Sprint to offer online shopping on cell phones
Sprint Nextel Corp customers can now use cell phones to shop for everything from shoes to televisions in a new service the No. 3 wireless company has launched to boost revenue.
The company said on Thursday it is providing a mobile Web portal for shoppers to compare prices or buy about 7 million products from 30 online retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Target Corp bluefly.com and shoes.com.
Yahoo to distribute music series through MTV: report
Yahoo Inc has agreed to distribute an online music performance series through a high-definition channel from Viacom Inc's MTV, the New York Post reported in its online edition on Thursday. The deal marks a rare instance in which material first designed for the Internet is coming to mainstream television, the report said. "Nissan Live Sets" comprises seven to eight songs from a featured artist, taped in high-definition in front of a live studio audience of about 300 fans, the report said.
Music Buyer 2.0 - More Of Them But They Each Spend A Lot Less
An analysis of combined data from the Bridge Ratings data and the US Census Bureau showed that despite the popular belief that fewer people are buying music; there is actually up-tick in the number of music fans. Its just that they are each spending a whole lot less.
Amazon's Kindle e-book reader and wireless service launching October 15?
Amazon's little secret that could -- the Kindle -- looks to have a solid launch date. October 15th is the day thanks to Les Echos' press release issued at the launch of their "e-paper" digital newspaper. Of course, it's all just a rumor at the moment but it certainly matches the timeline reported by the New York Times just last month.
Britney Bomb Stirs Online Records at MTV.com
The resulting traffic poured online for the footage, and landed at mtv.com for the replay. On Wednesday, MTV pointed to full-day, unique visitor volumes of 8.7 million the day after the awards. That is a one-day record for the destination and a fourfold increase over volumes from last year. Unsurprisingly, streaming video was the main attraction online. According to the data, mtv.com clocked 17.4 million streams the day after, a three-fold increase over last year and another record. The awards were first broadcast on Sunday evening.
Hispanic Retailer La Curacao Pushes Digital Music Store
Hispanic retail chain La Curacao is now pushing into digital music, and tapping MusicNet to power the play. Information on the tie-up surfaced Wednesday, though the store is not scheduled to launch until the end of this year. The store will be called Pasito Tunes, and lean heavily towards Hispanic artists. Like other MusicNet clients, Curacao will combine subscription and download elements, and allow access online or on-the-go. Focus genres will include Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Tex-Mex, Reggaeton, Bachata, Rancheras, Baladas, and Spanish pop, among others.
Are Technology Limits In MP3s and iPods Ruining Pop Music?
If it seems like you are listening to music more but enjoying it less, some people in the recording industry say they know why. They blame that iPod that you can't live without, along with all the compressed MP3 music files you've loaded on it.
Sprint Nextel Corp customers can now use cell phones to shop for everything from shoes to televisions in a new service the No. 3 wireless company has launched to boost revenue.
The company said on Thursday it is providing a mobile Web portal for shoppers to compare prices or buy about 7 million products from 30 online retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc, Target Corp bluefly.com and shoes.com.
Yahoo to distribute music series through MTV: report
Yahoo Inc has agreed to distribute an online music performance series through a high-definition channel from Viacom Inc's MTV, the New York Post reported in its online edition on Thursday. The deal marks a rare instance in which material first designed for the Internet is coming to mainstream television, the report said. "Nissan Live Sets" comprises seven to eight songs from a featured artist, taped in high-definition in front of a live studio audience of about 300 fans, the report said.
Music Buyer 2.0 - More Of Them But They Each Spend A Lot Less
An analysis of combined data from the Bridge Ratings data and the US Census Bureau showed that despite the popular belief that fewer people are buying music; there is actually up-tick in the number of music fans. Its just that they are each spending a whole lot less.
Amazon's Kindle e-book reader and wireless service launching October 15?
Amazon's little secret that could -- the Kindle -- looks to have a solid launch date. October 15th is the day thanks to Les Echos' press release issued at the launch of their "e-paper" digital newspaper. Of course, it's all just a rumor at the moment but it certainly matches the timeline reported by the New York Times just last month.
