As the dust settles on the iPhone 3G / WWDC blowout, we've sifted through the debris and discovered a few eyebrow-raising tidbits you might be interested to know. The first of which is news that the next firmware update (2.0) could be headed to devices as early as June 27th, at least according to Apple's Australian iPod touch features page, which touts the arrival of the app store later this month. Meanwhile, Apple's cash cow won't get those OTA iTunes music downloads that were being heavily speculated on in May. Word on the street is that record labels are -- wait for it -- still holding out for those upped premiums, or that AT&T wants a cut of the action, which Apple is reluctant to hand over. Of course, AT&T wanting their share of that revenue makes good sense when you realize that the telco is taking a major hit on the sale of these devices -- a hit which will stall profits until 2010. Perhaps that explains the new rules about activation; according to a report from Reuters, the company will penalize customers who buy a phone but don't activate within 30 days, which falls in line with their aggressive new push to lock users into a contract... which looks exactly like the old cellphone business model. On a lighter note, iLounge has some real-world spy shots of the device's shell, which they claim smudges like it's going out of style, though it may be joined by a Product (RED) variation later this year. Enjoy!

Update: Apparently Apple reps have confirmed that there won't be any early firmware updates for the masses, and that they're still on schedule for July 11th. The Australian site has since updated its info -- so put the champagne back on ice.

[Thanks, Dan and Danny]

Read - Australian iPod touch features page
Read - No Over-The-Air 3G Music Downloads For New iPhone; Labels Holding Out For Higher Price Per Track?
Read - iPhone to cut into AT&T earnings until 2010
Read - Real World Photos: Inside + Outside iPhone 3G's New Shell

Looks like there's something to this "downloading music" thing after all -- just eight months after topping Amazon, iTunes has now passed Best Buy to become the number two music retailer in the US. Apple says 50 million customers have bought over 4 billion songs, with 20 million sold on Christmas day alone. That leaves just Wal-Mart in first place, but with the percentage of digital music sales growing each quarter, ol' Wally may not be safe for long.

Sorry to disappoint, but Qtrax is falling just a bit short of its promised 25 million tracks at launch. Qtrax busted out its software in "beta" this evening, but isn't offering a single song -- or even a working music browser. The application is a barely skinned version of the open source Mozilla-based Songbird music player, which has certainly come a long ways since its infancy, and which means Qtrax has done just about nothing for you yet -- other than lie about label deals. When you launch the application it helpfully points you to a placeholder page from a Oracle application server, and that's all you'll be getting until Qtrax manages to get label deals sorted, which isn't looking likely at this point.

Update: 4 hours later and we can see music. About 10 million tracks by their count. However, clicking download results in an error message, "Downloads coming soon!!" How soon, exactly? Would that be after the contracts are signed?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Qtrax
Read - Music labels say no deal

You know what your mother always used to say about things that seem too good to be true, but the deafening amount of hype and hyperbole being thrown about in reference to the "game changing" Qtrax with "25 million tracks" is quite distracting enough to take note of. According to the Qtrax website, the P2P client -- Windows only, a Mac version is slated for March 18th -- will be available at midnight EST, but while Qtrax is confident of its supposed deals with the majors, a few of those labels claim to be short of an actual deal with Qtrax. The business model is simple enough: DRM'd tracks count the number of times they're played and then report back to the mother ship -- which will divvy up revenue based on ad sales. It sounds like there's PlaysForSure under the hood, and Qtrax claims it'll have an iPod-friendly version ready before too long, but there's a disturbing lack of detail on the official site. There is $30 million of VC funding behind the venture, so they clearly expect some results, but $30 million and high hopes certainly is no guarantee of label support of a crazy -- and perhaps entirely overdue -- scheme like this. We'll be certainly watching for what happens at midnight.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Read - Qtrax
Read - Times Online (It's a go)
Read - NEWS.com.au (Labels back away)
Read - ZDNet UK (Rupert Goodwins weighs in)

Both Wal-Mart and Amazon have already made their positions on DRM pretty well known, but it looks like each are now taking some further steps to ratchet up the pressure on the remaining hold-out record labels. For its part, Wal-Mart has reportedly told the record labels point blank that they must offer DRM-free MP3 versions of all their music, a matter that Sony BMG is apparently still the biggest hold out on. Amazon, on the other hand, is looking to give its download service (and, in turn, DRM-free downloads) a boost by giving away up to a billion free downloads in a promotion with Pepsi that's its set to launch during the Super Bowl in February. You'll need to guzzle quite a bit a Pepsi if you want to get your quota of those MP3s, however, as you'll apparently need to collect five bottle caps for each download. According to Billboard, Amazon has approached all the major record labels about participating in the promotion, but some are apparently balking at the 40 cents per track Amazon is willing to give 'em, which is a sizable cut from the 65 to 70 cents they currently receive.

