.com)

• Just as Napster quietly increased its monthly price to $12.95, Bear Stearns declared that "the pure-play music business faces significant challenges." (paidContent)

• Sirius Satellite Radio ended the year up 38% in subscribers, to 8.3 million. (Radio Ink)

Posted by Glenn at 10:06 AM | Link
|DRM||Napster||Sirius||Sony BMG|

This just in at Radio Ink: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said today that the FCC is considering fines for satellite radio broadcasters XM and Sirius for rules violations regarding receiver standards and power levels of its terrestrial repeaters.

In other satellite radio news, today Martin told an audience the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Show that local stations should not be concerned about losing local advertising. The two satellite radio operators cannot have local content and must carry content on a national basis. "We don't have any prohibitions on where ad revenue can come from," he said, "but we do say because they are a national service ... they are not allowed to be on localized content."

Posted by Glenn at 11:18 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius||XM|

• 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|

• 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|

• Terra Firma, the private equity firm that has placed a bid on EMI, is reportedly going to extend its deadline by which investors must accept its offer. The bid stands at $4.79 billion. (Reuters)

• Those DRM-free EMI downloads with user information embedded within? Privatunes has free software that will render those files anonymous. (Privatunes , via Slashdot)

• Guitar Center has agreed to be acquired by Bain Capital Partners for about $1.9 billion. The music equipment retailer's sales have nearly doubled in the last four five years. Net income rose from 2002 to 2005 and dropped in 2006 only because of an extraordinary charge related to a goodwill impairment. (Billboard.biz)

• Digital Music Group has inked distribution deals with Mush Records, Joyful Noise Recordings and Clockwize Online. (Press release)

• Ringtone sales are flat. Said one executive, "I think the ringtone business is in peril now because the operators have allowed into the market mobile phones which can sideload MP3s and use them as ringtones." What to do about it? "...innovative products are being introduced: EMI, for instance, has just unveiled a remixable realtone for the hip hop artist MIMS, while independent labels such as Ninja Tune are using them as freebie promotional tools. What is certain is that prices cannot remain static. And as with moves to incorporate VoIP services and flat-rate data charges, it is innovation that will move the market forward, rather than the protection of any perceived golden goose." (The Guardian)

• paidContent just posted a video segment of a panel discussion on social media and the music industry that was recorded at its EconSM Conference in late April. On the panel are Josh Deutsch (CEO, Downtown Records), Courtney Holt (EVP, Digital Music and Media, MTV), and Hadi Partovi (President and COO, iLike). (paidContent)

• Merrill Lynch loves Sirius whether or not it hooks up with XM: "We continue to believe the shares have upside potential using our reasonable, and often conservative, assumptions, including: 1) 80-85% of long-term gross adds are from auto 2) declining ARPU (ignores data impact), 3) combined 40mm subscribers in 2014 – comments by both Sirius and XM suggest this level in 2010, and 4) annual FCF exceeds $1bb in 2016." (Radio Ink)

• British music retailer HMV posted a slightly lower annual profit and announced a DRM-free download store that will launch in September. EMI is the only major on board for the download store. (Billboard.biz)

• The question of the '00's: To give away or not to give away? David at Digital Audio Insider lists his pros and cons of giving away his band's upcoming album. "If we're primarily doing all of this for the enjoyment of the creative process -- and we're not making much money from it -- would we be better off giving the music away?"(Digital Audio Insider)

Posted by Glenn at 6:45 AM | Link
|Digital Distribution||EMI||Earnings Releases||M&A||Sirius|

• Though it was just down the road from Vanderbilt, I was unable to attend the Leadership Music Digital Summit 2007 yesterday in Nashville. Paul Resnikoff from Digital Music News was there and has posts on the familiar themes that emerged and the conversation about lack of scarcity in the digital world.

• MusicRow.com covered Terry McBride's speech at the conference. "We must move to monetize the behavior of the consumer, not try to change it," he said in a common refrain. I'd love to hear his thoughts on Qtrax, which attempts to monetize a behavior by trying to change that behavior so it is in line with the only type of licensing agreements that will allow for such attempts to monetize a behavior... (MusicRow.com)

• A Chinese court has ordered Yahoo China to delete links to free web sites that offer music downloads. Beijing's No. 2 Intermediate Court ruled Yahoo should bear some -- but not all -- of the responsibility for the copyright infringement. Warner Music Group, through the IFPI, sued Yahoo China for copyright infringement in January of this year. (Reuters)

