Friday, July 28, 2006

$100 million dollars

No its not Dr Evil ...
Kazaa has agreed to pay $100 mln in music industry settlement

Content Industries and Sharman Networks Settle All Global Litigation
SYDNEY – Sharman Networks Ltd. announced today that an historic turning point has been reached for both technology and content industries...
SYDNEY – Sharman Networks Ltd. announced today that an historic turning point has been reached for both technology and content industries with the global settlement of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc, et al., v. Grokster, Ltd and the Universal Music Australia Pty Ltd & Ors v. Sharman License Holdings Ltd & Ors copyright cases.
The global settlement of all legal disputes between Sharman, which owns and distributes the Kazaa peer-to-peer (P2P) software application, and the major entertainment content providers and trade groups, clears the way to enable distribution of the broadest range of licensed content over Kazaa.
full release : http://www.sharmannetworks.com/content/view/full/321/

Monday, July 24, 2006

Microsoft's Zune

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)

Microsoft is entering the music and entertainment arena with competition to the Apple iPod with Zune. Zune will be available at the end of 2006 Microsoft tells the industry-
Zune , both a hardware and software product line , in combiantion with MSN Music give Microsoft a growing presense in the ever changing music industry.

Monday, July 10, 2006

Lyric jeans- Music and denim industries converge

While doing some research today, I ran across a small company with big ambitons in the music/clothing industry
Lyric Jeans, Inc. (Other OTCPK:LYJN)
according to their recent press release :
"Lyric Jeans is a music driven premium clothing line involving lyrical content on jeans, denim wear and accessories. Each pair of jeans reflects the personality, style and flare of the artist and song through its design. With the vision of fusing the world of music with fashion, Lyric Jeans employs a cutting-edge design strategy allowing consumers to express themselves stylishly through song lyrics. Lyric Jeans recently announced licensing deals with Warner/Chappell Music and Universal Music Publishing Group. The company's manufacturing partner is American Garment Sewing, one of the leading U.S. companies in premium denim production."

more info - http://www.lyricjeans.com/

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

The Recording Industry Association of America VS. XM Satellite

The Recording Industry Association of America
http://www.riaa.com/ is suing XM Satellite Radio for “massive wholesale infringement" because of Inno, a $400 iPod-like product that lets XM listeners to record up to 50 hours of music and automatically parses recordings by song and artist.The "Inno," which is manufactured by Japan's Pioneer Corporation, is sold by XM under the slogan, "Hear it, click it, save it."The lawsuit seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied by XM Satellite customers using "Inno"

XM Satellite intends to fight the lawsuit vigorously and said the labels are using the court systems as way to influence business negotiations.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Apple - profit increases 41% on iPod sales

Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL) announced earnings of $410 million, 47 cents , up from $290 million,34 centsfrom the previous year, with sales of its iPod portable music players continuing to increase .
Profit increased 41% with sales of its iPod portable music players contributing . For the fiscal second quarter ending April 1 over 8.5 million iPod portable digital music players were shipped.

Saturday, April 15, 2006

The Doobie Brothers -Great 70's rock

Tonight I went and heard the Doobie Brothers http://www.doobiebros.com/ live in concert and it brought back memories from when I was 16- 17 (yes I am that old). Great music stays embedded in your memory, in your cells and comes to life when triggered. I guess it’s like an MP3 file download always ready to play.

A room full of old rockers like myself all became young again as the music rebooted cell after cell. We all forgot how old we were for two hours and that we have teenage kids at home . One fan yelled enthusiastically- "You are the greatest rock band of all time”. They were definitely one of the best of my time.

I never got to see them live when I was 17, but in some strange way I came full circle tonight. As much as technology improves and impresses us, nothing can take the place of a live musician on stage playing to your heart, your soul, embedding themselves into your personal history.

Oh , oh, oh -
Listen to the music....