Britney Bomb Stirs Online Records at MTV.com
The resulting traffic poured online for the footage, and landed at mtv.com for the replay. On Wednesday, MTV pointed to full-day, unique visitor volumes of 8.7 million the day after the awards. That is a one-day record for the destination and a fourfold increase over volumes from last year. Unsurprisingly, streaming video was the main attraction online. According to the data, mtv.com clocked 17.4 million streams the day after, a three-fold increase over last year and another record. The awards were first broadcast on Sunday evening.
Hispanic Retailer La Curacao Pushes Digital Music Store
Hispanic retail chain La Curacao is now pushing into digital music, and tapping MusicNet to power the play. Information on the tie-up surfaced Wednesday, though the store is not scheduled to launch until the end of this year. The store will be called Pasito Tunes, and lean heavily towards Hispanic artists. Like other MusicNet clients, Curacao will combine subscription and download elements, and allow access online or on-the-go. Focus genres will include Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia, Tex-Mex, Reggaeton, Bachata, Rancheras, Baladas, and Spanish pop, among others.
Are Technology Limits In MP3s and iPods Ruining Pop Music?
If it seems like you are listening to music more but enjoying it less, some people in the recording industry say they know why. They blame that iPod that you can't live without, along with all the compressed MP3 music files you've loaded on it.
Those who work behind-the-mic in the music industry -- producers, engineers, mixers and the like -- say they increasingly assume their recordings will be heard as MP3s on an iPod music player. That combination is thus becoming the "reference platform" used as a test of how a track should sound. (Movie makers make much the same complaint when they see their filmed images in low-quality digital form.)
Amazon To Launch Music Service Next Week?
The much-anticipated music service from Amazon could go live as early as Tuesday, Billboard.biz has learned. The company has been testing the service internally for the last several weeks, and is presenting the results to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for final approval.
According to one well-placed source, his approval will mean an immediate launch on Tuesday. However it could be delayed for weeks if he is not satisfied. Additionally, Amazon has taken the unique step of selling music only in unprotected MP3 format. While this means that only tracks from EMI and certain releases from Universal Music Group, not to mention a number of independents, will be available, they also will work with the iPod. Warner Music Group and Sony BMG have not yet agreed to sell their music without DRM protection. Amazon also is planning a tiered pricing scheme that will sell new releases at one price, and older tracks at another. In all, the Amazon digital service will have four pricing tiers, which major labels find attractive.
iTunes users experience downloading issues
Many iTunes users are reporting a growing problem involving purchases from the iTunes Store. According to messages from iLounge readers and user reports on Apple’s support website, customers are purchasing, and paying for, songs that refuse to download. When users try to select “Check for Purchases”, they receive an error message stating “Unable to check for purchases. iTunes Store unavailable. Please try again later.” At least three separate threads on Apple’s Discussion Boards document the issues. The problem appears to be widespread, with similar issues being reported by users of the iTunes Store in Canada, the UK, Germany, Austria, and Finland, as well as the US. Apple has yet to make any official statement regarding the issue.
Apple iPod touch
It would also be nice if the WiFi store offered video purchases, too—it's currently music-only. And, yes, the earbuds still suck. But those are my only complaints—and they are minor. The relatively hefty $300 and $400 price tags for 8 and 16 GB, respectively, don't bug me either. Why? This is probably the best portable media player ever made.
Gracenote Acquires Musicphone Technology Platform and Extends Mobile Music Service to AT&T and Virgin Mobile USA
While consumers continue to enjoy music services on their mobile phones, they're increasingly using handsets to identify songs heard in restaurants, clubs or on their car stereo and then purchase ring tones, songs, wallpaper and other related content. Through the acquisition of Musicphone technology, Gracenote®, a decade-long leader in music identification, makes this capability available to all major mobile carriers and handset manufacturers.
New WinAmp targeted at iTunes?
AOL's next version of WinAmp is built to draw users away from iTunes, according to advance information supplied to Wired. Version 5.5 beta (link active by 4PM Eastern) will reportedly feature a look much closer to the Apple player to ease newcomers into the software while still allowing the skins and other customizable visual elements that have defined WinAmp since its release in the 1990s. It should also sync and manage music for iPods without requiring a plug-in, though like any non-Apple software the AOL jukebox won't play or transfer protected FairPlay songs due to Apple's access limits.