• The IFPI's statement on the Yahoo China ruling said "the ruling promises to improve the whole environment in which the local and international music industry does business in China." (IFPI)

• The iinovate blog has a podcast and video interview with Pandora founder and Chief Strategy Officer Tim Westergren. (iinovate)

• A Bank of America analyst said of XM and Sirius "stand-alone values and merger synergy values likely are lower than previously estimated." Based on market valuations, he believes regulatory approval of a merger is 35-40%, but " FCC contacts believe that the percentage is trending lower." (RadioInk)

• Other Music, perhaps the ultimate tastemaker New York music store, has launched its digital download store. Downloads are 320kbps non-variable rate MP3 files. Said the introduction page, "It is very important to us that in this new era, real record stores run by real music fans can still survive and thrive."

Posted by Glenn at 10:02 AM | Link
|Conferences||Online Stores/Services||Satellite Radio||Sirius||XM|

• EMI issued a trading update this morning ahead of its announcement of earnings for its fiscal year ended March 31st. Revenue is expected to decline 15% year over year. Digital revenue is expected to increase 59% and will account for 10% of total revenue. Music sales (at constant currency) are in line with guidance, its publishing division has improved operating margin and earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization is expected to be £174 million. Two bullet points stand out. One says EMI is considering the securitization of its publishing assets. The other said the company is suspending dividend payments until its restructuring program has concluded. (Press release)

• Some analyst say a possibly deal with Warner Music Group would be complicated if EMI issues securities backed by its publishing assets. (Reuters)

• Yesterday the RIAA revealed sales figures for 2005 (total revenue down 6.2%, CD sales down 13%) and tried to put a positive spin on the situation. "Today's music marketplace has challenges, but it also offers reason for hope and optimism," said Mitch Bainwol in a statement. "The appetite for music is as strong as ever." (Washington Post)

• EMI's first quarter UK market share pulled even with that of Sony BMG at 16.1%. Universal Music Group was the top dog with 32.8% and Warner Music Group was fourth (of the four majors) with 9.4%. (The Scotsman)

• Warner Bros signed underground legend Murs, the Living Legends member whose previous albums have come out on Def Jux and Record Collector. (SOHH)

• Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin and NAB Radio Board Vice Chairman Russ Withers spoke about a XM/Sirius merger before the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation. Karmazin talked about "more choice at lower prices" and Withers warned of the dangers of a monopoly. (Radio Ink)

Posted by Glenn at 10:41 AM | Link
|EMI||Publishing||Satellite Radio||Sirius||XM|

• New Island Urban president Jermaine Dupri has signed Jagged Edge to his So So Def imprint. Island Urban itself signed California rapper Hot Dolla. (Billboard.biz)

• Sirius and XM executives were questioned by a Senate anti-trust panel yesterday. Questions about market competitiveness rest on whether or not satellite radio faces competition from local terrestrial radio stations, or if its a market unto itself. While no single terrestrial radio station is in direct competition with XM or Sirius, I think consumers view satellite and terrestrial as substitutes -- and anti-trust regulators should take the viewpoint of consumers when assessing the merger's impact. (Forbes.com)

• A court rules that TVT Records must pay Slip-N-Slide $9.1 million for blocking the release of an early Pitbull release. (Vibe.com)

• Borders may sublease four Chicago-area stores as part of a cost savings strategy. The company, which has an earnings announcement tomorrow, has issued a profit warning due in part to sales declines in the music category. (Chicago Tribune)

• Career announcements are a dime a dozen, but this one stands out for an obvious reason: Koch Records has named Scott Givens as its new VP of metal. That's gonna be one sweet business card. (Billboard.biz)

• Albums on flash drives may (or may not) shake up the pop charts. HMV stocked 7,000 flash drives for the new Fratellis album. Hey, if it works, the industry has a new format to milk for a few years, and they'd probably be more than happy to sell protected files in a physical format for a change. (BBC News, via The Velvet Rope)

• Oddity: At one point yesterday, Amy Winehouse's Back To Black was both the #1 and #10 album at iTunes. (iTunes carries both the explicit and clean versions, and both are currently priced at $7.99.) Another SXSW buzz band, The Fratellis, was also in the Top 10.

