| 31-12-00 |
Music piracy targeted by technology group
A group of technology companies is creating a set of industry standards that should put digital piracy protections directly into disk drives as soon as this summer. The plans will initially affect removable or portable data storage, such as Zip drives or Flash memory cards used in MP3 players. But the standards must ultimately serve as a way to keep consumers from copying copyrighted files directly onto their hard drives. |
| 27-12-00 |
Napster releases software update
Napster has released an updated version of its software that makes it easier to find specific songs and bands. The release is proof that development is continuing, even as it awaits the outcome of a federal court case that threatens to shut down the service almost in its entirety. The updated software gives a small indication of what Napster's developers are doing as they work toward creating a new subscription-based service with German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The software upgrade offers some new features, including a "Boolean minus sign," which people can use to exclude certain items from their searches. |
| 24-12-00 |
Music publishers and songwriters file petition over web royalties
In the battle over payment for music distributed over the internet, the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA) and the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA) have filed a petition with the US Copyright Office, seeking to establish royalty rates for online recordings. The songwriters and publishers have asked that a distinction be drawn between music that is streamed for temporary use, like a Net radio broadcast, and music that is downloaded and stored by consumers. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) filed its petition with the Copyright Office earlier already and urged the Copyright Office to step in and conduct a rulemaking proceeding.
MP3.com and Warner Music sign licensing deal
MP3.com has entered a video and audio licensing agreement with Warner Music Group, the record label owned by Time Warner. The deal will allow MP3.com to feature videos and recordings of Warner Music artists on its website. The label in return will receive technical services from MP3.com, such as online artist promotion.
Napster file-exchange reaches 1.76 billion in November
Napster use has increased considerably in the past several months, reaching 1.76 billion songs being swapped in November. Napster has hit a wall in terms of server capacity, because it is set to become a subscription business under a pending deal with Bertelsmann and therefore has avoided adding new servers, because it expects to lose some users when it becomes a fee-based utility. November's numbers compare to 1.72 billion songs were traded using Napster in October and 1.39 billion Napster MP3 files exchanged in September. |
| 20-12-00 |
MP3.com gets sued by EMusic.com
MP3.com is being sued by online music retailer EMusic.com. Emusic.com says that MP3.com violated the copyrights of the independent record labels that EMusic represents. EMusic claims MP3.com has included songs from independent record labels on its streaming audio service, MyMP3.com, without first securing a licence from the labels.
Brian Wilson makes Christmas song available online
Ex-Beach Boy Brian Wilson has written a holiday song and posted it on his website. Wilson recorded the song with his touring band on December 9 and posted it at www.brianwilson.com. The song is titled "On Christmas Day" and is Wilson's first new recording since 1998. |
| 16-12-00 |
Virgin limits online sales efforts
Virgin Megastores will limit its e-commerce effort, because it has yet to see sufficient sales to justify online spending. Beginning early next year, Virgin will use its web site primarily to foot traffic to its real stores. The retailer will require shoppers at www.virginmega.com to order via phone or email, rather than by adding items to an online shopping cart. For November, Virgin had only 160,000 unique visitors, compared to CDnow's 8.2 million and 26 million at Amazon, who account for about 30% of online music sales. |
| 15-12-00 |
MP3.com to launch wireless service early next year
MP3.com has developed ways for users to play digital music files on their wireless devices. MP3.com has announced that it will unveil its next generation of digital services early next year. The company is planning to put emphasis on the wireless capabilities of its new My.MP3 services. A preview of what will be presented as the new My.MP3 event on January 4th was offered this fall when MP3 launched a service allowing online music listeners to send their favorite tunes to wireless devices. MP3 believes that wireless delivery will play an important role in the company's future as wireless services are rolled out and service providers seek multimedia applications that take advantage of high-speed bandwidth. |
| 14-12-00 |
CenterSpan obtains Scour assets
CenterSpan Communications Corp. Has obtained the assets of file-sharing company Scour for $9 million in cash and stock in a Federal Bankruptcy Court. In October, Scour filed for bankruptcy. Rival bidder Listen.com had offered $5.5 million in cash and more than 1 million shares of privately held stock for Scour's assets. CenterSpan will launch a secured and licensed file-swapping technology called C-Star during the first quarter of next year, which will now incorporate elements of the disabled Scour Exchange.
Riffage and iCAST terminate services
The digital music site Riffage, a competitor of MP3.com, has terminated its service. Members of the site were sent e-mails last week saying that the service was terminated: Riffage is not the only digital music site that has stopped. iCAST, a webradio struggling for the last several months to find funds, has also shut down.
