music industry

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Jay-Z to Sign Record $150M Deal

Live Nation deal sign of industry upheaval

(Newser) - Rapper Jay-Z is about to decamp from record label Def Jam and sign a $150 million deal with concert promoter Live Nation, reports the New York Times. The deal, Live Nation's biggest to date, will give the superstar financial backing for tours, his own record label and other related ventures...

Mariah Carey Passes Elvis in Chart Toppers

With her 18th No. 1, she moves into 2nd place behind Beatles

(Newser) - Mariah Carey unseated Elvis for the No. 2 spot in chart-topping songs this week. Her single "Touch My Body" became her 18th No. 1 and pushed Elvis into third place, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Beatles' all-time record of 20 remains, but Carey could eclipse the Fab Four...

Top Google Engineer Decamps for EMI Music

Engineering VP is the second senior exec to jump ship in two months

(Newser) - A top Google engineer has signed on to help guide EMI Music through a restructuring, in the wake of its acquisition by after private equity firm Terra Firma, reports the New York Times. Douglas Merrill, Google’s VP of engineering, will become president of digital at the world’s fourth-largest...

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle
 Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle 
Mar 24, 2008 3:32 PM CDT

Satellite Merger Clears Hurdle

Justice Dept. doesn't see threat to competition; FCC must still weigh in

(Newser) - The Justice Department today approved the proposed merger between satellite radio firms Sirius and XM, the Wall Street Journal reports. The FCC must still sign off, but the pair appears to have allayed antitrust concerns about the merger of the industry's two largest companies by arguing that they face competition...

Dolly Parton Releases Album on Own Label

Backwoods Barbie hits No. 2, gives an iconic career new life

(Newser) - More than a decade after Nashville spurned her for a crop of up-and-comers, Dolly Parton is releasing a new album on her own label--and having the last laugh, as Backwoods Barbie hit Billboard's No. 2 on Billboard in its second week. That's thanks to new technologies that are creating end-run...

Radiohead to Fans: Get Animated

Band offers $10K, Cartoon Network exposure for music video

(Newser) - Radiohead is breaking new ground again—this time asking fans to make an animated video for any song on its pay-what-you-want In Rainbows album. The band itself will choose the grand-prize winner, who’ll get $10,000 to animate a full-length version. Would-be competitors have until April 27 to submit...

NIN Nails the Recording Industry
NIN Nails the Recording Industry
OPINION
Mar 6, 2008 9:45 PM CST

NIN Nails the Recording Industry

Trent Reznor's self-released album cements new business model

(Newser) - The early success of Nine Inch Nails' experiment on the Internet may mean that Armageddon is one step closer for the recording industry, writes Tony Sclafani for MSNBC. The industrial rock powerhouse released a new album on its website Sunday without a label's support, and the response has been both...

Euro Websites Rock Recording Industry

Slicethepie, Sellaband get visitors to invest in favorite bands

(Newser) - While the recording industry continues to lose profits, two online companies are reinventing the recorded music business model—and raking in the cash. Europe's SellaBand and Slicethepie are getting fans to finance their favorite indie rock up-and-comers. Amazon UK wants in, but online gambling legislation in the US makes it...

MySpace Makes Music Overtures
MySpace Makes Music Overtures
Feb 20, 2008 2:54 PM CST

MySpace Makes Music Overtures

Social networking site turns to recording labels in effort to broaden appeal

(Newser) - MySpace has spent the past few weeks approaching major record labels, trying to hammer out a deal for a new online music service, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal—tentatively MySpace Music—would likely let users stream unlimited music for free, and buy downloads that could be played on...

Labels Want to Beat iTunes but Feds Say, Slow Down

Justice Department begins inquiry into 'Total Music' plan

(Newser) - The latest music industry initiative to beat iTunes, Universal’s Total Music plan, is facing a Justice Department inquiry before it’s even out of the concept stage. Universal and Sony have gotten DOJ letters of inquiry, reports the Wall Street Journal. It’s uncertain what aspect of Total Music...

