snapshot 10/24-25sh/07

Slideshow Of 44 Music 2.0 Services


Ezmo promises legal music sharing
Today is the official U.S. launch of Ezmo, a Norwegian Web service that allows users to post and share their entire digital music collections through a simple Flash application

You can post music from any folder directly through the site, or you can download a small Uploader application that will automatically upload all the songs in your copy of iTunes or the Windows Media Player. Once your tunes are uploaded, you can return to Ezmo.com to stream any of your songs through the Flash-based Ezmo Player. You can also invite up to 10 friends from within the Player; your friends will receive an e-mail or IM with a link to the site and an invitation to register. Friendships are apparently two-way--they can listen to any music you post, and vice-versa.


Netflix Considering Distributing Movies Via Consoles, HD Disc Players and Set-Top Boxes
During its mostly positive Q3 earnings call, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings dropped word that "in terms of enabling the viewing of online content on the television screen, we are exploring a variety of options, including Internet connected, high definition DVD players, internet connected game consoles, and dedicated internet set tops, with a variety of partners, trying to understand the best ways to provide inexpensive viewing of online content on the television."


Danish record labels float flat ISP fee idea for unlimited P2P music
The Danish music business is now proposing a plan to offer unlimited music downloads for around 100 kroner a month (about $19), and although questions remain, it could represent a real step forward.


Will Widgets Finally Move the Personalization Needle?
According to JupiterResearch consumer surveys, awareness and usage was closer to zero than 10 percent only six to nine months ago. But now, 39 percent of online users are familiar with them, and 26 percent have used them. Over 40 percent of 18 to 24 year olds have used 'em, and they're six times as likely to get them from friends as they are to get them from companies. That has huge implications for your social media programming and marketing tactics.


Starz Vongo Hits Version 2.0 With PMP and Media Center Extender Support
Starz' PC subscription video service, Vongo, reaches version 2.0 today. On the mobile front, it now supports the Archos 405 and 605W, as well as Creative's Zen, Zen Vision:M and Zen Vision W. The software will also make streaming video to Media Center Extenders possible: it is compatible with the new lineup from Linksys, D-Link and Niveus that are soon to hit the market. (We'll add Vongo to our list of tests for those products.)

Vongo has also added new picture-in-picture resizing options for the desktop, and an updated user interface with improved personalized recommendations and better device management.


Groove Mobile and The Orchard Launch First-Ever Full Track, Off-Portal Over-the-Air Download in the U.S.
Groove Mobile, the world’s leading mobile music service provider, and The Orchard, a global leader of digital music, video and new media services, will release the first-ever full track, off-portal download available in the U.S. for free during CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment, Oct. 23-25 in San Francisco. The exclusive track, “Can’t Hold Back,” from ground-breaking hip-hop artist Aceyalone, will be available across multiple carriers for download by any user with a music-capable phone. After CTIA, the song can be downloaded for the purchase price of $1.99.

“This cross-carrier solution allows artists to get their music to as wide an audience as possible, while providing consumers with an incredibly easy-to-use interface,” said Adam Sexton, chief marketing officer for Groove Mobile. “By simply sending a text message, consumers can now buy the latest tracks from The Orchard, and download them directly to their mobile phones.”


Juanes has 6 million pre-CD downloads
Universal Music says he has sold more than 6 million digital songs — from legal Internet vendors and mobile phone downloads — from the CD before its Tuesday release.


Resnikoff's Parting Shot: The Negatives of iTunes Plus
Now, the strings are showing - and that means confusion and decreased consumer confidence. Instead of a simple download, consumers are suddenly aware of protections, compatibility, sound quality, and everything in-between.

Another snag comes from "Complete My Album," a once-simple feature that now gets swallowed into a more confusing experience. The concept initially allowed the user to purchase an album while receiving credit for album cuts already purchased. In the current context, if a protected track is now available in iTunes Plus, the user must first pay the additional 30-cents, then pay the remaining cost of the album.


Mixa Cassette Tape Flash Drive Provides Retro Fun
Magnetic North Interactive has unleashed the Mixa. a 1GB Flash USB drive housed inside a cassette tape shell. The Mixa acts like any other USB Flash drive, albeit a big bulky one, but that’s not where the fun ends.


Apple in a Fight for Rights to TV Shows
Warner Music Group, whose contract with Apple expires at year-end, is considering switching to a month-to-month deal with Apple, said a source with knowledge of the discussions who spoke on the condition of anonymity because no decision has been made. Universal also sells music videos to portals such as Yahoo.


Total Money Invested By Studios In Movielink: $148 Million; Revenues Stagnant
Not that a lot of people are interested in Movielink's fate anymore, after it got sold to Blockbuster earlier this year, but if you are from one of the five studios--MGM, Paramount, Sony, Universal and WB--that invested a total of about $148 million in five years, then you probably are. In an 8-K filed with SEC earlier today, BB disclosed the online movie services’ always precarious finances and revenues.

Its losses for the first half of this year were $10.18 million, compared to $11.62 million in the year-ago half. Revenues for this period this year were $1.98 million, compared to $1.91 million in H106. For full year 2006, revenues were $4 million, on total losses of about $22 million.


Jeff Bezos' First Words On Amazon MP3 Store
Bezos said he is "....very happy with the early results that we're seeing. We're getting terrific feedback from customers. Everybody loves the DRM free format, so selling MP3s is very successful for us...One of the things with our MP3 store is the way we look at it, the onus is on us to continue to convince music labels that this is a good way to sell their music. So we continue to work on that, but we're very happy with the way that it's going."


Grooveshark Back With 29 Cent Downloads Friday
Music sharing and download site Grooveshark is back for the second time this month with an amazing 29 cent DRM-free download sale starting tonight 10/24 at midnight and going for 24 hours until 11:59 Friday 10/25. There is a lot of hit and major label product available within Grooveshark’s catalog of 3 million songs.How do they do it and keep it legal? This time ClearVoice Surveys is paying the difference as part of a promotional campaign.