Posted by Glenn at 11:34 AM | Link
|A&R||Brick-And-Mortor Retail||Sirius||XM|

• EMI wrote Warner Music Group and highlighted its regulatory concerns over a possible acquisition. (Reuters)

• Andy Gershon lands at Epic Records -- as executive VP -- after departing V2. (Billboard.biz)

• Indie retail legend Reckless Records is expanding to a third Chicago location. (Chicago Reader, via Fifth Disc)

• Sirius CEO Mel Karmazin predicts a better than 50/50 chance of getting regulatory approval for a merger with XM. Analysts aren't so optimistic. I'm not either. (BusinessWeek.com)

• EMI is taking the entire 15th floor of a waterfront office building in Jersey City. (The Real Estate)

• Puretracks announced it is offering music in the MP3 format from labels such as Arts & Crafts and Beggars Banquet, which are already available DRM-free elsewhere. (CBC)

Posted by Glenn at 9:36 AM | Link
|Brick-And-Mortor Retail||EMI||Online Stores/Services||Satellite Radio||Sirius||Sony BMG||XM|

• XM and Sirius agree to merge. A "$13 Billion Merger of Equals" they say. (Press release)

• Tower Records founder Russ Solomon has signed a lease at the old Tower Records building on Broadway in Sacramento, CA, and will open a record store in April. (Sacramento Bee)

• Enders Analysis points to a major problem for CD sales that goes beyond consumer sentiment. "The total retailing space that will be lost in 2006 and 2007 is something of the order of 20%." (Times Online)

• Billboard's MarketWatch weekly sales report, which visually compares current sales to the previous two years. (MarketWatch PDF)

• With the DualDisc all but forgotten -- nice idea, bad execution -- let's start talking about Blu-ray. On March 20, Sony BMG will release "Destiny's Child: Live in Atlanta" on Blu-ray for a reasonable $19.95. (High-Def Digest)

• Jon Healey on the music industry, softening sales, the emergence of PlayLouder and the gradual acceptance of the blanket license. (Los Angeles Times)

• It's open letter season. Here's one from Macrovision's president and CEO. ""The solution is to accelerate the deployment of convenient DRM-protected distribution channels -- not to abandon them." (Top Tech News)

Posted by Glenn at 7:00 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius||Sony BMG||XM|

• MySpace is testing an Audio Magic content filter to block unauthorized videos. (Question: What about homemade videos with copyrighted music playing in the background? Looks like they'll skate through.) Universal Music Group, NBC/Universal and Fox are taking part in the test. (InformationWeek)

• A Goldman Sachs analyst believes XM and Sirius should work together to lower marketing and promotion costs, but not worry about merging for another three to four years. In that time, possible synergies would be able to be realized and regulatory uncertainties may have passed. (Forbes.com)

• The White Stripes are reportedly going to sign with Warner Bros Records. (Billboard.biz)

• Warner Music Group is going full steam ahead with its corporate social responsibility agenda. By the end of March of 2007, all standard CD and DVD products in the U.S. wil use "ecologically-enhanced paper packaging." The company's Grammy party was carbon neutral. A distribution deal with Righteous Babe would fit the strategy, but I won't hold my breath. (Press release)

• Singshot.com, an online kaoroke site that is run by a former Rhapsody exec and has licensed over 3,000 songs, was purchased by Electronic Arts. (Forbes.com)

• Michael Robertson, founder of MP3.com and MP3Tunes, issued his own open letter that challenged Steve Jobs to sell music in open formats, open up the iPod to other software and make an iTunes for Linux. (MichaelRobertson.com, via Wired's Listening Post blog)

Posted by Glenn at 9:34 AM | Link
|A&R||MySpace||Satellite Radio||Sirius||Warner Music Group||XM|

• The media has heartily covered the IFPI's report on digital music. One topic that has been widely picked up is the IFPI's declaration that Internet Service Providers will become a target in the music industry's war on piracy. Chairman John Kennedy said litigation would begin "in weeks rather than months." EMI's head of digital operations, Barney Wragg, said the industry has been left with "with no other option." (Read article at The Independent)

• The Guardian's article on the IFPI report showcased one of the industry's reasons for optimism: mobile phones. Wragg on the potential of mobile music: "We have the opportunity to satisfy the impulse purchase. We are acutely aware that we are competing for every pound, every euro and every dollar in the consumer's pocket." (Read article at The Guardian)

• Universal Music Nashville co-chairman James Stroud has left to form James Stroud Productions, a production venture that will handle Billy Currington's next album and about six others. (Read article at The Tennessean)

• Snocap and ReverbNation.com announced a partnership that will allow ReverbNation.com users to sell downloads through the site's DistroNow module. Snocap will handle the customer transcaction and royalty payments. Here's the part that stood out to me: The technology will be incorporated into ReverbNation.com's TunePak, which is a music player that can be sent via email or posted on web pages. That allows songs to be purchased wherever the music player resides. (Read press release)

