Universal Music Group
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Universal reportedly close to Google music deal, just in time for tomorrow's events
We've got a couple of music-related Google events coming up tomorrow. There's the one with Busta Rhymes and Drake and, of course, the one with the miniature Stonehenge. Aside from the aforementioned entertainment, what can we expect? Rumors are pointing to a proper Google Music launch, including the opening up of a music store -- one apparently backed by the labels this time around. EMI is reportedly on board, and according to sources at Bloomberg, Universal isn't too far behind either. Google, naturally, isn't talking. Update: According to the Wall Street Journal, Sony is expected to be on the guest list as well -- only a few more hours until we know for sure.
China's Baidu licenses music from major US record labels for streaming and downloads
In a move suggesting they might be ready to accept the realities of the internet era, major US record labels have reached a deal with Chinese search engine company Baidu. The agreement between the search giant and One-Stop China, a joint venture of Universal, Warner and Sony BMG, will result in licensed tracks popping up in searches instead of pirated ones and resolve years of legal wrangling between the two sides. Baidu launched its ting! social music service earlier this year with support from local labels and EMI, while this new deal will see labels paid per-play, per-download and from advertising. Between this and the recent launch of Spotify in the US the cheap and easy fun of music piracy is slipping away rapidly, if record labels continue to act sensibly then illegal downloads will soon be limited to hipsters ironically cracking open vintage editions of Soulseek.
Apple's iCloud bags last major record label, will cost $25 / year to sign up?
We'd heard that Universal was the only holdout, and now CNET says the deal is done -- Apple has reportedly signed all four major record labels for its upcoming iCloud service. We'll be bringing you all the confirmed details on June 6th, but while you wait, here's some food for thought: the Los Angeles Times says that Apple will eventually charge somewhere around $25 a year for a subscription to the cloud. That will help supplement the 58 percent piece of the pie it's planning to take from the music industry for songs distributed though the network, and possibly some ad revenue as well. 30 percent will reportedly go to the labels, and another 12 percent to publishers, who will apparently be signing their own agreements with Apple tomorrow. Update: There's actually an interesting discrepancy between the two sources here: the LA Times reports that Apple's taking that nice, juicy 58 percent, but CNET says that the labels will take 58 percent while Apple claims its traditional 30 percent instead. We're investigating. Update 2: The LA Times has updated its piece, with different percentages still -- reportedly, Apple will take 18 percent, publishers get 12 percent, and labels 70 percent of the proceedings.
Music artists, labels create enhanced albums for iPad
Launched with iTunes 9, iTunes LP would let record labels include extra content, such as liner notes, expanded artwork and lyrics, in albums sold on iTunes. The feature never took off, but the concept of adding value to an album using interactive digital content has not died. Record labels such as Universal Music Group and EMI are now looking to the iPad as a way to entice customers to purchase a full album with value-added content instead of individual tracks. EMI recently released an iPad version of Until One, a dance album from Swedish House Mafia. Besides audio tracks, the iPad album includes video footage, a photo gallery and commentary from the band. The content is distributed as an iPad app and costs US$9.99. Universal has also jumped on the interactive album bandwagon and has teamed with a video production company, Eagle Rock Entertainment. The duo are working on an interactive iPad versions of classic albums such as Nirvana's Nevermind. This latter project is currently under development. Only time will tell if this latest focus on enhanced album content will succeed. In the past, consumers eschewed bonus content, but the 9.7-inch display of the iPad provides a richer multimedia experience than the iPhone. Given the choice, would you pay more for an enhanced iPad album or would you stick with the less expensive, music-only option? [Via Macstories]
Universal Music and Sony releasing singles same day they hit the radio, will anyone buy them?
The humble single has been given a new shot at life, an extension to the lease on its breathing machine, a little more food in its tube. Universal Music and Sony have begun a new policy called "On Air, On Sale" that makes music singles available the same day they hit the airwaves, in theory stemming the tide of piracy by making music available legally more quickly. Of course, the number of people actually listening to those radio stations is also dwindling, and whether or not people really want to buy singles vs. entire albums these days remains to be seen. But, hey, earlier is usually better than later, right?
