Stream Wars have flared up again and the world of digital music is in turmoil. The recent round of streaming-bashing originated in a study by NPD group and NARM. Words were harsh “Spotify is detrimental to music purchasing”, the study says. In the words of the researchers, the new digital music climate makes it easier for consumers […]
Spotify closing in on the US It seems that a Spotify US release is imminent. For real this time. Multiple sources report that Spotify has signed a deal with Universal. Sony Music and EMI are both already onboard, and so only Warner remain and they too are rumoured to be close. Worth keeping in mind […]
Hello iCloud The big thing this week was of course the Apple WWDC and the official unveiling of the iCloud. Examined from a macro perspective it seems clear that Apple tries hard to stay true to the user centric approach that have made Apple what it is today. “It just works”, said Jobs repeatedly during […]
FaceSpot? Facebook and Spotify partner up – rumours say The story that caused the most buzz this week was the rumour that Spotify and Facebook are to launch a music service together. The origin of the rumour was a piece in Forbes written by Parmy Olsen. Olsen writes that the service “could be launched in […]
Apple closing in on the cloud Mashable reports that Apple has signed a licensing deal with EMI for their upcoming cloud music service. As Apple already has a deal in place with Warner, and rumours say that Sony and Universal are to be onboard soon, the music giant might just announce the launch of their […]
Spotify opens download store and syncs with your iPod. Spotify has been all over the digital music news this week, and for good reason. The most recent update to the platform is huge. Here’s a break down: A new a la carte download store – Built in-house, covering the whole Spotify catalogue Wireless syncing with […]
Photo by: Catherine Amazon cloud player now live Amazon left Apple and Google watching their tail lights as they released their Cloud Player this week (so far US only). The player, a straight up locker service, lets users upload their music library to the “cloud” and stream if from there to any device, be it […]
iTunes in the cloud this spring? Both The Music Void and Hypebot report that Apple is hoping to have their long awaited locker service in place in the same release package as the advertised MobileMe re-launch this April. Warner is supposed to be onboard, and UMG and EMI is expected to follow. Observers say that […]
DIY is a fine ambition but… David Dufresne of Bandzoogle organised a talk at SXSW and the description highlighted the nature of the DIY problem, misunderstood by so many. I think the sheer complexity of it all is too often forgotten. It’s probably wise to stay mindful of the challenges this brave new world poses, […]
Apple App rules upset the industry Apple introduced their new in-app subscription service this week, which have caused a lot of commotion in the industry. Basically, Apple says that if you want to charge users for subscriptions using the in-app service, you will have to give Apple a 30% cut. Apple still allows for developers […]
Moontoast – new music app for Facebook There is a new Facebook Music App in town. The slightly esoteric named app is called Moontoast, and promises that Facebook fans can listen, share and buy without leaving the site. Moontoast intend to survive by charging content owners 15% of the transaction. This reminds me of the […]
Labels threaten to leave Spotify There has been a lot of Spotify in the news this week. Naxos, one of the largest labels in the world in the field of classical music, and ECM – also a big player in the classical genre, as well as in jazz – both threaten to pull their catalogues […]
Rumors say MySpace will be killed soon MySpace has a relaunch coming up. But will this help? Observers say no. I for one truly think that MySpace is doomed. Should someone purchase this train wreck, they would need to rebuild so much of the damn thing that not much of the old MySpace would be […]
So I decided I might as well post a digest of my weekly info gathering here for your enjoyment. In a “real time” world, I do realize that when others post links daily, a weekly digest can seem slow and tired. Thing is, this is all that time permits right now. Focus, at least in the […]