CBS Lets You Decide What's on the Radio

New site lets users play any song they want, for free

(Newser) - CBS’ Last.fm used to be plain old Internet radio – you picked a station, and listened to whatever it streamed. That all changed yesterday, when the company announced its plan to let users listen to any song they wanted for free, a risky but potentially game-changing move that has...

Music Fans Dodge Fees With Handset 'Sideloads'

Smartphone users are choosing to share music rather than pay for downloads

(Newser) - Apple has sold 4 million iPhones since last summer’s launch, and it’s become the industry leader in mobile web access, while having just 1% of the handset market, reports Reuters. But the sleek smartphone hasn’t appeared to have made a bump in music downloads. Overall, downloads to...

Watermarking Sets Music Biz Up to Fail Again
Watermarking Sets Music Biz Up to Fail Again
OPINION
Jan 17, 2008 1:30 PM CST

Watermarking Sets Music Biz Up to Fail Again

DRM wasn't answer, but tagging tunes is no better

(Newser) - Digital rights management is dying, but Ken Fisher writes in Ars Technica that the music industry is “barking up the wrong tree” if it turns to watermarks instead. The technology—which encodes owners' info into tunes—isn’t a practical copyright infringement fix or good from a privacy standpoint....

RIAA Boss Clarifies Lawsuit
RIAA Boss Clarifies Lawsuit
Jan 5, 2008 9:06 AM CST

RIAA Boss Clarifies Lawsuit

Says industry has never prosecuted anyone for ripping CDs for personal use

(Newser) - RIAA chief Cary Sherman says the recording industry has never prosecuted anyone for  ripping or copying CDs for personal use, Engadget reports. Sherman appeared on NPR and characterized media reports about a recent high-profile suit as inaccurate. The legal action, he said, is against a man who ripped CDs not...

US Album Sales Plummet In '07
US Album Sales Plummet In '07
Jan 4, 2008 11:25 AM CST

US Album Sales Plummet In '07

Growth slows; future looks grim

(Newser) - Album sales in the US fell 15% in 2007, to just 500.5 million units. The total represents both the lowest sales figure and sharpest decline since Nielsen began keeping track of music sales estimates in 1993. Total digital sales, including both albums and singles, were up 14% with 1....

Digital Music Packaging Getting Jazzed Up in '08

Downloads to start offering more than just music

(Newser) - Part of the reasons CDs are still popular in the age of digital music is the extras, Reuters reports. When you buy a CD, you get extended album art, lyrics, and liner notes. With an album downloaded digitally, it's just song titles and thumbnail art. The industry hopes to change...

Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music
Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music
Dec 27, 2007 2:21 PM CST

Amazon Gets Funky With Warner Music

DRM-free iTunes competitor continues to attract big labels

(Newser) - Amazon’s burgeoning mp3 service landed another big fish today, adding Warner Music’s catalog to its online store. The Amazon shop aims to compete with Apple’s iTunes, selling songs for 89 cents as opposed to Apple’s 99 cents and without digital rights management software that makes sharing...

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case
Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case
Dec 21, 2007 3:21 PM CST

Yahoo China Loses Piracy Case

Beijing court cracks down on users downloading music

(Newser) - Yahoo China—40% owned by the US Internet giant—can no longer allow users to download unlicensed music on its Web site. A Chinese court yesterday upheld a decision that the company violated copyright laws in effect since last year. The US has long complained about rampant music and movie...

2 Music Pioneers Talk Shop
2 Music Pioneers Talk Shop
Dec 20, 2007 9:57 AM CST

2 Music Pioneers Talk Shop

David Byrne and Thom Yorke like modern access to audiences

(Newser) - David Byrne and Thom Yorke don’t have much of anything nice to say about record labels, but they’re both excited about the contemporary musician’s access to audiences. The famous frontman from Talking Heads interviews the Radiohead impresario for Wired, and the latter says it was an “...

Interest Grows in Music-for-Rent
Interest Grows in Music-for-Rent
Dec 7, 2007 2:32 PM CST

Interest Grows in Music-for-Rent

Subscriptions may be the wave of the future

(Newser) - After years of the iTunes model dominating digital music sales, the time for subscription music services could be near. So far, fewer than 3 million Americans have signed up for such services. But as customizable online radio stations and social networks where users sample and recommend music grow in popularity,...

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