Library of Congress receives 200,000 vintage master recordings from Universal, will stream them online
The US Library of Congress hasn't been shy about embracing the modern age of digital media, though in this case it's having to deal with some decidedly lower-fi data storage. Universal Music Group has announced it's donating over 200,000 master recordings of early 20th century music to the Library, which will be cataloged and digitized -- for future safekeeping and in order to be streamed online starting in the spring. It doesn't seem, however, that the intellectual property rights will be passing with these recordings, as the press release states this agreement continues the Library's "unprecedented authority to stream commercially owned sound recordings online." Either way, it's good to know that the original copies of works by the likes of Louis Armstrong, Billy Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald will reside in the hands of an organization dedicated to their preservation. Full press release follows after the break.
Eric Ruth's 8-bit DJ Hero remake removed thanks to Universal Music
Here's the absolute dumbest thing you'll read this week: Eric Ruth's totally rad 8-bit de-make of DJ Hero has been removed from his official site following the issuing of a Cease and Desist letter from Universal Music Publishing Group. You can read the somewhat entertaining, genuinely frustrating exchange between Ruth and the Universal representative over on PikiGeek. Hey, man, we totally see where Universal is coming from. We were just about to buy the theme to Ghostbusters on iTunes, but we changed our mind at the last minute -- because we heard half of a mashed-up 8-bit version of the song on a freeware PC game. Eric Ruth contacted us with his comment on the ordeal, explaining that even though he's disappointed, "Between mirroring, uploading, fttps, and torrents, I know that Pixel Force: DJ Hero will live on through the vast reaches of the internet long after Mr Grannis and Universal Music go to bed at night." The legal hurdle didn't seem to break his developmental stride, either -- he added that his next project, Pixel Force: Halo, is well underway, with a trailer planned for later this month and a tentative release window of January 2011. Now, let's just hope this one doesn't have any illicit Ray Parker, Jr. covers.
Streaming app Grooveshark pulled from App Store
Grooveshark, the music-streaming app that's had a home on Cydia for the past year, was kicked out of the App Store after Apple notified the company that they received a complaint from Universal Music Group UK. While Apple has approved streaming music apps (such as Rhapsody) in the past, Grooveshark's woes appear to be related to a lawsuit between the company and Universal Music Group. The lawsuit, reported by CNET in January, alleges that Grooveshark is distributing illegal copies of the company's music. A similar suit with EMG was resolved in 2009. Grooveshark is still available for other mobile devices, so if you're a fan of the service, you may want to stick with your Cydia copy if your iPhone is jailbroken or download it to one of those. I don't think we'll be seeing this app back in the App Store until this lawsuit is resolved. [Via ReadWriteWeb]
Apple slyly enables background iDisk music streaming in iOS 4
Well, would you look at that? The v1.2 update to MobileMe iDisk that Apple pushed out last month has a secret -- er, did have a secret. One of the concealed new features of the app is background streaming, or as Apple puts it, the ability to "play audio from your iDisk while using another app." For starters, it's pretty fantastic just to have this functionality in-hand for your own garage jams, but what's more is that any licensed music on your iDisk still streams perfectly fine. Only time will tell if any record labels (or that mean, mean RIAA) step forward with a grievance, but this could very well be the beginning of iTunes in the cloud. Or a reason for buying Lala. Or a mysterious combination of the two.
iTunes LP broken for indie record labels?
