The Latest Funding Round: Audible Magic, $1.28 Million…
Sidelined cash is increasingly coming into the game, and a number of music- and media-related companies are benefiting. That includes fingerprinting and identification firm Audible Magic, which recently rustled a $1.28 million round. The round first surfaced in an SEC filing, dredged by paidContent.
Muzak Still Has Something In-Store…
The recently-bankrupted Muzak is still in the background. The b2b provider of background music and related services is now introducing a handy device that allows easy in-store programming. What is it? The 11-ounce Encompass MV allows the retailer to easily program in-store music, announcements, or other content, all programmable from the internet.
Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: The Pirate Bay Distraction…
In 2000, the industry sued Napster. In 2009, it was the Pirate Bay. In between, it was zit-faced teenagers and clueless grandmothers. Oh, and a successful march all the way to the Supreme Court. Except, this was all a sideshow for a complete revolution in music consumption, discovery, and sharing.
MySpace Officially Confirms iLike Purchase…
MySpace is indeed buying iLike, according to official disclosures by MySpace chief executive Owen Van Natta delivered Wednesday morning. The deal price was not discussed, though something in the neighborhood of $20 million has been surmised. The deal includes various strings to keep top players in the newly-integrated company, specifically Ali and Hadi Partovi.
Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: The Buyout Blahs…
This is a tough time to sell things – houses, automobiles, music-related startups. The open secret is that the Partovi brothers have been aggressively looking for an exit for quite some time, even at a depressed valuation. The reasons vary depending on the source, though one problem is that iLike is so closely tied to Facebook, regardless of attempts to [...]
Why Digital Is Less Green Than You May Think…
The erosion of the CD and a transition towards digital is better for the environment, for rather obvious reasons. All that polycarbonate plastic suddenly vanishes, as do the space-intensive retailers, fuel-chugging trucks, and footprint-heavy factories that comprise the delivery chain. But digital also consumes resources, making the shift towards downloading, streaming, and portability a bit less green than many think.
The iLike Buyout… More Details On a Not-So-Grand Exit
More details are now surfacing on the expected buyout of iLike by MySpace, perhaps a less exciting tale for flatter times. The top-line valuation was initially pegged at $20 million by TechCrunch, and now, the Wall Street Journal has spliced that figure into a payment to stakeholder Ticketmaster ($8 million) and retention packages ($6 million) for various employees including founders [...]
Death of Auto-Play: Why MySpace Music Is Suddenly So Quiet…
On-demand streaming may be free to the fan, but it still costs the provider lots of cash. Of course, streaming costs are nothing like they once were, but massive volumes still translate into massive overhead. On top of that, royalties must be paid every time a song is played, a structure that (still) threatens to dig a ditch for higher-trafficked [...]
The Plight of Traditional Retail: Hastings Posts Latest Losses…
Most traditional music retailers have smartly diversified into related areas like DVDs, games, books, consumer electronics, merchandise, and even cafes. But a sharp and continued dive in CDs, a long-lasting recession, and sudden declines in once-stable areas like games and DVDs are making profitability a challenge.