snapshot 10/15/07

Universal Music Takes on iTunes
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/10/12/universal-to-launch-online-music-store/
The world's most powerful music executive aims to join forces with other record companies to launch an industry-owned subscription service. BusinessWeek has learned that Morris has already enlisted Sony BMG Music Entertainment as a potential partner and is talking to Warner Music Group. Together the three would control about 75% of the music sold in the U.S. Besides competing head-on with Apple Inc.'s (AAPL ) music store, Morris and his allies hope to move digital music beyond the iPod-iTunes universe by nurturing the likes of Microsoft's Zune media player and Sony's PlayStation and by working with the wireless carriers. The service, which is one of several initiatives the music majors are considering to help reverse sliding sales, will be called Total Music.


Digital deal nudging music into living rooms
The company has teamed with TiVo to bring subscription-based on-demand streaming music into the living room directly from Internet-connected TiVo digital video recorders.

The deal immediately puts Rhapsody in front of 1.5 million owners of broadband-connected TiVos and lets them experience the service using a TiVo interface with which they are already familiar. About half of these people regularly use the various broadband applications that TiVo makes available to them, such as the ability to download movies from Amazon's UnBox service. While movies and music can be accessed from a PC, there is a pressing need to access such content directly from devices more specifically built for entertainment content.


Led Zeppelin to sell music online
From November 13, Led Zeppelin, which disbanded in 1980 following the death of drummer John Bonham, will make its albums available for download from all online music retailers. The group will also release "Mothership," a two-CD collection spanning the group's 12-year career and a remixed version of "The Song Remains the Same" soundtrack from the band's three-night stint at Madison Square Garden in 1973.


Eagles take off with first album since 1979
In this exclusive interview, Glenn Frey takes Billboard through the making of "Long Road Out of Eden," the Eagles' first studio album since 1979. "Eden" is due October 30, exclusively via Wal-Mart stores.


Snocap cuts staff
Snocap Inc., which developed technology for buying music downloads on MySpace.com, said Friday it has cut its work force by nearly half so it can focus on a strategy to sell the company. The cuts pared down the San Francisco-based company's staff from 57 employees to 26.


$0.99 DRM-free tracks appear on iTunes
The iTunes Store is currently offering select DRM-free iTunes Plus songs for $0.99, 30 cents less than the standard price of $1.29. Music from Flight of the Conchords and The Perishers are among the $0.99 iTunes Plus offerings. At the moment, it is unclear whether this lower price is indicative of a move by Apple to reduce the price on all iTunes Plus tracks, bringing them closer to the pricing offered by the newly-launched Amazon MP3 store. iLounge has contacted Apple about this issue and will update this article if we receive any additional information


5 Free iTunes Tracks For Being A Facebook Friend
How much is your friendship worth? Ticketmaster apparently thinks its worth 5 tracks on iTunes. Join their Ticketmaster Live group on Facebook and they’ll give you 5 downloads for free.


Radiohead: 1.3 Mil Downloads! (But Big Music Not Dead)
Reports are trickling in on the initial results of Radiohead's pay-what-you-like-for-our-music experiment: We hear the current totals are 1.3 million downloads since "In Rainbows" went on "sale" Wednesday.


Online digital marketplace Zipidee launches public beta, raises funding
Zipidee, a company that lets you sell digital information through an online marketplace, is launching its public beta service tomorrow.

The service is targeting musicians, videographers, researchers or anyone else with digital information — that people are willing to pay for. Sellers create accounts with Zipidee, upload and display their digital goods on the Zipidee home site, or in a Zipidee widget on their own site. Buyers make direct online purchases through the Zipidee system. The company offers its own DRM service, which it sees as being most useful for providers of educational materials, and other niche information. Our previous coverage here.


New Zunes to fall short on battery versus iPod
Microsoft's new Zunes have been tested and should have the same audio performance as their equivalent iPod models but run lower in terms of video, according to an update from Zune marketer Cesar Menendez. Both the Zune 4 and Zune 8 flash players will manage up to 24 hours of continuous music playback using 128Kbps Windows Media files, but a shorter four hours of video with 500Kbps Windows Media videos versus the five of an iPod nano playing H.264 clips at the same resolution.


With 6,500 labels under contract, Beatport.com is conquering the world
Beatport.com charges up to three times more than iTunes for a song. The tracks, mostly music you've never heard, take longer to download. And no, you can't buy the new Faith Hill album. No matter: Denver-based Beatport is still one of the hottest new music-download sites in the world, supplying dance clubs, DJs and music fans in 130 countries.


Dying DRM Means More Freedom for Music Fans
Essentially, DRM could give way to DIY, with users maintaining, streaming and sharing their own music catalogs. Software developers -- unencumbered by current DRM restrictions -- will be more than happy to help. If the trend away from DRM continues, subscription services will be forced to focus on online radio and figure out a way to incorporate users' own collections into their offerings. Meanwhile, music fans can look forward to a flood of new next-generation music applications once developers are able to take advantage of a stable, DRM-free music landscape.