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Europe approves Universal - EMI merger, cements the dominance of the 'big three'
The European Union has signed off on Universal's $1.9 billion purchase of EMI music, provided that it sells off two-thirds of the fallen giant's assets to comply with competition regulations. The most notable jewel on the auction block is label Parlophone, home of the early Beatles records, Pink Floyd, Radiohead and Kylie. Chiefs added the conditions in the hope of preventing the new mega-corporation from gaining too much market share, but given that Sony (which bought EMI's publishing arm) and Warner Music are its only real competitors -- it's sealed the trio as the only guests at the top table of the music industry, problematic for anyone looking to found an iTunes or Spotify rival and doesn't fancy playing by their rules.
Apple gets cozy with EMI, Universal, and Sony over cloud music licensing (updated)
Ah, so it's all coming together now. Following a report on Warner Music inking a cloud streaming deal with Apple, CNET is back with fresh information that sees three more major record companies jumping on board. Citing "multiple music industry sources," we're told that EMI is the latest addition to Apple's cloud music portfolio, while Universal and Sony are close to sealing the deal to permit this rumored iCloud service. If true, such endorsement will no doubt add pressure on Google and Amazon over their cheeky, license-free cloud streaming offerings -- not a bad way to fend off competition, though it's not clear how much money's involved. Guess we'll know more at WWDC next month. Update: Bloomberg is citing multiple source who claim that Sony has inked a deal with Apple leaving only Universal to play coy. Two sources claim that Apple's cloud music service won't require users to upload their music.
The Beatles catalog being released on limited edition USB stick
You know what's kind of like online digital distribution, and yet not at all like that? Selling the entire re-mastered Beatles catalog on a USB drive that slots into a fake apple. The fine folks at Apple Corps Ltd. and EMI Music have teamed up to build a limited edition run of 30,000 USB apples to be sold on December 7 in the UK and December 8 in freedom-loving America. Included on the 16GB drive are the 14 stereo titles in FLAC 44.1 Khz 24-bit, in addition to 320 Kbps MP3s and a whole digital stack of special materials like liner notes and mini-documentary films, all for the low, low price of $279.99. The drive is up for pre-order as of now, which means you could be a mere month away from plugging this drive into your computer, dragging the files into your iTunes library and then pretending that you bought them online in some sort of forward-looking content distribution model.
Slacker inks deals with major, indie labels
It's been a tick since we've heard any peeps from Slacker, but today it announced that it not only inked a deal with a few "top indie labels," but it managed to sign up the likes of EMI, Universal Music Group, and Warner Music Group, too. Additionally, "as part of the agreement, Slacker listeners can transfer their personalized stations to Slacker Portable Players with a single click and automatically refresh them via WiFi or USB." On the independent front, IODA, The Orchard, Beggars Group and Matador Records, IRIS, Ubiquity Records and Sanctuary Group PLC are all signed on, further broadening the amount of content available to, well, Slackers. So if your ears are in need of some variety, head on over to the firm's website to try out the (freshly expanded) Slacker Personal Radio beta.Read - Slacker Finalizes Deals With Major Labels Read - Slacker Inks Deals with Top Indie Labels
EMI Music starts selling DRM-free music
Remember how we told you that Sony had hinted that "DRM would become less important" just a few days ago? Well, it appears that Stan Glasgow's quip wasn't just empty rhetoric. Late last night the wires lit up with reports that EMI Music has begun selling music tracks sans DRM for a buck apiece from Yahoo's online music service, becoming one of the few major labels to take the plunge into unrestricted territory. Of course, Sony dabbled with DRM-free tunes this past summer by releasing a song by Jessica Simpson, and Disney released an entire album by Jesse McCartney -- so consider these baby steps, folks. Meanwhile, if you want DRM-free music from the iTunes Store, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way.[Thanks, aneet]
EMI Music UK offers paid video downloads on small site
The record label, EMI Music UK, has recently announced their efforts to bring their music videos to PSP owners through a fairly small site, psp-playlist.com. "PSP owners are substantial in number and content hungry," said Graeme Rogan, commercial manager of digital media for EMI Music UK, speaking to GI.biz.The videos cost 1.89, and don't appear to use any DRM encryption of any kind. Considering how amateur the site looks, I highly doubt that this will really take off. [Via DCemu]