Update: ElectricPig is reporting on 10/13 that an Apple spokesperson said the LP format will be opened up for all, indies and majors alike. There's word from an indie record-label that iTunes LPs are not for the indies. Introduced at Apple's "It's Only Rock and Roll" event in September, the iTunes LP format adds "bigger than a matchbook" album art, song lyrics, video clips, and other extra content to albums sold through the iTunes store. digg_url = 'http://digg.com/apple/iTunes_LP_broken_for_indie_record_labels'; Brian McKinney of Chicago-based label Chocolate Lab Records saw some promise in the new format and started looking into the idea of producing for iTunes LPs himself. But the truly small labels may have a hard time getting in. McKinney spoke to the digital distribution manager at his label's distributor, who reportedly told him that Apple charges a $10,000 production fee for iTunes LPs. $10,000 may be less than the heads of Warner Music Group, Sony BMG, Universal Music Group, and EMI spend on breakfast, but could be cost prohibitive for the little label that could (if it had $10,000 handy for each of its acts). It's not just the cost that prohibits the little labels. According to McKinney, it's also Apple. McKinney says his dude in distribution was told "that LPs aren't being offered to indies and that there are only about 12 LPs being offered right now." "Foul, foul, filth and foul," cries Cult of Mac's Pete Mortensen. Like a financial analyst moving a stock from "buy" to "sell," Mortensen says iTunes LP has gone from "the first digital album good enough to criticize," to "the first major content misstep in the history of the iTunes Store." Assuming that Chocolate Lab's distributor info is on the up-and-up, Mortensen thinks iTunes LP is "less a new format for music than it is a new form of paid advertising on the iTunes store."
Universal songs to hit European SingStore
Music from Universal's catalog is headed to the SingStar's European SingStore. According to Eurogamer, Sony has signed a deal with Universal (UMG), which will release its first content on August 8. As an early reward, Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" was released yesterday due to "popular demand" from fans of the karaoke game. A listing of tracks for wannabe European pop stars can be found after the break -- and yes, to quell any fears, Tiffany is on the list.
Dell pre-loading music mixes, CinemaNow movies, world again asks "Why?"
When Dell started pre-loading digital copies of Iron Man in new systems for $19, we didn't think that was very enticing, but at least it was a pretty good movie, right? Quite possibly encouraged by thousands of accidental purchases (we kid, sort of), Dell's announced two new content pre-loading partnerships -- Universal Music Group and CinemaNow. The music comes in 50 and 100 song bundles starting at $25, but at least it's DRM-free, so if you don't mind a mega mix chosen entirely by Dell it's not all evil. CinemaNow, though, offers $25 and up bundles including (among other flicks) world-renown classics like The Fast and the Furious and the Matrix sequels. Fear.Read - Universal Music GroupRead - CinemaNow
Universal Music Group's Blu-ray schedule starts with The Police: Certifiable concert album
Universal Music Group's longtime support of the Blu-ray format finally gets some teeth November 24, when The Police: Certifiable, a live set recorded in Buenos Aires, hits the shelves. To draw attention to its 25 releases scheduled for the rest of this year (and 20 more due in January), Music Week says it and other format backers are sponsoring a Music on Blu-ray event September 25 in London to get the ball rolling. 109 minutes of Sting & friends celebrating their 30th anniversary? We're there, again.[Image courtesy of Wikipedia]
Qtrax announces deal with Universal for free music downloads
It's taken a few months for Qtrax to actually score a contract with one of the major labels after announcing in January that it would offer free, legal downloads of over 25 million tracks, but it looks like the company has finally succeeded in spearing itself a whale. Universal is the first major on board, joining bankrupt indie TVT, and Qtrax says the deal is for "all" of Universal's music. Of course, in true Qtrax form, there might not actually be a contract yet -- Universal spokespeople would only confirm an "agreement," but "declined to elaborate or to say whether a contract has been signed." Sigh. Well, the first one's always the hardest, right?[Thanks, Steve Z.]
