901am

New Media News Every Morning

SpiralFrog signs licensing agreement with RoyaltyShare

By

spiralfrog.pngSpiralFrog announced a licensing agreement with RoyaltyShare, provider of technology solutions to the entertainment industry. As a result of the agreement, RoyaltyShare’s leading independent record label customers will now be able to leverage its Content Management Service to deliver content directly to SpiralFrog, making thousands of additional songs available for download on the SpiralFrog site.

RoyaltyShare’s recently announced Content Management Service provides record labels and distributors with a cost-effective way to manage the complexities of the digital sales process, including the delivery of content to leading services such as SpiralFrog.

Originally posted on April 13, 2008 @ 4:38 pm

Wal-Mart stands firm on DRM-free music

By

wal-mart music downloadsEven though Wal-Mart Music Downloads is not a top destination for millions of music addicts, it can stir the music industry through its Amazon-like campaign for DRM-free MP3s.

The Washington Post reports that the retail giant has dropped MP3s protected by Window DRM, limiting its catalogue to Universal Music Group and EMI artists only. On the other hand, Warner Music Group and Sony BMG have remained adamant on their position about DRM.

When asked about this issue, a Wal-Mart representative replied, “We’ll continue to work with our music partners to further grow our MP3 selection, however, we don’t publicly share details of our ongoing discussions with these partners.”

Originally posted on April 9, 2008 @ 2:01 pm

Imeem acquires SNOCAP

By

Imeem, the social media network, announced that it has acquired SNOCAP, the leading technology company for digital rights and content management. This strategic acquisition provides imeem with powerful content identification technology, a comprehensive Digital Registry, and an enhanced team of executive and engineering talent. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition also expands the mix of products and services the imeem social network offers to artists and music labels to help them take advantage of new opportunities to market, promote and make money from their music through widgets and applications.

As part of the acquisition, SNOCAP’s chief operating officer, Ali Aydar, is joining imeem as its vice president of operations. Aydar was an early employee and senior executive at both SNOCAP and the original Napster. He brings with him a talented team of engineers and music industry professionals.

SNOCAP was founded by Shawn Fanning, Jordan Mendelson and Ron Conway. The company was backed by WaldenVC, Morgenthaler Ventures and Court Square Ventures.

Originally posted on April 7, 2008 @ 10:55 am

Amazon.com relaunches Latin music store with more content and selection

By

Amazon.com announced the relaunch of its Latin Music Store, with Earth’s largest selection of Latin music titles. Focused on delivering Tu Música, Tu Sabor (Your Music, Your Flavor) to customers, the newly updated Amazon Latin Music Store carries nearly 140,000 unique titles and brings both English-language and Spanish-language content to Amazon customers. The store features nine categories including, Latin Pop, Latin Rock, Regional Mexican, Tropical, Urban, World, Latin Children’s, Latin Christian and Latin Jazz along with 23 subcategories.

Originally posted on April 4, 2008 @ 11:33 am

SpiralFrog signs agreement with Warner/Chappell Music

By

SpiralFrog and Warner/Chappell Music (WCM), the global music publishing arm of Warner Music Group Corp., announced an agreement to make the company’s catalog of music compositions available to complement SpiralFrog’s growing roster of audio and video content.

Signing rights from music publishers is a critical element in SpiralFrog’s mission to make ad-supported music downloading available as an alternative to pirate music sites. Licensing sound recordings and music videos requires more than obtaining rights from the recording artists and record labels. The writers and composers of the songs themselves must also be compensated, and music publishers license these underlying compositions.

Originally posted on March 30, 2008 @ 9:49 pm