[Via Gadget Lab]

Well, it looks like the long saga of The Beatles slow transition to digital downloads could finally be nearing a close, at least according to one source that has a fairly big say in the matter. According to Reuters, Paul McCartney recently told Billboard that "It's all happening soon," adding that, "Most of us are all sort of ready. The whole thing is primed, ready to go -- there's just maybe one little sticking point left, and I think it's being cleared up as we speak, so it shouldn't be too long." McCartney then went on to get a bit more specific, saying that, "It's down to fine-tuning, but I'm pretty sure it'll be happening next year, 2008." Of course, there's no indication as to exactly how The Beatles' catalog will be distributed in digital form, although there's certainly be no shortage of rumors on that front.

It looks like Rhapsody could soon be seeing a pretty big increase in traffic, as the company has just teamed up with Wendy's to give away up to 100 million free song downloads. To get in on that action, you'll have to purchase a medium or large-sized combo meal between now and December, with which you'll receive a code that'll entitle you to a free song download of your choice. What's more, you'll also be able to enter the "Combo Up to Download" sweepstakes, which'll give you a shot at a 50-song download bundle from Rhapsody, or one of one hundred SanDisk Sansa e280R Rhapsody players. Those that frequent Wendy's on a daily basis apparently won't be able to take full advantage of their fast food ways, however, as the promotion is limited to just 25 downloads per user.

Just a few months after it deemed it suitable to reinstate a levy on digital audio players, the Copyright Board of Canada looks set to stir things up once again, with it now ruling that music downloads should be taxed as well. That decision comes after the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (or SOCAN) had pushed for such a levy, a position the Copyright Board appears to have sided with entirely. Under the new rules, online music stores will have to pay 3.1 cents for each individual track and 1.5 cents per track for entire albums sold directly to SOCAN, which will in turn distribute the funds to the artists. Sites that offer temporary downloads or customizable radio stations will also be facing taxes, although the board hasn't yet released a decision for those that offer music on personal websites. What's more, according to CanWest News Service, the levies will be retroactive all the way back to 1996, which is when the music industry first started pushing for the tariffs.

In a move which can only be described as unsurprising, Apple has officially announced plans to lower the price of its iTunes Plus offerings (AKA iTunes sans-DRM) to $.99, instead of the higher-priced premium of $1.29. Old Jobsy claims that the decision was made due to the popularity of the unlocked, higher quality tracks with customers, saying, "It's been very popular with our customers, and we're making it even more affordable." Of course, it also seems likely that iTunes and Apple are feeling the burn from the new wave of DRM-free music providers, like Amazon, and the persistent rumors / news of former playmate Universal amassing an "anti-iTunes" which could seriously compete with the Cupertino monolith's business. Sure, it's the third-largest retailer of music in the US, but there's always someone creeping up from behind -- just ask Irv Gotti.

Update: Apple press release makes it really, really, super duper official.

Universal has made its problems with iTunes well known in the past, and it now looks like it might be set to take things to the next level, with BusinessWeek reporting that the company is trying to enlist the support of other record labels in order to launch their own music subscription service. Apparently, Sony BMG Music has already expressed interest in being a "potential partner," and Universal is now trying to convince Warner Music Group to come on board as well. What's more, it seems that this potential service, currently dubbed "Total Music," would be quite a bit different than your usual subscription model, with the groups' current thinking apparently focused on a $5-per-month subscription fee that hardware makers or cell carriers would absorb, making the music itself "essentially free" for consumers. That, of course, would still add up in one form or another, with some "industry insiders" speculating that it could add as much as $90 to each player -- based on the assumption that users hang on to their players for 18 months on average.

