From thinking they don’t need licensing deals, to “aggressively courting” the big record labels, Amazon’s change of heart on the Cloud Player storing/streaming issue will likely cost them dear. After all, it’s not like the labels will be responding nicely to their calls, after effectively setting up a streaming service to rival their own (in Sony Music’s case, anyway.) More »
Not only has it destroyed the music business, but “it’s going to destroy the movie business” too. Obviously the aging rocker has a new album he’s pimping out (and headlines he’s trying to grab), but the atomic bomb? Really, Mellencamp? [Reuters]
Selling individual tracks online is not the only thing Pink Floyd has been raging against recently. The band has removed several albums from iTunes, Amazon, et al, due to EMI’s contract expiring at the end of June. More »
Just how much moolah do musicians earn from online downloads and streams? For the artist to earn the US minimum wage ($1160/month), they need 12,339 iTunes downloads or 849,817 streams on Rhapsody. More »
The number of major record labels seems set to drop to a mere three, as EMI has failed to make a deal for North American distribution rights with either Universal or Sony. More »
It’s a lousy time to be a record label. Profits are tanking, bands are angry – OK Go just ditched EMI – and YouTube and BitTorrent changed the game. Still, some labels are transforming themselves to help musicians in the digital age. More »
There is nothing about this old Dead Kennedys cassette single I don’t love. [SB1 via HypeMachine]
Warner Music, one of the four largest record labels, is upset with just how free their music is online, and they’re not talking about piracy: They’re worried about legit, ad-supported services like Last.fm, Spotify and Pandora. Uh oh. More »
Bonooooooorrrrlllllllll! I know you are a rock star and a defender of the planet and I really like Joshua Tree and Rattle & Hum and even Zooropa, but come on, “reverse Robin Hood”? You’re so wrong. More »
