snapshot 9/11/07

NewsCorp won't pull videos from iTunes
News Corp has no plans to pull its television shows from iTunes like NBC Universal, but echoed the media industry's calls for Apple to offer more flexible pricing, a top executive said in an interview on Tuesday.


Classic rock songs take on modern form
But dig deeper and you'll find classic-rock chestnuts from as far back as three decades, including Journey's Don't Stop Believin' and Lynyrd Skynyrd's Free Bird, a sign that baby boomers' love for the music of their youth goes on and on and on and on, no matter how modern the medium.

"When you see some of these older songs there, it is a reminder to you that it isn't just kids who are buying downloads," says Billboard's director of charts, Geoff Mayfield. "It is something adults are getting into, too."


Re-authorizing your computer for Ringtones
You authorized your computer to your iTunes account long, long ago. So why don't your iTunes Ringtones sync to your iPhone? Turns out that you're going to have to reauthorize your computer to allow it to use ringtones. Yes, not only do you have to sign a new terms of service to buy that ringtone but you also have to add a separate authorization.


Apple unleashes iPhone ringtones feature via iTunes (first look)
Once you've purchased a participating song from iTunes, including previously purchased participating songs, it costs 99 cents to make up to a 30-second segment of that song into a ringtone and then sync it onto your iPhone.But when the service went live early Tuesday morning, tracks from many of the music industry's biggest names -- such as Dave Matthews, Jay-Z, U2, Black Eyed Peas and 50 Cent -- were not available for the ringtone feature. Albums from other artists were similarly fragmented in terms of which tracks could be used with the service. For instance, a 14-track "Greatest Hits" album from punk rock band The Offspring revealed 10 songs that could be made into iPhone ringtones. However, the 4 omitted tracks comprised the group's most popular singles, including "Self Esteem" and "Come Out and Play."


Music makers introduce hybrid, multimedia CDs
DISC DELIGHTS: For many people today, "home base" for music is their computer. It's where they shop, swap and download tunes. And it's also where they increasingly listen -- perhaps on one of those better, after-market computer speaker setups that offer upgraded performance at a reasonable ($50 to $300) price. To court this crowd, the music industry isn't just making more of its catalog available online. This season, music labels are also introducing two new hybrid, multimedia-oriented disc formats. These offer extra value for computer-centric consumers who might still be tempted to buy packaged media.

GOING DIZZY: Just out from the Disney organization's Hollywood Records label is the first CDVU+ disc, a self-titled album from the teen-rocking trio the Jonas Brothers. Put the product (pronounced "CD view plus") in a conventional CD spinner and the disc plays normally. But insert it in a computer to open a variety of sight and sound enhancements.

WARNER'S TAKE: Seeing DVD rather than CD as the packaged music media choice, Warner Music Group has been pushing a variety of DVD-based multimedia solutions like DVD-Audio and flipper DVD/CD hybrid discs.


Napster Quietly Buries Free, Ad-Supported Initiative
Napster has quietly buried its free, ad-supported initiative, and shifted its emphasis towards paid platforms. In May of last year, Napster unwrapped its free streaming service at napster.com, and padded the offering with advertisements. "With a vision to empower music fans in a legal environment, with an open, all-inclusive platform, we are very excited to share our new free music experience at Napster.com," said Napster chief executive Chris Gorog during the unveiling.

But the offering has since disappeared from napster.com, where users can only access the paid platform. In response to inquiries, Napster told Digital Music News that the free service is now offered through free.napster.com, though this alternate address has not been linked from the main napster.com page. In fact, the shift towards the less-prominent free.napster.com happened in May of this year with little fanfare.


Report: Price Cut Bumped iPhone Sales Three-Fold
Piper Jaffray's Gene Munster, whose 50-hour survey of Apple (AAPL) stores produced the most definitive estimate of iPhone sales to date, has combined his data with yesterday's report that Apple sold its 1 millionth iPhone on Sunday to calculate the effect of last week's 33% price cut.

By Munster's reckoning, Apple and AT&T (T) were selling an average of 9,000 iPhones a day before the price reduction, which would have put their quarterly sales at 594,000 as of Sept. 5. The two companies had already sold 270,000 phones in the previous quarter. To reach 1 million by Sept. 9, they would have had to sell 136,000 more phones, or 27,000 a day -- a 200% increase.


