Think that Spotify is the only thing buzzing in mobile music?  Not quite.  Universal Music Group, Orange UK, and Channel 4 are now joining forces on an unconventional mobile music offering in Britain.  Instead of a mobile-screen menu and an exhaustive song selection, the ‘Monkey’ service will allow Orange pay-as-you-go customers to dial up playlists and stream music over the wireless network.  Another partner is mobile advertising specialist Blyk, and Channel 4 will curate the playlists as part of its broader 4Music brand. (more…)

Perhaps the phrase ‘direct-to-fan’ has been a bit overused, though bands are well-advised to establish tight fan relationships.  Indeed, that is a major focal point for a number of startups, whether Polyphonic, ReverbNation, or TopSpin.

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What happens when albums get smartly bundled with interactive extras, instead of positioned as one-off, flat downloads?  Good question for a recording industry still reeling from the implosion of its once-prized physical bundle, the CD-based album.  But according to a report surfacing Sunday in the Financial Times, Apple and the majors are discussing the possibility of offering interactive album bundles within an upcoming, touch-sensitive tablet device. (more…)

In February, a funny thing happened.  Not only did EMI Music sue Seeqpod, they also sued Ryan Sit, just one of several developers using the Seeqpod API to create a variant app.  In a nutshell, Sit’s ‘Favtape’ was a software mash-up that combined elements of Seeqpod, Last.fm, and Pandora using available APIs.  Seeqpod was used for its decentralized, web-based music search, and Favtape outsourced the functionality. (more…)

The dashboard is the most critical piece of turf for terrestrial radio, though other forms of portability remain important.  This week, Best Buy and Insignia joined forces to introduce the first portable, HD-compatible receiver. (more…)