snapshot 12/11/07

Dave Matthews Band and Van Halen join ringtone rush
In recent weeks, two of the more high-profile acts that weren't selling their music as ringtones have given in. And in both cases, AT&T Mobility is involved. The operator scored exclusive access to a handful of Dave Matthews Band's ringtones made from live recordings, but will later include studio tracks. Van Halen, meanwhile, is making its most popular songs available as ringtones to all wireless operators, but agreed to give AT&T exclusive versions of those same songs for a limited time.

Why now? Industry sources suspect that with such supergroups as Led Zeppelin and even AC/DC finally getting into the ringtone game, those influenced by them see less of a barrier for doing so as well. AT&T director of music and personalization products Mark Nagel says the Dave Matthews deal was a result of simply communicating the demand.


NBC to provide TV shows for SanDisk service
Media conglomerate NBC Universal will offer television programming for a Web-based service from SanDisk Corp that lets viewers download shows from the Internet and play them on a TV set-top, the companies said on Tuesday.

New shows from NBC's broadcast network as well as its cable channels like USA and Bravo will be available on SanDisk's Fanfare service in January. They include hit comedy "The Office," supernatural thriller "Heroes" and sitcom "30 Rock."NBC said earlier this year that it would not renew a contract to sell TV shows on Apple Inc's iTunes, the most popular media download service.


Salsa star and Sony BMG sign innovative touring deal
In what represents a first for the Latin music industry, a major label -- Sony BMG -- will promote all performances by a major artist -- Puerto Rican salsa star Gilberto Santa Rosa.

The deal struck between Santa Rosa and Day 1, a talent development division of Sony BMG's Latin-American arm, marks a departure from the revenue-sharing model that other Latin labels have recently taken up with their artists. Where Universal Music Latino, for example, is involved in tour sponsorships for rock singer Juanes and gets a percentage of his touring revenue, Day 1 will also represent Santa Rosa in all his public performances, either directly or by working with independent promoters in specific markets.


RealNetworks lays off a hundred employees
Around a hundred employees at RealNetworks are dealing with the news that their job is no longer available, and about 35 of those positions were in Seattle, Washington while the others were in Asia / Europe. According to company spokesman Bill Hankes, the firm made cuts "across the board to reduce redundancies built up as a result of six acquisitions made over the past two years," and he also added that these were the "first layoffs the company has made since those purchases." As it stands, around 1,700 employees are left, and no further job cuts are "planned."


Napster CFO quits after three years of commuting
Napster CFO and VP Nand Gangwani will leave the company at the end of the year. The "personal reason" cited? A killer commute. "Mr. Gangwani has been commuting from his home in the Bay Area to Los Angeles for the last four years," the release reads. Hmm. Why are we more inclined to believe Gangwani's departure has more to do with Napster's three-year share-price tumble from $10 in 2003 to $2.36 at yesterday's close -- and that his commute showed he was never that committed to the company in the first place?


Vudu gets 'Bourne' the same day as DVD
In a major shift in movie distribution, a high-definition version of the hit "The Bourne Ultimatum" will be released through Vudu Inc.'s online service Tuesday -- the same day the DVD comes out. It is the first of many HD movies Vudu plans to deliver online at the same time DVDs become available.Owners of Vudu's set-top box, which costs $399, use a high-speed Internet connection to watch the movies they rent and to download the ones they buy.


Some Music Still Sells: Latest Gold & Platinum Album Certifications
Despite sales declines that could reach 15% in 2007, some music is still selling. After the jump you'll find the latest gold and platinum album certifications including some surprising older titles that keep on selling. Who knew people still cared about Anne Murray?


Snocap Aggressively Shopping Itself ... Any Takers?
Beleaguered digital music upstart Snocap is now looking for an exit door, and pitching itself to prospective buyers. On Monday, Snocap vice president of Marketing and Public Relations Bruce Taylor confirmed that the company is aggressively seeking acquisition prospects, and courting multiple possibilities. "There are several companies that we are having active discussions with," Taylor told Digital Music News, though the executive stopped short of offering specifics.
Meanwhile, a number of sources pointed to a hard closure at the end of January if a buyer is not found, though Taylor dismissed those claims as unfounded. "We are funded through the sale," Taylor said. The latest development follows a major downsizing at Snocap in October, and revelations of meager revenues from a MySpace ecommerce pact.


Maroon 5, Fergie among year's top sellers on iTunes
Maroon 5 and Fergie hold the top spots on iTunes' year-end sales roundup. The online music store released its top-selling albums and singles Tuesday, though they declined to release actual sales figures.

Maroon 5's sophomore album, "It Won't Be Soon Before Long," was the No. 1 seller on the site, followed by Amy Winehouse's "Back to Black" and Kanye West's "Graduation." Winehouse and West are also leaders heading into the 50th annual Grammy Awards - he has eight nominations, she has six. Rounding out the top five best-selling albums were "American Idol" alum Chris Daughtry's band's self-titled debut, "Daughtry," and "Coco" by newcomer Colbie Caillat, who has the hit "Bubbly." Fergie came in first and fifth place in single sales. Her hit "Big Girls Don't Cry" was the top-selling single of the year for iTunes, while "Glamorous" finished in fifth. Gwen Stefani's "The Sweet Escape" came in second place, followed by Plain White T's "Hey There Delilah" and Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend."


Amazon Invests in Bill Me Later
Buying stuff on Amazon is about to get even easier. The online retailer took an equity stake in a Maryland-based company called Bill Me Later that lets people shop now and pay later at more than 700 Websites, including the Apple Store, Overstock, Walmart.com, and ToysRus.com. Amazon will be offering the payment option as well.

The way Bill Me Later works is you enter your birth date and last four digits of your social security number online, and it does a credit check on you in three seconds to determine whether you are worth the risk. Bill Me Later pays the merchant, and sends you a bill. (It also powers PayPal’s Pay Later service). According to the Baltimore Sun, about 3 million people have signed up so far, and the company is on track to pull in over $100 million in revenues this year. It must have some really sophisticated algorithms to make that credit risk decision on the fly. For people still not comfortable using a credit card to pay online, this type of service removes any remaining friction in e-commerce. I wonder what its default rate is.


Digital kids grow up
Club Penguin, Webkinz, Starfall, and Facebook. They may sound like childish names, but these are some of the companies that proved in 2007 that kid's play online is serious business. Kids' lives seemed immersed in technology at every turn this year, whether it was Barbie morphing into an MP3 player or teens spending the summer at a high-tech camp.

Millions of kids cut their teeth on the Web this year. Little ones learned their ABCs on Starfall; tweens paid dues to play virtual house on Club Penguin and Webkinz; and high schoolers and older teens "Facebooked" each other as the hippest way to keep in touch.


XStreamHD to Take on VUDU with HD Movie Box
A new service that will fill a set-top box with high-definition, pre-downloaded movies will launch early next year, and the company will begin announcing content deals at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. The startup is XStreamHD, which will use existing satellite technology to download between roughly 30 to 280 movies, from standard-definition resolutions on up to 1080p.