Taking On The iPod
SanDisk, the Milpitas, Calif., maker of flash memory and USB drives, has managed to accomplish what technology giants like Sony, Samsung and Microsoft failed to do: snare a sizable chunk of the U.S. market for portable digital media players.

And while Apple's iPod accounted for 71% of U.S. unit sales during the first six months of this year, according to NPD Group, down from 76% during the same period last year, SanDisk was a very distant, but still impressive, second, with 10%, share, up from 9% a year earlier.


Apple TV May Be Updated to Include iTunes Music Store
Mac Rumors is reporting that the next Apple TV update will probably let you access the iTunes Store direct from your armchair, without having to go via your computer. Loop Rumors is also corroborating the buzz, saying it's going to happen soon.


Applying the People Meter to the musical future
Last week, The Wall Street Journal had a story about Arbitron's People Meter, a new portable device that helps the radio ratings measurement company determine the exact amount of time a user spends listening to particular radio stations. Radio stations insert an inaudible signal that only the device picks up, and testers are supposed to carry the devices at all times, so regardless of where they listen (work, home, car, grocery store), the People Meter knows. This is more accurate than the old way of asking radio listeners to record their habits in a paper diary--users tended not to record every station change or stations they heard inadvertently.

In Philadelphia, one of the first two markets where the People Meter is being used, it's finding that users listen to more radio than was previously thought, switch stations more often, and listen to more classic rock and less urban contemporary. (Although the latter point may be because many younger users aren't carrying the meters as much as Arbitron expected--a problem that's caused the company to offer refunds if it can't meet promised sample sizes.)


Universal Music Sketches Subscription Concept, Details Emerge
The more comprehensive subscription plan, called TotalMusic, would require buy-in from ISPs and mobile access providers. According to numerous executives familiar with the plan, it would also force opt-in among existing ISP subscribers, a structure that automatically bumps monthly access charges in exchange for a subscription-based music plan. Just last week, a Universal Music representative confirmed the initiative, but declined to offer any details.

But one source within the label did offer more information, and noted that TotalMusic is just one of several concepts currently being sketched. Meanwhile, a source within the mobile industry expressed grave doubts about the future of the initiative, and pointed to a plan that has been circulating unsuccessfully for months.


iTunes search now auto completes
It looks like Apple has unleashed another new iTunes feature tonight, in addition to ringtones. Now when you search the iTunes Store using iTunes 7.4.1 (haven't tried it in an older version) the search offers up some auto complete options.


Rhapsody America Offers Mixed Format Landscape
hapsody America sparked its consumer campaign at the VMAs on Monday, the beginning of a broader splash ahead. But format specifics are mostly in flux at the destination, thanks to a gradual DRM-free dip by major labels. Currently, Rhapsody is offering a portion of the Universal Music Group catalog DRM-free, part of a larger experiment by the label. But Rhapsody has yet to incorporate DRM-free tracks from EMI, and it remains unclear when that catalog will surface.

In a conversation Tuesday, a Rhapsody representative declined to discuss specifics on EMI, though a broader push away from protected formats is definitely underway. "We definitely look forward to offering DRM-free songs for download purchase from every label," the representative said.


Web Stores Tap Product Reviews
Retailers have long admired Web pioneer Amazon.com Inc.'s product reviews -- in which consumers rate books and other products -- for the way they help persuade shoppers to make online purchases.

As online shopping matures, retailers are turning their attention to building consumer loyalty, which they hope translates into higher sales. Product ratings and reviews -- particularly when they are written by consumers, whom prospective buyers appear to trust -- are a useful tool to meeting that goal. Merchants say ratings and reviews boost sales, increase customer satisfaction, and reduce returns.


When it comes to music fans, iLike faces Myspace
ILike, by far the most popular music application on Facebook, has started overtaking MySpace in sheer number of fans registered for some top music artists.
The young Seattle company is being coy on specifics, but consider this: Artists like Nickelback, Modest Mouse and Kayne West now have many more fans/friends on iLike than they do on the giant network MySpace. Name an artist, and there’s almost a 50-50 chance they’ll be more popular on iLike.