Close Your Eyes, and Imagine a Comprehensive Global Rights Database…
So, who benefits from a complicated, fractured rights database that takes years to effectively license? The answer is any company that helps its clients navigate the mess! For everyone else, the byzantine map of overlapping rights is just bad news.
RealNetworks Got Fried on Rhapsody. Will Mobile Prove Any Different?
The struggles of RealNetworks are well-documented, and the recent Rhapsody spinoff bodes poorly for upstarts like Spotify. Then again, most music companies, VCs, and entrepreneurs have been getting their asses kicked for the past ten years – though the rules (and resulting opportunities) are always getting reset. Now, the question is whether recently-minted RealNetworks CEO Bob Kimball has a chance [...]
The RIAA Responds: “Our Efforts Have Made a Real Difference…”
Digital Music News made few friends at the RIAA last month by publishing the organization’s entire 2008 IRS tax filings. The paperwork revealed a salary of more than $2 million for CEO Mitch Bainwol, and even a $300,000 annual take-home for the PR guy. But it also included details of gargantuan legal costs, including massive payouts to outside law firms [...]
How the Indies Saved Pandora…
Pandora pays a monstrous percentage of their revenues to SoundExchange for the use of recordings. That is, 60 percent according to the latest estimates from Pandora founder Tim Westergren. But this could have been a whole lot worse, and A2IM chief Rich Bengloff takes some of the credit for softening Congressionally-mandated rates to more reasonable levels. “We want parity with [...]
Exclusive: Motion to Freeze Limewire Assets Denied…
The RIAA will not be freezing Limewire assets after all, according to a judge’s order.
Breaking: Spotify’s US Label Discussions “Back to Square One…”
What was that about a launch in the fall? Spotify’s US-focused label negotiations appear to be going nowhere fast, according to information surfacing late Thursday.
Curating the Chaos: YouTube’s New Music Page…
YouTube can be a blessing and a curse for music fans, simply because endless music video selection also invites poor quality, redundancy, and chaos. Vevo has trimmed the weeds considerably, but YouTube took another healthy step forward this week. At youtube.com/music, fans can now find some lightly-curated content, as well as simple organization by views and genres.
Songtweak: What Really Turns a Listener On…
Lots of financial resources have been poured into recommendation startups, though this is still a riddle for entrepreneurs. Pandora has successfully approached the space with human reviewers and smaller artist lists, though a more brainier mindset continues. The latest comes from Songtweak, which is bubbling out of Georgia Tech’s College of Computing.
Exclusive: MySpace Music Not Paywalling Profile Streams…
MySpace Music is considering some serious changes to its business model, but don’t expect to pay for profile page streams anytime soon. “Our goal is not to alter our current experience,” MySpace Music chief Courtney Holt told the audience at New Music Seminar in New York on Tuesday.