*MOG Secures $5 Million Funding Round…
Music blogging destination MOG has now secured a $5 million funding round, according to details confirmed by Digital Music News on Thursday. The infusion, led by Menlo Ventures, is slated to be officially announced this morning. Longtime backers Simon Equity Partners and Scott Jones are also participants in the round, and MOG now counts $12.5 million in aggregate financing.
The First Live-Broadcast Festival… On YouTube, That Is
And the latest YouTube sensation? It could be less grainy and far lengthier than the typical cam-clip. YouTube is now planning live coverage of the Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival in San Francisco, starting this Friday and continuing into the weekend. That means broadcast performances from Dave Matthews Band, Jason Mraz, Thievery Corporation, the Dead Weather, Silversun Pickups, Raphael [...]
Funding Mechanicals: Rightsflow Grabs the Latest Round…
The funding tap keeps-a-dripping for music-related startups, another sign of economic recovery. The latest beneficiary is New York-based Rightsflow, a company focused on managing the tricky terrain of mechanical licensing compliance and accounting. According to details tipped Wednesday, the company just rallied a $1.5 million, Series A round from Originate Ventures.
Bandwidth, San Francisco: Look Who’s Talking…
Northern California plays host to another Bandwidth Conference starting this afternoon, and plenty of familiar names are flocking to the event. The San Francisco-based confab generally attracts a modest-yet-savvy crowd of technology and music executives, often from the Bay Area.
Also Happening: BMI, Sony Music, Cherry Lane, Paula Abdul, UMGD, INgrooves, Wall Street…
*Performance rights group BMI posted a small, 0.4 percent revenue increase to $905 million during the most recent fiscal year (ending June 30th). Distributions also edged slightly upward to $788 million. The company pointed to incredibly difficult market conditions.
Not ‘Forever,’ But Chris Brown Gets Five Years Probation…
Chris Brown has now been saddled with five years of probation for beating his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. The sentence also includes a six-month community service requirement, and an order not to visit Rihanna at any point during the probationary period. During the proceedings, reports ofprevious violence emerged, though none as serious as the February, pre-Grammy attack.
Terrestrial Radio: This Is the Bad Time…
The battle over radio recording royalties on Capitol Hill pits two very distressed industries against one another. The recording industry is navigating a category-five digital disruption, and terrestrial radio has its own bundle of problems. According to second quarter figures surfacing Monday, US-based, terrestrial advertising across local and national accounts slumped a heavy 25 percent to $3.4 billion. Overall revenues [...]
Big Publishers Point Their Guns at Lyrics Sites…
Big publishers are now putting heavy pressure on a pair of lyrics destinations. Peermusic, Warner/Chappell and Bug Music, coordinated through the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), are suing LiveUniverse and Motive Force, LLC. Both use lyrics heavily within their services, a major concern for the plaintiff publishers. “These sites are profiting on the backs of songwriters,” said NMPA president and [...]
The JK Wedding Video, Part II: Can ‘Viral’ Be Manufactured?
The early wisdom is that viral stories must happen organically; they are the result of natural forces that defy marketing brains. But is that just another version of digital utopia, one that ignores the lemming-like traffic flows online? Or, more importantly, is it merely the less-intelligent talking point, one rejected by savvier marketing teams?