• FCC Chairman Kevin Martin showed his hand on a possilble merger between XM and Sirius. The two satellite radio operators must remain in place, he said, and pointed out that there is a prohibition of one companies owning both licenses. Shares of both companies dropped immediately. XM was down almost 10% and Sirius sank 7%. (Read article at BusinessWeek.com)

Posted by Glenn at 8:49 AM | Link
|Piracy||Sirius||Snocap||XM|

• Radio giant Entercom Communications, which owns 105 radio stations around the country, will pay $4.5 million to end Eliot Spizter's payola probe. The company will pay $3.5 million to fund music education and appreciation programs, and pay $750,000 to the state of New York. Among the reforms Entercom agreed to are refusal of payments and other inducements from record labels in exchange for radio play, banning payments from independent promoters, and the hiring of an internal compliance officer to monitor promotion practices. (Read AP article and Spitzer press release)

• Hot 97 has partnered with Amp'D Mobile. The NYC station will be streamed exclusively to Amp'D Mobile customers, while Hot 97 listeners can purchased Amp'D Mobile phones at www.hot97.com. (Read article at Radio Ink)

• An interview with Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio. On the possibility of a merger with XM: "Who knows? Obviously, consolidation has, in my opinion, been successful in the media business. ... I certainly think there would be advantages if the two companies merge, with cost-savings and the like, but our business plan doesn't contemplate that. There's no reason to believe that XM has any interest in selling themselves." (Read article at The Hollywood Reporter)

• Beyonce will record a Spanish version of "Beautfil Liar" with Shakira. The track will be included on a new edition of B'Day along with three other Spanish-language tracks. As Shakira knows, tossing a new song on an old album and then calling it a new version of the same album is a really good way to improve sales. (Watch interview at Univision, via Billboard.biz)

• Embattled Russian music site AllOfMP3.com issued a brief response to a lawsuit brought by major music companies. The company called the lawsuits "imprudent" and bruskly noted they were filed in New York while the company "operates legally" in Russia. Music groups allege massive copyright infringement. The Russian government has pledged to address U.S. complaints against the download site, and Visa and Mastercard now refuse transactions at the site. (Read press release)

Posted by Glenn at 8:11 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Payola||Satellite Radio||Sirius|

• Bad news for The Beatles, good news for suporters of free culture: the UK will not extend copyright on sound recordings to 95 years from the current period of 50 years. The Beatles' earliest recordings are from 1963, which means in 2013 they will become part of the public domain. (Read article at BBC News)

• Warner Music Group will announce earnings on Friday. Wall Street expects less than a penny a share for the quarter. Should be interesting. WMG hasn't been tearing up the charts in the latter half of 2006. TI has sold well, and James Blunt is still hanging around. Digital revenues were flat last quarter, so I'm curious to see where they'll be this time. At the very least, WMG will be back in the news. Its competitors have been making all the noise lately, and Edgar Bronfman looks to have put his personal publicity campaign on hold.

• Virgin wishes it had a revenue sharing deal with this band: the Rolling Stones eased the pain by grossing $437 million in ticket sales since the fall of 2005. That was tops in the industry. (Read article at Billboard.com)

• Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio, is up for a merger with competitor XM Satellite Radio and does not think regulators would get in the way. His prediction for future revenues: "By 2010 we will have $3 billion in revenue and $1 billion in free cash flow." (Read article at SmartMoney, via paidContent)

• Norteño singer Valentin Elizalde was shot to death in the border town of Reynosa, Mexico. Reports indicate it was a gang-related attack. (Read article at Los Angeles Times)

• Robert Hilburn has a good and lengthy article on Jimmy Iovine. (Read article at Los Angeles Times)

Posted by Glenn at 7:58 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius||Warner Music Group|

• A study says Sirius has pulled even with XM, and the reason is Howard Stern. (Billboard Radio Monitor)

• Cingular and Warner Music announced their answer tones yesterday, which will replace with a song the ringing sound usually heard when a call is going unanswered. (UPI)

• The questionable legaltiy of Russian download sites have become such a talking point they've reached the "paper of record." (NY Times)

• Mute has signed British band ¡Forward, Russia! Music bloggers around the country are probably doing cartwheels.