EU gives Activision-Blizzard a big thumbs up
After reviewing Activision-Blizzard's case for a few weeks, the European Commission announced its approval of the huge merger yesterday. The EU had final say approving the merger because Vivendi is a French company. Officials decided the deal wouldn't threaten the fairness of the market.The commission made a statement, saying that Activision Blizzard "would continue to face several strong, effective competitors, such as Electronic Arts, and the game console manufacturers, such as Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft." There were some concerns that the company could have an unfair advantage in licensing music for games because Vivendi owns Universal Music Group, but they were set aside because "competing game publishers would continue to have access to a sufficiently large portfolio of music rights from alternative suppliers."The lesson: Activision Blizzard is officially not a monopoly, thanks to EA. We could go into extreme detail weighing the pluses and negatives of the decision, but we've analyzed this merger plenty enough already. At some point, you just have to decide to sit back and see what happens.
PluggedIn launches HD music video portal
We've had plenty of TV shows hitting the web in high definition recently, now PluggedIn is bringing music videos. Its site, just launched in beta, uses the same Move plugin as ABC.com to push over 10,000 HD and broadcast quality videos from EMI, Sony BMG and other labels. We watched a few videos, and while we've usually gotten good results with ABC's web site, we couldn't seem to get the "HD" meter filled up so far. Whether its bandwidth issues or the videos we checked just weren't HD was unclear, but hopefully the site is updated so its easier to find what we're looking for. Still, audio quality was decent and the broadcast-quality video we did get was clear. For now, take a look and see if this lives up to the competition offered by the networks, Hulu, or even Youtube.
Adobe Media Player & Adobe TV officially launched
Since everyone else is launching a Flash-based video portal, Adobe itself is mixing things up with the AIR-powered Adobe TV. Via the new Adobe Media Player (AMP) 1.0 standalone app, users browse through assorted content from partners like CBS, Universal Music Group, Viacom, PBS or RSS feeds of video podcasts, while the Adobe TV channel itself focuses on how-to content for the company's various tools like Photoshop and Flash. AMP supports up to 1080p, however while ad-support TV content like The Hills and CSI: NY is disappointingly low-res, there are some HD online shows, but the bitrate's so low it's tough to tell if we're getting all the promised pixels. It's a lightweight download, check it out and see how it measures up to Hulu and the rest of the internet challengers.Read - Adobe TV press releaseRead - Adobe Media Player press release
Rock Vault brings heavy metal merchandising
Officially licensed merchandise for twelve bands can be found at the new Rock Vault in Second Life. Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot, Funeral for a Friend, HIM, Kings of Leon, The Ramones, Trivium, Iron Maiden, Bullet for my Valentine, Nickelback, Stone Sour, and Cradle of Filth are the bands represented, though not every one of them has inworld shirts to buy. Whether there are inworld shirts or not (the price for all of them seems to be about L$150) each kiosk links to an online merchandise site where you can order the physical article. Don't go to to sleep quite yet, though. There's something much more interesting about this place than just selling tee-shirts -- thank heavens!
Second Life content creators face genuine dilemmas
Content theft has always been something of an issue in Second Life, though there seems to be less of it going on in per capita terms than in the physical world. That said, it is interesting to see Second Life content creators increasingly moved towards positions maintained by music and movie publishers in the physical world. "Why would anyone walk into a store and spend 400 or 500 Linden on a dress, if they can get a dress of similar quality for free or very cheap from a reseller," asks Ziggy Quirk.
Nokia's Comes with Music service revenue to be shared with operators
Remember Nokia's Comes with Music (CWM) service? The service which includes a full year of free DRM'd music downloads with the purchase of a CWM cellphone. Up to this point, Nokia has refused to comment on the financial details of the service. Important since "free" is expected to be anything but free with those music costs tucked neatly into the price of the handset, the carrier's data plan, or both. In an interview published by Bloomberg, Tero Ojanpera, Nokia Executive VP, discussed CWM and says that, "In those cases where we cooperate with operators, there will be an arrangement so they can get a piece." Something previously hinted at by Nokia's CEO back in December. Still no word on who, beyond Universal, will offer their music on the new service or how much the new bundled handsets will cost. Ojanpera did repeat that CWM won't be available on existing Nokia devices. For its part, Universal says that DRM is a definite component of the service -- a possible deal-breaker if that DRM limits your CWM downloads to a single handset and PC for eternity.
