| Singles no. 1's |
| US |
Maroon 5 & Christina Aguilera
Moves Like Jagger |
| UK |
Sac Noel
Loca People |
| AU |
Gotye & Kimbra
Somebody That I Used To Know |
|
|
| 
|
|
| 15-08-00 |
Next week Napster must counter the Court’s decision to shutdown its service
The federal Court judge in the Napster lawsuit has released details of her decision ordering Napster to close down. Three weeks ago, the judge a preliminary injunction against the music swapping company that would have barred it from allowing any major-label songs to be traded through its service. That order was put on hold again by an appeals court, but that that decision is only temporary. Next week, Napster will submit its first legal papers laying out why it thinks the judge was wrong. Napster's defense against the lawsuit rests largely on the idea that downloading copyrighted songs for free isn't actually illegal. They claim a "fair use" for their members that rests on the contention that people using Napster are doing so for personal use, not for commercial benefit. However, the judge did not accept this argument last month. Given the large scale of Napster use among anonymous individuals, the court found that downloading and uploading MP3 music files with the
assistance of Napster, can not be classified as private uses. Moreover, the fact that Napster users get for free something they would ordinarily have to buy suggests that they obtain economic advantages from Napster use. The court’s conclusion, which says the record industry will suffer "irreparable harm" as a result of millions of downloads of their copyrighted songs on Napster, will now have to be countered, otherwise the injunction against Napster is likely to be reinstated. Napster's first court briefs addressing the judge’s decision are due at the end of next week. The plaintiff must respond by September 18, after which a court date will be scheduled. |
| 14-08-00 |
Former Underworld member releases solo album
Darren Emerson, the dj who quit Underworld earlier this year, is set to release a solo album next month in partnership with Welsh turntables wizard Sasha. The first single from the duo, titled “Scorchio,” will be released on September 11. The track was recorded in Sasha’s home studio. Meanwhile, Underworld have started up a new website at www.underworldonline.com.
New file-exchange program Aimster uses America Online's Instant Messenger application
By using Aimster, the 50 million users of America Online's Instant Messenger application could soon become a huge Napster-like file-sharing community. The application, developed by a group of programmers unrelated to AOL, allows users to search for and download MP3’s or other files on fellow users' hard drives using AOL's Instant Messenger infrastructure. Right now, Aimster users only can search or be searched by people who are on their IM "buddy lists," but that's likely to change soon, according to one of Aimster's creators. Since Aimster became available last week at www.aimster.com, more than 7,000 people have downloaded the software and 1,000 people were using the program simultaneously by last Thursday. It is said that Aimster was a logical extension of the Instant Messenger technology. Instant Messenger already allows users to communicate with each other, as well as swap files in one-on-one exchanges. |
| 12-08-00 |
MTVi Group rumoured to be shut down
Viacom is rumoured to shut down MTVi Group, an online music entertainment company with 22 websites worldwide. MTVi’s biggest holdings are MTV.com, VH1.com and SonicNet.com. The shutdown is said to be caused by current market conditions. Under a possible breakup, MTV.com would revert to its original parent company, MTV, and VH1.com would revert to VH1. |
| 11-08-00 |
Limp Bizkit and Wu-Tang Clan into cybercasting
Tonight's Napster-sponsored "Back To Basics" free tour, featuring Limp Bizkit and Cypress Hill, will be cybercast live via the www.hollywoodmusic.com website. The webcast will not only covers the live performances but will also contain interviews. Wu-Tang Clan's performance on Sunday in San Francisco will also be cybercast by www.broadcastamerica.com. |
| 10-08-00 |
AOL removes MP3 search engine
America Online's (AOL) Winamp division will remove a controversial MP3 search service, as the search service also calls up copyrighted songs. AOL spokesman Jim Whitney said the company is pulling the engine because it cannot quickly remove links to copyrighted works from it. The goal of the MP3 service was to add a search function to the Winamp site, but apparently there is no efficient process for sorting between legal and illegal MP3’s and until there is, the search function will be removed. |
| 08-08-00 |
US record companies accused of price-fixing