[Via Yahoo News/IDGNS]

If you're into DRM-free music, you have a reason to get pretty excited today. As speculated, Amazon has launched the public beta of its new digital music portal called Amazon MP3, which will feature two million songs from 180,000 artists and 20,000 labels, all without the painful and annoying restrictions of DRM. The press release claims that the site, which will include EMI and Universal tracks (take that, Jobs), will make separate songs available for $.89 or $.99, and boasts that all of the "top 100" tracks will be priced at the former, lower amount. Albums will range in cost from $5.99 to $9.99, with the best selling albums coming in at $8.99. Of course, since there's no DRM, users are free to throw the 256Kbps MP3s on any player they like, as well as burn CDs, copy to MiniDisc, and dump to 8-track.

We haven't heard a lot from Virgin Digital since it launched way back in 2004 (save for the odd squabble with Apple), but we'd be remiss if we didn't note the service's passing, which the company has now made official. According to IDG News, Virgin Digital actually stopped selling tracks in the U.K. last Friday, with the entire service set to be shut down on October 19th. In the meantime, existing customers will be able to enjoy the fruits of their monthly subscription while it lasts, with those that have more than one month of outstanding subscriptions able to get a refund. That doesn't apply to anyone with unused credits for downloads, however, who are advised to use 'em up or lose 'em. All of this follows Virgin Digital's departure from the US market earlier this year, when it packed up shop and left its customers to Napster. While Virgin seems to be staying mum on the exact reasons for the service's closure, as IDG News points out, its reliance on iPod-unfriendly DRM certainly doesn't seem to have helped matters.

SpiralFrog, the badly named, ad-supported music and video download portal has gone live today after months of beta testing, or so we're told. The site allows users to legally and freely download media from a catalogue of over 800,000 songs and 3,500 videos (most provided by Apple ship-jumper Universal Music Group, as mentioned way back in August 2006), and requires only that users register on the site and log in once a month (otherwise the DRM'd files go belly up). It's not all lollipops and rainbows, however, as just mentioned, the files are full of nasty, fun-murdering DRM which prevents your new tunes from being burned onto a CD. In other gloomy news, SpiralFrog's content won't work on your Mac or your iPod, and can only be placed on two media players or phones at a time. "We believe it will be a very powerful alternative to the pirate sites," said company chairman Joe Mohen, adding, "With SpiralFrog you know what you're getting." Yes Joe, and we know what we're not getting, too.

It may not just be a simple coincidence that Rick Rubin, famed Columbia Records head and music producer (Beastie Boys, Johnny Cash, Slayer, Jay-Z, Danzig, Weezer, etc.) has been growing that long beard and wearing flowing, white robes: the man is prophesizin'. According to a recent interview with the eccentric music-maven, Rubin believes that iTunes and similar music-download services are going the way of the Rolling Stones... er, we mean dinosaurs. The Rubinator thinks that the future of music distribution will be some type of subscription service that is accessible at any time, from just about any point of entry. As the Rick-man puts it, "You'd pay, say, $19.95 a month, and the music will come anywhere you'd like. In this new world, there will be a virtual library that will be accessible from your car, from your cellphone, from your computer, from your television. Anywhere. The iPod will be obsolete, but there would be a Walkman-like device you could plug into speakers at home." Additionally, the majestic light of the future that is Rick Rubin feels that, "Either all the record companies will get together or the industry will fall apart and someone like Microsoft will come in and buy one of the companies at wholesale and do what needs to be done." Whatever you say, Rick, just as long as you don't make another Mars Volta record. [Warning: read link requires subscription]

[Via Wired, thanks, Laura]

It looks like the long, litigious saga of AllofMP3 is about to take yet another turn, with the company is now promising to resume its music download service following a recent Russian court ruling in its favor. While it apparently isn't quite ready to get all that specific, the company has posted a brief notice on its official blog saying that it expects to resume the service in the "foreseeable future," and that it's doing its best to ensure that "users can use their accounts, top up balance and order music." Of course, AllofMP3 has hardly left all its legal troubles behind it, so there's no telling what may happen between now and the intended re-launch. Either way, we're pretty sure this won't be the last we hear from the company.

[Via The Inquirer]