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Free MP3's of New Young Musical Artists Creating New Original Sounds from Pop/Folk to Alternative Rock

Free MP3's of New Young Musical Artists Creating New Original Sounds from Pop/Folk to Alternative Rock
Munch Music Delta, B.C. http://www.rockandrolldream.com a digital recording studio and music centre has added new recording artists and MP3 downloads for avid music fans searching for new, raw musical talent. The young artists featured all write their own music and create original sounds and lyrics. Munch Music is excited about a new artist that walked in and recently completed a demo, Chelsea Patricia Ganeff, musically comparable to the next "Jann Arden" or "Jewel". The online site Chelsea Patricia Ganeff's single "Walk Away" click here: http://www.rockandrolldream.com/downloads_CPG.htm "Chemical Dream" consists of John Simpson on guitar, Alex Won on guitar, Doug Bourks on bass and Connor McIlvenna on percussion. The Dream's music is a very hooky mixture of riff based classic rock with melodic guitar melodies. Sample "Rock Song" single from Chemical Dream click here: http://www.mymunchmusic.com/downloads_ChemicalDream.htm Taylor Van Zant's alternative rock band is called "Van Paul and the Forever Red". The band consists of Max Konyi on piano and guitar, Patrick Snape on guitar and bass, Nate Konyi on drums, and Taylor Van Zant on bass, vocals, and rhythm guitar. "Van Paul and the Forever Red" has been together for one year and play in a variety of styles, including: classic and modern rock. Sample "And Air" single from Van Paul and the Forever Reds: http://www.mymunchmusic.com/downloads_VPFReds.htm Munch Music: Founded by 16 Year old artist Taylor Van Zant

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

The Temptations , Otis Williams

March 18th in Vegas I had the extreme pleasure of seeing the only living original member of The Temptations, Otis Williams , perform. The Temptations and the Four Tops put on a show to remember. To see Otis dance and sing to a level of excellence that would exhaust a 20 year old was amazing. I brought my 17 year old son, who is an avid music fan, with me and he had no idea all the songs they sang were the Temptations songs. I told him he was seeing a musical legend in front of him.
Mr. Williams- we salute you!
http://www.otiswilliams.net/

Friday, March 24, 2006

Post Music industry news and articles

Leading Investor and Industry Destination for Music Industry Now Offers Online Article Submission and Press Release Services

InvestorIdeas.com™ offers a new feature for freelance journalists and industry experts to contribute Music Industry content to be considered for posting on http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/MIS/ and for companies to upload their news releases to take advantage of a targeted industry audience.

Post Music Industry Articles: http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/NewsUploader/Submit_Article/

To Upload Music Industry Specific News Releases:http://www.musicindustrystocks.com/NewsUploader/

Thursday, March 23, 2006

the new "iPhone."

iPod fans may now have a new choice with the recent buzz that Apple is working on a a new cell phone that is capable of playing music and fielding calls .The new "iPhone" as it is called is being sourced with potential Taiwanese contract manufacturers

Friday, March 17, 2006

Xbox 360 and Epic Records will showcase 12 up-and-coming artists through the Artist of the Month

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT : Microsoft Corporation) & Epic Records announced an agreement to offer a full year of exclusive artist content and music video downloads free for all Xbox 360(TM) gamers. Over the next year, Xbox 360 and Epic Records will showcase 12 up-and-coming artists through the Artist of the Month program through the Xbox Live(R) service, a unified global online entertainment network. Millions of Xbox Live members can enter a monthly sweepstakes with a prize of gaming against some of the hottest musicians through the Xbox Live Game with Fame(TM) program.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Music Industry and the Justice Department

Just as the industry has been buzzing about online music sales growth- now comes the bad news- music companies are the subject of the scrutiny of the U.S. Justice Department for possible collusion in the setting of prices for online downloading.

Digitial music in Canada

Following stats that showed Canada was lagging in participation in the booming music download industry - news on a deal that may accelerate that growth came out. Bell Canada announced it has acquired a Majority Interest in Puretracks, Canada's Premiere Online Digital Music Service.
The company said in its press release - "By investing in Puretracks, Bell is better positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for online digital entertainment among Canadian consumers," said Charlotte Burke, Senior Vice president, Bell Canada Consumer Internet Services. "Working closely with Puretracks and their leading music industry partners will reinforce Bell's proven track record of offering original and exclusive online content."
www.puretracks.com

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Digital Music Conference - The Who's Who

Music Industry's 6th Annual Digital Music Forum and Mobile Music Leadership Summit (www.digitalmusicforum.com) being held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City on Tuesday, February 28 through Wednesday, March 1, 2006 participants include record labels, music publishers, producers and distributors, technology companies, wireless companies, rights organizations, industry bodies, radio, advertising, attorneys, artists, investors and venture capitalists.