Twenty-eight US states filed suit against the world's five largest record labels, accusing them of fixing prices of compact discs and demanding unspecified damages. The suit centers on a policy called “minimum advertised pricing (MAP),” under which the labels subsidised advertising for retailers that agreed not to sell CD's below a minimum price determined by the labels. The suit alleges that the MAP policy increased CD prices in violation of state and federal antitrust law, kept CD prices artificially high, and penalised retailers who did not participate. The five labels are Warner Brothers music group; Sony Music Entertainment; Universal Music Group; BMG, and EMI Group. Also named as defendants were retailers MusicLand Stores, Tower Records and Trans World Entertainment. The labels say they started the MAP policy in an effort to help smaller music retailers compete with chains such as Wal-Mart Stores and Circuit City Stores. The labels say they received no financial gain from the
MAP policy. In an earlier settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission in May, the five labels agreed to ban the MAP policy for seven years. The settlement did not require the labels to pay any damages. Industry executives say CD prices have risen since the May settlement. |
| 04-08-00 |
Creation Record's Alan McGee launches internet company
Former head of Creation Records, Alan McGee will enter the London Stock Market next week with a new label that uses the internet to distribute music. The company will be valued $18.2 million on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market next Tuesday, with McGee keeping a 39 per cent stake in the firm. McGee surprised the music industry earlier this year when he announced he was leaving Creation to start an internet venture.
BMG to launch download service
BMG Entertainment will launch a commercial digital-download project in Germany, in association with Bertelsmann's Digital World Services and Lycos Europe. Details will be revealed Aug. 17 at the Popkomm trade fair in Cologne. BMG plans to go live commercially in the U.S. within the next few weeks as well, chief marketing officer and president of new technology Kevin Conroy has said. Rollouts elsewhere in Europe and in Asia are also in the works. Plans for the German project include making some 300 titles from German-targeted acts available at the site www.musicdownload24.de. Like Universal's new download program, tracks will use the Advanced Audio Coding format and the InterTrust security system. Tracks will initially be playable only on Lycos' Sonique media player, but others will likely be added. |
| 03-08-00 |
Prince speaks out on file-exchange through the internet
According to Prince, the current Napster versus music companies battle Napster is about the government protecting record companies. And anybody who steals from the record companies is going to get shut down. Although some people think Prince is siding with the major record labels in their fight against illegal downloads, he has said that he is not pro or contra Napster, but that his interest in the issue is that musicians should have the right to control their art, not the record companies.
Pearl Jam live bootlegs available online in September
Pearl Jam's official live bootleg series will be available for purchase online as of September 5 and will be in stores two weeks later. Twenty-five two-CD collections documenting individual concerts recently performed across Europe will be sold for $10.98 through the band's Ten Club (www.tenclub.net) site. |
| 02-08-00 |
MP3.com infringement damages lower than expected
In its copyright-infringement case, MP3.com was ruled that it will have to pay damages to the major record labels based on the number of infringing CD’s and not on the number of individual album tracks the company copied to create its My.MP3.com streaming-music database. A per-track ruling against MP3.com would have been a major financial blow, since damages could be as high as $150,000 per infringement. MP3.com, which was judged guilty of copyright infringement in April, has since settled with three of the five majors, but tens of thousands of CD’s from remaining plaintiffs Sony Music and Universal Music Group are still at issue. A trial to determine damages and whether the infringement was "willful" has been set for August 28 in New York. |
| 01-08-00 |
Universal starts to make its music available online this week
Universal Music Group, the world's largest record label, has announced that it will begin offering songs for sale in a digital format over the internet this week, with the help of encryption software. Universal, home artists like Shania Twain, Jay Z, and Sheryl Crow, will be the third of the five major labels to begin offering part of its catalog for sale in the digital format. Sony Music Entertainment was first to bring parts of its catalog online and earlier this month, EMI offered 100 albums for sale over the web. Another big major, BMG, is expected to start offering digital downloads this summer, while Time Warner is expected to make its move in the fourth quarter.
