snapshot 11/20/07

Sony BMG, Yahoo ink online video deal
Sony BMG Music Entertainment has inked a licensing deal with Yahoo Inc. that clears the way for people to upload files with music or video content by the record company's artists to Yahoo, the companies said Tuesday. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Like similar deals, the agreement calls for Sony BMG to receive a cut of advertising revenue, Yahoo said. The deal also covers the distribution of music videos via Yahoo player applications and widgets that computer users can place on other Web sites.


MySpace to Move Into Ad-Supported Music
Next March, fans of punk band Pennywise can go to stores to buy the group's ninth album. Or they can go to the MySpace profile of Textango, a mobile music distributor, and add it as a friend, which will allow them to download the entire album for free. The promotion is the first test by MySpace of whether it can marry its enormous reach, fledgling record label it began two years ago and roster of advertiser relationships to create an alternative for bands to the current distribution model, which nearly all participants agree is faltering.


Jupiter Echoes Negative Sentiments on Recorded Music
JupiterResearch projected ramping digital music sales in its latest report, but outlined a mostly negative fate for the broader recording industry. The company predicted healthy US-based digital sales increases to revenues of $3.4 billion over the next five years. But that represents just a fraction of projected lost revenues from CDs, already in a tailspin. "The music download business will serve as an alternative, but not a replacement to CDs," explained David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch.

The finding is unsurprising, and mostly echoes the math of other researchers and executives. Of course, the trend represents a major problem for major recording labels, which are still struggling to pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat. Part of the problem, according to Jupiter, is that only a fraction of music fans are warming to digital music downloads. And promising concepts like subscription-based platforms may have difficulty pushing past niche audiences. "For the foreseeable future, on-demand subscription services will appeal primarily to niche audiences among music aficionados," the report predicts.


"Purple Violets" debuts first on iTunes
The contemporary comedy-drama "Purple Violets" this morning became the first feature film to premiere exclusively on iTunes. Purple Violets tells the romantic tale of two successful college friends who, now professionals in their 30s, meet up with the women they loved and lost in school. The film is available via the iTunes Store for $12.99 as a 1.15GB download in widescreen format. The movie is available only from Apple's iTunes Store this month.


Rhapsody and Haier Go PC-Free with Ibiza Wi-Fi Music Player
Today Rhapsody and Haier launched the Ibiza Wi-Fi music player, which lets you download Rhapsody tracks via Wi-Fi without connecting to a PC first. This is really good news for Rhapsody users, until now there was no true portable device for managing tracks, though Apple, Microsoft and SanDisk (with Yahoo) have launched similar products.

First, there's a $330 unit available in four colors, with 30GB hard drive and Bluetooth for wireless headphones and A2DP streaming. It will also have an FM radio and "custom skinning" for a personalized UI. Next up, in the "near future" will be a $230 4GB flash-based model, and a $250 8GB one. Neither of those will have Bluetooth. Prices don't include Rhapsody portable subscription, which at last check was $15 per month. In addition to browsing all of Rhapsody's content, you can pick up free AOL Video clips, subscribe to podcasts directly from the device, and update firmware without going to a PC.


SpiralFrog: Q3 Losses of $3.4 Million; Looking to Raise Up to $25 Million
Ad-supported music startup SpiralFrog isn’t a public company, but it files financial data with the SEC per an agreement with investors. Its latest 10-QSB filing shows the company lost $3.4 million in Q3 on a revenue trickle of $20,400. The balance sheet reveals that the company has just $2.3 million in cash right now, and a total stockholder’s deficit of $6.2 million. Among its liabilities are $10.8 million in senior notes and $2.4 million in accrued minimum royalty payments. Obviously the company is in need of more cash, and the filing does say it plans to raise up to $25 million at some point in the next 12 months.


Southern Comfort Spins Rhapsody Downloads, Party Tricks
Southern Comfort is now inviting fans to upload party tricks, and offering Rhapsody downloads to participants. The giveaway, which started earlier this month, involves a total of 50,000 downloads. That action is happening online at the SoCo Night Institute (soconightinstitute.com), a tongue-in-cheek academy that features user-uploaded video instructions on how to create concoctions, serve after-party snacks, and perform party tricks. Each submission is rewarded with a free Rhapsody download, and if the video is accepted into the "nightlife skills curriculum," a total of 10 downloads are offered.


Met Opera releases on-demand operas
The Metropolitan Opera and Rhapsody launched an on-demand digital music service Tuesday in which 100 operas from 1937-2006 are available for purchase. A Rhapsody Unlimited subscription is $12.99 per month and prices for individual tracks vary, the Met said.


Microsoft plans digital content future, dreams of unified services
Already, Xbox Live and the Zune Marketplace use the same back-end software and servers, despite being very different and separate networks. Allard believes that this separation will start to fade away in the future. He sees a network where consumers can rent or buy music, games, videos, or movies, and play them either on their home entertainment center, portable media player, or mobile phone, without having to patch together different video capturing and transcoding software.


Can DVDs find holiday spirit?
As if a strike and shaky economy weren't enough, Hollywood has another reason to worry: Its sacred cash cow, homevideo, is showing serious signs of further slowdown. Studios were hopeful that a record summer box office would translate into robust homevid sales this fall, but DVD sales of "Spider-Man 3," "Ratatouille" and "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" have fallen short of industry expectations. Only "Transformers" has been a homevid hit, but the biz is still holding out hope for eight $100 million-plus grossers that have yet to debut, including "Pirates of the Caribbean 3," "Superbad," "The Simpsons Movie" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."