The conference will discuss the role of digital and mobile technologies in the future of music with
topics to be discussed being :
-- Mobile Music –- Metrics, Predictions, Provocations and Analysis &
Mobile Music Leadership Roundtable
-- The State of the Online & Mobile Music Markets: How are record labels
(major and independent), music and mobile companies, telephone carriers and
technology providers positioning their businesses to take advantage of
opportunities in the digital music market?
-- The Growth of The Indie Sector: The role of the Internet, mobile and
digital technologies in the recent success of the independent sector
-- Reaction to RIAA Lawsuits
-- Selling Music to the College Market: The Challenge to Convert Students
Into Paying Customers
-- The MySpace Phenomenon
-- Digital Commerce Opportunities for the Music Industry
-- What are the likely catalysts to creating a vibrant digital music
market?
-- The Future of Radio: What are the "killer apps" that are changing
traditional radio?

Monday, February 13, 2006

Amazon and Google enter music sector

The buzz in the Music industry - apparently industry executives have confirmed they are in discussions with Amazon and Google to create new music services to compete against Apple's share of the digital music market

Friday, February 10, 2006

American Idol draws larger audience than Grammys

28.3 million people watched "American Idol" Wednesday, versus the Grammy Awards with 15.1 viewers. Apparently it was the least-watched Grammy Awards in Nielsen records dating back to the 1970s.

Does that say the music fans are more interested in new emerging talent versus the mainstream?

American Idol plays to the hopes and dreams of the average person, while the Grammy's are a venue for elite, established successful performers dressed in designer clothes .

Maybe it is a statement of the current state of the music industry

Thursday, February 09, 2006

future music industry trends

According to research issued by http://www.strategyanalytics.net/ North American conventional music will remain dominant between 2005 and 2010, but revenues from this channel will decline slightly from $11.4 billion to $11.0 billion. Online music will be the biggest gainer, with revenues more than doubling in the five-year window.

On another note...

Loved the Grammys seeing my two favorite men- Bruce and Bono . I personally would have liked to have seen Bruce win best song with "Devils and Dust" . I think its his best album to date and I have loved his work from the beginning

Saturday, February 04, 2006

Even Prince offers MP3's

The digital music age is changing everything and artists and industry change or goes the way of the dinosaur. Prince has seen the light and is offering Mp3’s to compete with the new age of emerging talent that understands the power of MP3's online and going mobile
Another big trend going back to the roots of music sales -" singles" - where music lover can buy one song for $0.99 instead of whole CD

Monday, January 30, 2006

mobile viewers can now watch the latest music videos

SmartVideo Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: SMVD) announced mobile viewers can now watch the latest music videos on all Internet enabled devices, such as cellphones, PDAs, and laptops connected via cellular, Wi-Fi, and DSL networks. SmartVideo in partnership with the Digital Music Video Network (DMVN), today launched its groundbreaking, advertising-supported channels featuring videos by the music industry's top artists. A unique feature of this service is SmartVideo's use of an advanced Digital Rights Management (DRM) system that protects the copyright and security of the music.

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Wal-Mart Soundcheck

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. http://www.walmart.com (WMT) has launched an online music video and audio service featuring exclusive studio performances as part of their market strategy for the music industry

Called "Wal-Mart Soundcheck", the new service includes studio performances and interviews with new and established artisits and bands ranging from rock, pop, punk, country, hip-hop and R&B

The artist's music will play for free on http://www.walmart.com as well as television screens in the Wal-Mart electronics departments. . Acts will be updated monthly.
This should draw in the demographics of the MTV audience and the music fans that search online as part of the explosive trend for free or alternative music