BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com BloggingStocks http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/media/feedlogo.gif BloggingStocks http://www.bloggingstocks.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Napster plans for user-friendly MP3s]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/01/07/napster-plans-for-user-friendly-mp3s/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/01/07/napster-plans-for-user-friendly-mp3s/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2008/01/07/napster-plans-for-user-friendly-mp3s/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Napster logo on Tower Records posterNapster (NASDAQ: NAPS) -- the mother of all file-sharing services that in 10 years' time has found itself one among many digital-music services struggling for its very survival -- is hoping its new move will attract more users. Today, Napster CEO Chris Gorog said the company is shifting to MP3 downloads free of digital-rights-management software [subscription required], or DRM.

The move is expected to occur sometime in the second quarter, but Napster has yet to finalize the arrangements with some of the four major music companies - Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE), Warner Music Group, EMI Group and Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group. The final three on this list recently began selling MP3s on the download service available through Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN). Sony has yet to report plans to sell its tracks as MP3s, but is reportedly expected to come forward soon.

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Napster plans for user-friendly MP3s originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jan 2008 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aaplamznChris GorogChrisGorogdigital musicDigitalMusicDRMemi groupEmiGroupiPodiTunesMP3msftnapsNapstersneuniversal musicUniversalMusicvivendiwarner musicWarnerMusicwindows mediaWindowsMediaMon, 07 Jan 2008 14:22:00 EST<![CDATA[In the rap battle for sales, Kanye trumps 50 Cent]]>http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/19/in-the-rap-battle-for-sales-kanye-trumps-50-cent/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/19/in-the-rap-battle-for-sales-kanye-trumps-50-cent/http://www.bloggingstocks.com/2007/09/19/in-the-rap-battle-for-sales-kanye-trumps-50-cent/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Hunker down with your iPod and set "Just a Lil Bit" to repeat mode ... you may be hurting for new 50 Cent tracks if he leaves the business. Last month, the Eminem protégé (née Curtis Jackson III) made a flippant statement to reporters that he would leave show business if Kanye West's latest release, Graduation, topped 50 Cent's new album, Curtis, in its first week of sales. Both albums "dropped" on September 11.

The publicized sales battle was resolved today, and to Kanye went the spoils. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the man behind the 2005 smash single "Gold Digger" sold 957,000 copies in its first week of release, while 50 Cent's new album sold just 691,000. 50's last album, The Massacre, hit shelves in 2005 and sold 1.1 million copies in its first week. A publicized temper-tantrum after the Video Music Awards and a self-mocking appearance on Sunday's Emmy's broadcast may have helped give Kanye the edge.

Graduation was released on Roc-A-Fella Records, co-founded by Jay-Z, while Curtis was on the Aftermath label, which is owned by Dr. Dre. Both are ultimately distributed by Universal Music Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal.

Continue reading In the rap battle for sales, Kanye trumps 50 Cent

In the rap battle for sales, Kanye trumps 50 Cent originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The four largest handset manufacturers in the world are setting up a music service with major music publishers. They hope to use the new product to compete with key features of the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. According to the FT, Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Motorola (NYSE: MOT), Samsung, and Sony Ericsson will offer a flat-fee music service in Europe and Asia.

The new initiative will take music from Warner Music Group (NYSE: WMG), Universal Music, EMI, and BMG.

Although the service will not begin in the US, there is every reason to think that it will head here. The new "MusicStation" service will be preloaded onto phones.

Access to iTunes is one of the major selling features of the iPhone. The large handset companies have good reasons to want to make the iPhone less attractive. If its sells well in the US, it will almost certainly be offered overseas, and the big phone manufacturers will be waiting with features to keep its sales low.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Bigger competition for Apple iPhone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 08:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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