snapshot 8/29/07

Nokia wades into new music services
Nokia, the world's top mobile phone maker, unveiled on Wednesday a new online music store, new top-end handsets and a global gaming service as it takes on recent rival U.S. rival Apple (AAPL.O). Nokia said it would roll out its own music store in key European markets later this year, with songs selling for 1 euro ($1.36) each.


News Corp and NBC Universal name video site Hulu
News Corp. and NBC Universal said on Wednesday they have named their new online video joint venture Hulu. The two media companies said the site will be available for private trials by consumers by October - a month later than originally planned.


MySpace.com to host nationwide concert tour
In a move that further shapes its image as an MTV-like pop-culture hub as well as a social network, News Corp.'s MySpace.com has announced that it will be sponsoring a concert tour this fall. Appropriately called the MySpace Music Tour, the series of shows will kick off October 16 in Seattle and will host more than 30 performances before winding down in Las Vegas around Thanksgiving.


Speculation: The Beatles on iTunes Sept. 5
Yesterday afternoon, Apple e-mailed out press invitations to a "special event" to be held next Wednesday in San Francisco's Moscone Center, and ever since speculation has been mounting that this will be the day that Steve Jobs announces that The Beatles -- the best-selling musical act of all time, at least in the U.S. -- have finally come to the iTunes Music Store.


EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Speakerheart CEO Jozef Nuyens
Recently PassAlong Networks spun off its Speakerheart division which enables download transactions for indie and D.I.Y. artists. From Snocap to Sonific to Musicane and beyond, Speakerheart has plenty of competition, so we asked CEO Jozef Nuyens what sets his offering apart.


Talking CD case spruces up those mundane disc gifts
As if singing cards weren't zany enough, along comes a product that takes the idea one step further. Pre-vu's talking CD case enables customers to cram burnt home videos or any other optical disc into an enclosure that actually plays back up to sixty seconds of pre-recorded chatter.


PMP/MP3 Market Tracker - Q3 2007
In 2006, the worldwide broadband digital music market grew to $1.56 billion in revenues, with a 77% vs. 23% split between downloads and subscriptions. Growth in both segments will continue to be strong through 2010, although the music downloads will expand more rapidly than subscriptions. While market growth will slow gradually from 2006 to 2008, iSuppli expects a small resurgence of growth resulting from greater broadband connectivity... View Abstract [ pdf ]


iJigg, Digg for music, growing despite competition
iJigg is what it sounds like: A social media ranking site like Digg, but for finding great music. The site’s front page features the most popular tracks and newest tracks from other users, that you can listen to with a click of a button without having to sign up. If you register, you can vote on your favorite tracks, upload your own music files — currently only mp3 files — comment on what you’re listening to, edit your profile and friend other users. Those who upload tracks can choose to let others download them for free.

iJigg has had more than 12 million pageviews so far this month, and more than 250,000 tracks are being listened to on an average day, it claims. More than 130,000 people have registered with around 1,700 more joining per day. Not bad, considering the site launched this past January and was still very small when we first talked to the company in April.