Licensing deal Musicbank with EMI
Musicbank has signed a licensing agreement with record company EMI, that allows the online music company to use the label's music as part a service that allows users to store music digitally and access it via their computer. The deal means that Musicbank now has licensing deals with all five of the world's largest record labels. Under the terms of the agreement, Musicbank will pay EMI a fee each time a disc is registered and another fee every time the music is accessed. |
| 13-12-00 |
Tommy Boy Music signs deal with PlayJ
Tommy Boy Music has signed a deal with PlayJ, an advertiser-supported provider of digital downloads. The deal provides promotional tracks from Tommy Boys acts like Everlast, De La Soul, Amber, Capone-N-Noreaga and Jocelyn Enriquez. PlayJ is currently distributing an exclusive digital track, "I Can't Move," from Everlast's current album "Eat At Whitey's." PlayJ offers free downloads that display advertising material as tracks are played. |
| 10-12-00 |
Universal sued by music publishers and songwriters
Universal Music Group has rejected a lawsuit against it by publishers representing several legendary songwriters, saying that its www.farmclub.com music website has followed proper licensing procedures. In their suit, the writers and publishers claim that Universal copied hundreds of sound recording tracks embodying their copyrighted works and then streamed them onto the web. |
| 09-12-00 |
Rage Against The Machine fans blocked from Napster
Rage Against The Machine fans have been blocked from the file-sharing service after downloading tracks from the band's latest album. The Rage fans were redirected to a web page that alleged copyright infringement necessitated the action, as requested by the copyright holder, in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). Rage were equally surprised, as they had not requested this action. |
| 08-12-00 |
Four Tops make preview of Christmas songs available online
A preview of three songs of the Four Tops' holiday album "Christmas Here With You" have been made available online. All three are collaborations with Aretha Franklin. The previews can be found at www.harmoniepark.com. The recordings were the last Lawrence Payton made with the band before his death in June 1997. The Tops are also finishing work on a new studio album with producer Norman Whitfield. |
| 07-12-00 |
MP3.com re-opens file-exchange service
MP3.com has re-opened its MyMP3.com locker service, which can store 500 CD’s in a personal account. Users can put 25 CD’s in their accounts for free; after that, they are charged $50 per year. Stored CD’s from past accounts will not work. This time around labels and the NMPA will receive one-time per-track royalty fees plus streaming royalties. |
| 06-12-00 |
U2’s Bono to appear in internet movie
U2 frontman Bono will be starring in a short movie, entitled "Sightings of Bono," which can be viewed online at www.allirelandmusic.com. The seven-minute movie was filmed on location in U2's hometown of Dublin, Ireland, in September 1999, when the band worked on its album “All That You Can't Leave Behind.” |
| 05-12-00 |
Snoop Dogg Christmas song available online
Snoop Dogg has recorded a Christmas song that has been made available online. The track is titled “How We Kick It on X-mas,” and is available for free at www.westside2real.com. It is not known whether Snoop Dogg consented to its internet release as although he recently recorded a few Christmas songs, he did not plan to release any of them commercially this year. |
| 04-12-00 |
Beastie Boys and Sonic Foundry collaborate in online promotional remix contest
Audio software manufacturer Sonic Foundry and the Beastie`s record label Grand Royal are running a new promotion that will allow to remix their new single. On Grand Royal's website you will find loops and tracks from the Beastie's new single “Alive.” |
| 03-12-00 |
Ozzy Osbourne loses first round in lawsuit against MCY
A US court has denied a request by Ozzy Osbourne for a temporary restraining order against MCY barring the company from showing the Ozzfest 2000 pay-per-view show online. Ozzy Osbourne, together with Pantera, Godsmack, Disturbed, Static-X, Methods Of Mayhem, Soulfly, Kittie and Slaves On Dope, sued MCY for copyright infringement for airing an Ozzfest as a pay-per-view special.
Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters makes album preview available online
Former Pink Floyd bassist Roger Waters' live album "In the Flesh" has made album preview available on his own website, www.roger-waters.com. Waters has put up the album's art and graphics and 30 second sound samples of all tracks. The live albim combines Pink Floyd favorites with Waters solo material, including one new song, titled "Each Small Candle." |
| 02-12-00 |
Artists get compensated for webcasts
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has established a new online royalty payment program to collect performance fees for music webcasts. The program entitled Sound Exchange will be the first organization to allow copyright holders to collect royalty payments from non-intercative internet webcasts. Get more information at www.soundexchange.com. |
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