E-Commerce News: Music

Sued Song Swapper Says Nuts to RIAA Settlement Offer
January 28, 2010

Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota woman who was twice found liable for copyright infringement for sharing two dozen songs using an online file-sharing application, has turned down an offer to settle her $54,000 penalty for less than half that amount. The Recording Industry Association of America gave Thomas-Rasset the option of settling the case for $25,000, with the money promised to be donated to a musicians' charity.

Are Concert-Goers the Losers in Ticketmaster-Live Nation Deal?
January 26, 2010

DoJ has cleared the path for Live Nation and Ticketmaster to merge -- but with several conditions attached, including significant support to companies that will be formed to provide competition. The two firms, which announced the possibility of a merger a year ago, have agreed to the conditions, setting the stage for the creation of a large, multifaceted, multiservice live music company.

Does 'Going Hollywood' Mean Going North?
January 11, 2010

In The Rise of the Creative Class, author Richard Florida describes his theories on how creative communities grow around two groups of people: 1) artists, media workers, and other classically bohemian sorts; and 2) university professors, service providers, and other highly educated professionals.

New Possibilities Forming as Lala's Puffy White Cloud Rolls In
December 15, 2009

I am stoked about Apple's acquisition of Lala. Why? First, iTunes users might actually get to listen to an entire song during a preview rather than just the old-school 30-second clip. That potential new option for iTunes is reason enough to be thrilled. But there's so much more to Lala.

'Revolutionary' Music-Video Site Falters at Launch
December 09, 2009

Vevo, an online music video site seeded with close to 15,000 videos from 5,000 artists, has launched. Unlike other online video sites -- Joost, for example -- Vevo is launching with impressive backers, including Google and Universal Music Group, its original founders. Sony Music Entertainment joined later this year; and AT&T is providing advertising support.

Apple's Lala Buy Adds New Verse to Digital Music Opus
December 07, 2009

If you Google the Delfonics' 1968 slow-dance soul classic, "La-La Means I Love You," the first item at the top of the results page is an audio file of the song courtesy of -- who else? -- Lala.com. Becoming a part of Google's then-new music search service in October was arguably the biggest thing to happen to Lala -- until this weekend, when Apple purchased the streaming music company for an undisclosed sum.

Music Sites That Fill In iTunes' Gaps
November 24, 2009

When you're as dominant in the online music market as iTunes is, it's hard to see the chinks in its armor, but a number of alternatives have cropped up to take advantage of what some see as gaps in Apple's service model. One door that iTunes has left open for its competitors is streaming delivery of music.

The Audacity of Droid
October 30, 2009

The Android mobile operating system is graduating soon to 2.0 status, and Google gave it a pretty nice present to celebrate: a free turn-by-turn navigation app called "Google Maps Navigation." It'll run on Android 2.0 phones with GPS, and it'll use the phone's cellular Internet connection to get live map information.

Google Breaks Into Song With New Music Search
October 29, 2009

Google's new music search service, announced Wednesday, is in tune with that company's overall goal to make every last bit of information searchable on the Web. After all, "two of our top 10 queries of all time are music-related," according to an introductory video on Google's Discover Music landing page.

Is Google Dialing Up a Gphone and Cuing Up Gtunes?
October 21, 2009

Conspiracy theorists convinced that Google wants a footprint in every single business category on the planet got some more ammunition Wednesday: reports that detail the company's possible efforts to extend into both branded smartphones and online music. A Google-branded phone may be offered directly to consumers via retail outlets and not traditional wireless carriers, according to analyst Ashok Kumar.

Apple May Be Tuning In on a Big Opportunity
October 16, 2009

Ever since Apple announced its latest iPod nano with a built-in FM radio with live pause and iTunes tagging in September, I've been wondering how long it would take to bring the same feature to the iPhone and iPod touch. In fact, I was kind of surprised it wasn't in the new iPod touch, but as the latest rumor suggests, that's not so surprising after all.

Warner, YouTube Dance to New Music Deal
September 29, 2009

Warner Music Group and Google have come to terms on a revenue-sharing agreement that will allow content from Warner's full music catalog to be used in YouTube videos, according to a blog post by Chris Maxcy, director of YouTube partner development. Warner will be able to sell its own ad inventory and use YouTube's Content ID technology to monetize videos incorporating its content.

Rhapsody Sings in Harmony With iTunes on the iPhone
September 10, 2009

It's been a big week for Apple. CEO Steve Jobs returned to the spotlight Wednesday after a liver transplant, video cameras were added to an iPod nano for the first time ever, and now the iPhone App Store will feature a competing digital music service to iTunes: Real Networks' Rhapsody.

Court Ruling Lets Yahoo Web Radio Avoid Big Licensing Fees
August 24, 2009

Personalized Internet radio stations got a boost Friday when a federal appeals court ruled that Yahoo's LAUNCHcast music service was not interactive enough to be forced to pay hundreds of millions of US dollars in licensing fees. The court said LAUNCHcast did not offer its users so much control over selecting songs for personalized Internet radio stations that the users would choose those webcasts over buying music.

MySpace Makes Room for iLike
August 20, 2009

If LinkedIn is for professionals and Facebook is for friends, then MySpace is still the social network destination for teens/young adults to sing the praises of the rock bands that they love. To that end, MySpace announced Wednesday that it would build on that relationship by acquiring Seattle-based social music application makers iLike.

Security, Sanity and Social Networking in the Ranks
August 07, 2009

U.S. military service members who want to keep up with friends and family back home have often turned to social networking Web sites to stay in touch. But the Department of Defense hasn't quite made up its mind whether these kinds of sites are friends or enemies. It definitely loves social networking when it comes to recruiting -- you can follow or friend any and all branches if you're thinking about joining up.