The Offspring says: "save Napster"
The Offspring is currently selling "Save Napster" T-shirts on its official website (www.offspring.com) for $10 a piece, with proceeds going to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The "Save Napster" shirt is part of a full line of Napster-related products available on www.offspring.com.
Online preview to new U2 songs
U2 is using its newly launched official website to preview songs of the new album. Clicking on a small red guitar in the site's "Green Room" launches a window allowing users to listen to about 45 seconds of "Beautiful Day," the first single from the band's as-yet-untitled album, due this fall. It was also announced that "Beautiful Day" will be the official song of German public service broadcaster ZDF's coverage of the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.
Madonna offers free downloadable remixes of new song
Madonna releases some new material via internet. Remixes of Madonna's new single "Music" will be available fromAugust 2 for free download at various websites. Mixmaster Hex Hector's treatment will be downloadable at www.sonicnet.com, while Groove Armada's mix will be posted to www.vh1.com, and Tracy Young's version will be available at www.mtv.com. A fourth version of the song, remixed by Deep Dish, will be made available at www.madonnamusic.com. The full album, also titled "Music," is due in stores September 19. |
| 31-07-00 |
Napster-variants traffic boosted after Napster court trouble
Faced with the potential closure of the Napster website, internet users have turned to Napster-like services.
Apparently, traffic to Scour.com's website rose 50 percent in the wake of last Wednesday's decision by a federal court judge to grant the injunction. Scour.com distributes Scour Exchange, a Napster-like utility that allows users to trade audio, video and photo files. Prior to the Wednesday's Napster hearing, the Scour Exchange network boasted an average of roughly 25,000 to 30,000 users logged on to its network at any one time. Also catching a major surge in traffic, was the Gnutella file-sharing network, which, unlike Scour Exchange and Napster, is decentralized; it is based solely on free software that individual users install on their own computers and does not use centralized servers. It seemingly, therefore, cannot be targeted in litigation. Gnutella.wego.com, which, according to Gnutellanet.net, was one of the first sites dedicated to the Gnutella file-sharing platform, was bombarded with traffic after the Napster decision, which caused it to go offline for several hours.
Meanwhile, Napster-like CuteMX decided to issue a self-imposed injunction; the company on Friday released a statement saying it was "restricting public access to its CuteMX service pending a review of further developments surrounding the preliminary ruling in the Napster case."
Napster traffic up due to court appearances
The controversy about website Napster has resulted in a phenomenal surge in traffic for the file-sharing service. Keynote Systems, who measure traffic on the internet, have reported a rush in traffic using Napster, thought to be an increase of around four to five times, since last week's court appearances.
Allen Tsai, a spokesman for the company, said although their audience may fall in the next few weeks, another court case would again push traffic. |
| 29-07-00 |
New Shampoo album available through internet only
Pop duo Shampoo are to release their third album in September. It will only be available over their website at www.shampoo.org.uk. The duo's new 11-track album is titled "Absolute Shampoo" and is available on their site from the start of next month. The album has been produced by Pete Wiggs and Bob Stanley of St Etienne. Shampoo are especially successful in Asia.
Napster website stays open
Napster has won its latest legal battle and will continue to stay in business. The 9th District U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco granted Napster a stay against the injunction that would have shut them down at 3 a.m. ET Saturday morning. Last Wednesday lawyers for the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) got an injunction against Napster in order to stop what they described as illegal downloads, and to fight a perception they said was forming among some users that taking music from the internet is legal. Napster's lawyers countered that if a recording is made, it doesn't mean that a copyright infringement has taken place. It was estimated during the case that 3.6 billion music downloads could take place in the six months that it would take the case to go to trial if an injunction was not issued against Napster.
MP3.com reaches settlement with EMI
EMI has reached a settlement agreement with MP3.com over its music streaming service. The two companies have also entered into a non-exclusive North American license for EMI-controlled recordings on My.MP3.com's "Beam-It" and "Instant Listening" software services, which allow users to upload copies of CD's they own into online lockers. |
|
Home/Archive
|
|