Some of iTunes' minor features will also be shared but with important enhancements, the WinAmp team noted. Similar to Orb, users will have access to their music or video catalogs through a web-based interface through an Internet connection, bypassing the local network restriction of Apple's Bonjour networking. A playlist sharing function should also allow users to send an e-mail or SMS text message that produces a customized stream. Other WinAmp-specific features will include automatic "scraping" of MP3 blogs to download linked songs and hotlinks to concert ticket purchases or videos aggregated through AOL's services.
A Baffling New Phenomenon: Customized Ringtones
"Pop song ringtones from T-Mobile and Sprint cost $2.50 apiece; from Verizon, $3. You don't get to customize them, choose the start and end points, adjust the looping and so on. Incredibly, after 90 days, every Sprint ringtone dies, and you have to pay another $2.50 if you want to keep it. Verizon's last only a year. Three bucks for a 30-second snippet that lasts a year—when you can buy the entire song online for $1 and own it forever? What am I missing here? How is a 30-second, time-limited excerpt worth three times as much as the full work forever? Does this not enter the heads of the people who are paying $5 billion a year?"
iTunes users experience downloading issues
Many iTunes users are reporting a growing problem involving purchases from the iTunes Store. According to messages from iLounge readers and user reports on Apple’s support website, customers are purchasing, and paying for, songs that refuse to download. When users try to select “Check for Purchases”, they receive an error message stating “Unable to check for purchases. iTunes Store unavailable. Please try again later.” At least three separate threads on Apple’s Discussion Boards document the issues. The problem appears to be widespread, with similar issues being reported by users of the iTunes Store in Canada, the UK, Germany, Austria, and Finland, as well as the US. Apple has yet to make any official statement regarding the issue.
Apple iPod touch
It would also be nice if the WiFi store offered video purchases, too—it's currently music-only. And, yes, the earbuds still suck. But those are my only complaints—and they are minor. The relatively hefty $300 and $400 price tags for 8 and 16 GB, respectively, don't bug me either. Why? This is probably the best portable media player ever made.
Gracenote Acquires Musicphone Technology Platform and Extends Mobile Music Service to AT&T and Virgin Mobile USA
While consumers continue to enjoy music services on their mobile phones, they're increasingly using handsets to identify songs heard in restaurants, clubs or on their car stereo and then purchase ring tones, songs, wallpaper and other related content. Through the acquisition of Musicphone technology, Gracenote®, a decade-long leader in music identification, makes this capability available to all major mobile carriers and handset manufacturers.
New WinAmp targeted at iTunes?
AOL's next version of WinAmp is built to draw users away from iTunes, according to advance information supplied to Wired. Version 5.5 beta (link active by 4PM Eastern) will reportedly feature a look much closer to the Apple player to ease newcomers into the software while still allowing the skins and other customizable visual elements that have defined WinAmp since its release in the 1990s. It should also sync and manage music for iPods without requiring a plug-in, though like any non-Apple software the AOL jukebox won't play or transfer protected FairPlay songs due to Apple's access limits.
Some of iTunes' minor features will also be shared but with important enhancements, the WinAmp team noted. Similar to Orb, users will have access to their music or video catalogs through a web-based interface through an Internet connection, bypassing the local network restriction of Apple's Bonjour networking. A playlist sharing function should also allow users to send an e-mail or SMS text message that produces a customized stream. Other WinAmp-specific features will include automatic "scraping" of MP3 blogs to download linked songs and hotlinks to concert ticket purchases or videos aggregated through AOL's services.
A Baffling New Phenomenon: Customized Ringtones
"Pop song ringtones from T-Mobile and Sprint cost $2.50 apiece; from Verizon, $3. You don't get to customize them, choose the start and end points, adjust the looping and so on. Incredibly, after 90 days, every Sprint ringtone dies, and you have to pay another $2.50 if you want to keep it. Verizon's last only a year. Three bucks for a 30-second snippet that lasts a year—when you can buy the entire song online for $1 and own it forever? What am I missing here? How is a 30-second, time-limited excerpt worth three times as much as the full work forever? Does this not enter the heads of the people who are paying $5 billion a year?"
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