Music News Bulletin - 25/11/08

Datz Music Lounge
"I am a little late on this one. A couple of weeks ago Datz Music Lounge announced that it would be offering unlimited permanenet downloads in the UK for 99 GBP per year (approximately $155). Read more about the service here.

Datz offers a tremendous value proposition but it will never take off - just like subscription services will never be more than niche. The problem is a misunderstanding of consumer psychology." [AdSupportedMusic]

MySpace Music names president: Courtney Holt tapped to run music offshoot 25/11/08
"MySpace has found its top music man. News Corp.'s social-networking site has named Courtney Holt prexy of MySpace Music, the music offshoot it launched in September with the backing of all four of the biggest record companies.

Holt, who formerly served as exec VP of digital music for MTV Networks Music and Logo Group, takes the reins on Jan. 5. He will be responsible for overseeing the growth and development of the MySpace Music brand and will relocate to Los Angeles from Gotham to take the post." [Variety]

(Red) bows subscription music site: Service will raise money for the Global Fund Nov. 24, 2008
"(Red), the Bono-led organization that raises awareness and money to help eliminate AIDS in Africa, will launch a weekly subscription music service Monday. Launch of (Red) Wire at MSN.com, being held on World AIDS Day, will include world premiere songs and videos from Coldplay, Death Cab for Cutie, Dixie Chicks, Jay-Z, John Legend, the Killers with Elton John, the Police with Elvis Costello, U2 and others. Bob Dylan and R.E.M. will be supplying content in the near future." [Variety]

MusicBox leads hybrid-license movement: Shop functions as library and original music creator Nov. 17, 2008
"MusicBox is trying to build a better mousetrap. As the number of outlets needing inexpensive production music -- such as the Internet, cable reality shows and TV commercials -- continues to grow, more libraries are joining the fray. Even the major music publishers have been snapping up the leading independents as a way of gaining market share. Production music typically describes the songs emanating from the juke box in a bar scene, the overhead music while a character shops in a mall or the theme music of a reality show." [Variety]

CBS launches Play.it to compete with, er, Last.fm 18/11/08
"US media giant CBS has quietly launched something called Play.it - a music streaming service that lets users create their own personalised stations, listen to artist-themed stations, or tap into 340 existing channels from CBS and AOL Radio." [MusicAlly]

Music News Bulletin - 23/10/08

Sony completes buyout of Bertelsmann's stake in music label October 2, 2008
"Bertelsmann AG's planned divestiture from the Sony BMG Music Entertainment Inc. joint venture is now complete, as Sony Corp. [SNE] announced that it had bought out the German media giant's 50% stake. The sale, rumored for months and announced Aug. 5, was approved by EU regulators in mid-September.

The newly renamed Sony Music Entertainment Inc. will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corp. Bertelsmann's stake was valued at $900 million, but an additional $300 million in cash on the company's balance sheet pushed the value of the deal up to $1.2 billion." [TheDeal]

Play.com Steps Up Music Download Battle With 3 Million DRM-free Tracks From All Four Majors 10 Oct 2008
"UK e-tailer Play.com has stepped into the music download battle by signing the four major music labels to its PlayDigital online store to offer more than 3 million DRM-free MP3 tracks that can be played on any device. In a move directly aimed at iTunes, tracks and albums currently being sold at a cheaper price than at the Apple- owned store. More details at sister site paidContent.co.uk." [PaidContent]

Baidu Unveils New Internet Song Channel October 22, 2008
"After Google (GOOG) launched a free genuine music search service, Chinese search engine Baidu (BIDU) has now also taken action to resolve the problems brought by pirated music and the search company ahs launched a channel for newly published songs and music.

The new channel, which is entitled "New Song Debut", is a cooperation with seven record companies, including Emperor Entertainment Group, Ocean Butterflies Music Group, EMI Music, Music Nation, Rock Records & Tapes, Huayi Brothers and B in Music." [ChinaNews]

Blip.fm raises funding, CEO Yasuda discusses reorg October 23, 2008
"Fuzz Artists Inc. chief executive Jeff Yasuda revealed to me Monday at the SanFran MusicTech Summit that his company has raised additional funding in support of its Blip.fm social music playlisting service. We followed up that brief conversation with a longer one, in which he offered additional details on the fundraising and his plans for the company.

Yasuda hit up Fuzz's existing angel investors for the company's fourth installment of capital since 2005, although the total funding for his operation remains less than $10 million. He declined to name the investors. The entrepreneur said in May that unidentified individuals connected with Google Inc. [GOOG] have invested in the past. The round remains open, with room for first-time backers to participate, Yasuda added." [TheDeal]