Editor |
August 29th, 2008 |
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Internet users who downloaded podcasts to watch or listen to later increased from 12% to 19% since last year, according to a study by The Pew Internet and American Life Project. In early 2006, only 7% of Web users downloaded podcasts for later use. The study showed that 22% of [...]
Troubled online music retailer Napster (NSDQ: NAPS) has hired UBS (again) to explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. The news was made in a letter to shareholders, urging them not to vote for three outside activists, looking to get representation on the board. In the letter, the company notes [...]
Isn't this how the labels got in trouble to begin with? By making customers buy an entire, overpriced CD to get the single, the only track they wanted, oftentimes the only good track on the album?Pulling acts from iTunes is akin to winning the pennant but refusing to play in [...]
GigaOM |
August 28th, 2008 |
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I was talking to an executive at a major label the other day. We were talking about startups and he noted that they either sue these companies out of business or legitimize them out of business. That is not far from the truth. How many legitimate, standalone digital businesses can [...]
No, this isn't the big one, but nonetheless an important precedent: A federal judge in San Jose ruled today that video-sharing site Veoh was not liable for copyrighted material uploaded to its site, dismissing an early 2006 case filed against it by Io Group, an adult video firm. The site [...]
This has become the equivalent of first snowfall stories that local TV news stations do every year: this gripe against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iTunes has been trotted out every year for the last five years or so, and now WSJ spends tons of words to rehash it again, though with [...]
-- Hollywood classics unavailable for legal download, Blu-ray not coming soon: With the online availability of movies becoming more widespread, it's a wonder there aren't more classics that can be legally streamed or downloaded. Variety reports that of the 25 most successful movies at the U.S. box office, only five [...]
Filed under: Handsets, Features, RIM, Rogers Wireless, GSM, EDGE, HSDPA We've been waiting to get our smudgy digits on RIM's BlackBerry Bold seemingly since before the Earth's crust finished cooling, and finally, Canada's Rogers Wireless lent us a hand. In a few words, the screen is striking, size is actually [...]
Despite the rise of video-on-demand and targeted advertising, mass media is still a viable form and will likely remain so. But within mass media, only TV will continue to stand tall as radio and newspapers decline, says Rishad Tobaccowala, chief innovation officer at Publicis Groupe Media and CEO of Denuo, [...]
Back in the early days of Engadget, everyone -- including us -- thought mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) were totally poised to be the next big thing. And why not? You get to be a wireless carrier without having to operate your own infrastructure (which is by far the most [...]
GigaOM |
August 26th, 2008 |
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Muxtape, the online service that would allow you to create playlists and share tunes with your friend was recently shut down, much to the dismay of its fans. I found 8Tracks as a worthy follower. Now, OpenTape, an open source version of Muxtape has seen the light of the day. [...]
ABCNews.com's 15-minute webcast will not be scuttled, despite recent rumblings to that effect, THR reports. For the past two years, the webcast has been streamed live weekdays at 3 PM EDT and then available as a free podcast on iTunes. The podcast, which is hosted by ABC World News anchor [...]
GigaOM |
August 25th, 2008 |
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The fast-increasing number of storage drives on my desk jump-started a quest for a networked storage device that could: replace three drives (in other words, have 1 terabyte of disk storage), be quiet, be fast for easy backups and recovery, act as a repository for my iTunes library and, of [...]
Music 2.0 |
August 25th, 2008 |
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Recent actions by Apple in and related to China have highlighted a conflicted approach especially with regards to the music business namely that of Apple’s retail push of its iPod, and its Songs for Tibet album promotion initiative. Songs for Tibet on iTunes China-based consultant, David Wolf has written an [...]
Over the weekend, U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, who pulled out of the 2008 race for the Democrat's presidential slot when voters gave him the cold shoulder, moved back in as Barack Obama's choice. So where does he stand when it comes to tech policy? He didn't respond to the questions [...]
Filed under: Handsets, Nokia, ATT, GSM, EDGE Who knew that AT&T's customer base constituted an "emerging market"? Certainly not us, but Nokia's 2680 slide -- a phone Nokia itself said was targeted at so-called "replacement buyers" in emerging markets -- has just been spotted all up in the FCC's business [...]
We have added more top speakers to the lineup for our EconMusic conference, which will explore the emerging economics of the digital music business at London's Natural History Museum on September 23. New speakers are:- -- Tom Erskine, head of go-to-market, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) Music -- Tom McLennan, head of [...]
It's been in limbo for months but ESPN (NYSE: DIS) and MLBAM finally have extended their digital rights deal through 2013. The just-announced agreement covers a plethora of digital platforms, including the right to live stream games and other events like the Home Run Derby when ESPN has TV rights. [...]
Music 2.0 |
August 21st, 2008 |
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In a sudden announcement in Hong Kong yesterday, the majors revealed that it was pulling out of the IFPI in HK and they will be setting up a parallel organization to manage their rights. In a press conference yesterday attended by management representatives from Universal Music, Sony, Warner Music and [...]
Memo to self: When *Napster's* Q308 subscription numbers are released, remember the mid-August sale promotion offering 6 months for $70 instead of the usual $127—a discount of more than 45 percent—complete with 50 downloads of MP3s that can be kept. It's the kind of offer that can raise cash and [...]
Like clockwork, the Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) iTunes subscription music service rumors are cropping up, again, and three Apple sites—MacRumors, MacDailyNews, and The Unofficial Apple Weblog—are reporting that it will be launched in September. The rumors all came from the same source, it seems, and details are: "$129.99 stand-alone or $179.99 [...]