• Engadget's Peter Rojas gives the new Sansa e260 a very positive review ("the e260 gets a lot more right than it gets wrong") and says he'd take it over the iPod Nano. (Engadget)

Posted by Glenn at 9:22 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius|

• Starbucks will offer an exclusive Diana Ross collection comprised of songs recorded in the '70s but never released. (Digital Music News)

• Sirius reported a net loss of $458 million in the first quarter -- more than double the loss in the previous year. (NY Daily News)

• More Sirius: Sirius CEO says recent deal with majors for the S50 portable device could be a one-time deal. (Billboard Radio Monitor)

• The skeptics on the potential of Napster's new free service could fill up Madison Square Garden...and those are just the analysts who do this for a living. (BusinessWeek.com)

• The Features claims it was released by Universal because it refused to "cover song for a large corporation to be used in a commercial" and include it on its next record. (Entertainmentwise.com)

Posted by Glenn at 9:09 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius|

• Meet Vernon Irvin, an executive at media security company VeriSign who has worked with Jamster, which VeriSign purchased in 2004 for $270 million, to bring ringtone's into the big leagues. In 2005 Jamster made nearly $600 million. Highly recommended reading. (SOHH.com)

• Citing an increased subscriber base and its deal with EMI, UBS analyst Lucas Binder is optimistic about Sirius Satellite Radio ahead of the company's first quarter results. (Forbes.com)

• Music and fashion...together forever. Lyric Jeans and Warner/Chappel Music have signed an agreement that will give Lyric Jeans non-exclusive access to approved songs from the music publisher's catalogs. (Investors.com)

• Toby Keith handed out exclusives to four different retailers for the release of his latest album, White Trash With Money. Wal-Mart got a special two-pack CD/DVD, Best Buy got a bonus DVD, Target got access to pre-release tickets and Circuit City got a free koozie with purchase. I don't mind saying I had to Google the word koozie to find out what it is. (In-Store Marketing Institute)

• One in three college students downloads music illegally, according to a study. Nearly three-quarters believe the practice helps up-and-coming musicians. Coolfer's estimate: About 0.4% actually download up-and-coming musicians. (TheDartmouth.com)

•

Posted by Glenn at 9:00 AM | Link
|Mobile Music||Satellite Radio||Sirius||Warner Music Group|

Forbes has details on the deal reached between Sirius and Warner Music Group and Universal Music Group (mentioned at Coolfer the other day). The agreement will pay the music groups a per-unit fee for each S50 device sold. The S50 has the ability to store songs broadcast in Sirius radio shows. Research firm RBC is positive about the agreement and says it "potentially signals labels' willingness to compromise on broader royalty controversies."

Posted by Glenn at 9:45 AM | Link
|Sirius||Universal Music Group||Warner Music Group|

• Ahead of tomorrow's final Soundscan numbers, Hits is predicting High School Musican to be the top album in the land with sales of about 130,000. James Blunt's Back to Bedlam will follow closely behind in second. (Hits)

• Digital Music Group Inc., a digital music aggregator with a catalog of oldies and not-so-hits, reported revenue of $1.06 million and a loss of $1.69 million in 2005. The company's February 2006 IPO raised over $33 million. (Sacramento Business Journal)

• Sirius has topped four million subscribers. Rival XM, currently at six million subscribers, plans to be at nine million by the end of the year. (Reuters) Related: Bear Stearns analyst maintains an "outperform" rating on Sirius at $9 per share. (Forbes.com)

• Orlando police are cracking down on bootleg CDs and DVDs and a usual place is targeted: flea markets. (WFTV)

Posted by Glenn at 8:56 AM | Link
|Digital Music||Music Industry||Sirius|

Sirius Satellite Radio has reached a deal with Warner Music Group and Vivendi Universal that will allow the music of the two music giants to be played on a Sirius S50 radio device that can store songs -- up to 1 GB -- for future playback. No details have been given about the deal.

The time-shifting element offered by the device was the heart of a dispute. Major labels and publishers have been worried about such devices that allow satellite radio subscribers to store songs from radio programming, and last year threatened to sue Sirius for infringement. The ability to keep permanent copies of the songs, they argue, take revenue away from paid download services.

Why did labels make a stink over the device? There is a difference between performance (radio) and mechanical royalties (on-demand download). A device that stores a radio broadcast has a bit of both, but labels want more money than they would normally get for a standard radio performance. Billboard's article reminds that the National Music Publishers' Association has been negotiating with Sirius and XM over payments for the compositions that would be stored by the devices.

Want to read up on the Sirius S50? iPodBlast! has a great good product review that raves about its "wildly innovative blend of features that'll make your listening experience more rewarding."

Posted by Glenn at 11:12 AM | Link
|Satellite Radio||Sirius|