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Privately-held online music company Listen.com said on Monday it secured licensing agreements from several independent record labels for a subscription service it plans to launch this fall. Through the deal, Listen.com joins a growing list of smaller independent subscription service providers, including FullAudio and Streamwaves, that have quietly been clinching licensing deals for content to compete with services like MusicNet and Pressplay, which are being backed by the giant recording companies and also plan to launch this fall. MusicNet’s backers are RealNetworks Inc., AOL Time Warner Inc’s Warner Music, EMI Group Plcand Bertelsmann AG’s BMG. Zomba, a giant independent label,… Read more »

Major recording giants head to federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday to request a summary judgement against Napster in their long-running copyright infringement lawsuit against the song-swap company, lawyers for the companies said on Sunday. “We will argue in front of Judge (Marilyn Hall) Patel on Wednesday, seeking a summary judgement against Napster on the issue of liability, which would in essence leave for trial only the amount of damages and the nature of the injunction,” said Russell Frackman, an attorney for the record industry. Napster lawyers will oppose the request and argue for a full trial to determine… Read more »

On its first day back from summer recess, the U.S. Supreme Court came out swinging Monday for the entertainment and media business, declining to review two libel cases and a suit brought by a Maryland quiltmaker alleging that producer Steven Spielberg bilked her for designs used in the 1995 picture “How to Make an American Quilt.” Furthermore, in a case tracked by the music business, the robes said rocker Nicholas Kassbaum had the right to mention that he used to be with the hit band Steppenwolf. Other members of the band alleged that Kassbaum – aka Nick St. Nicholas –… Read more »

Pressplay and EMI today announced that the EMI has agreed to license music from its extensive catalog to the online music company comprised of Sony and Universal. Pressplay currently expects to launch its consumer music subscription service later this fall. EMI is one of the backers of MusicNet, which also expects to launch a subscription service this fall. MusicNet is the digital music distribution company formed by RealNetworks, AOL Time Warner, Bertelsmann, and EMI Group. Pressplay will offer access to a vast catalog of digital music through an array of affiliates, including Yahoo!, MSN, and MP3.com. The Pressplay service will… Read more »

Music publishers on Wednesday won an important legal ruling against the world’s largest record label in a case that could set rules for streaming copyrighted songs over the Internet. New York federal Judge John S. Martin Jr. found that Universal Music Group’s Farmclub.com online music service streamed songs without obtaining licenses from music publishers. Universal had asked that the case be dismissed on the grounds that Farmclub’s service was covered by licenses its parent previously secured in the context of recording songs for sale on albums. “This decision means record companies aren’t in total control of how music will be… Read more »

American songwriters and music publishers have reached preliminary agreement with the on-line file sharing service Napster to settle the class-action lawsuit currently pending in federal court in California. The agreement includes terms under which the songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster’s new membership-based service. The announcement of the proposed settlement was made jointly by Edward P. Murphy, president and CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, Inc., Gary L. Churgin, president and CEO of The Harry Fox Agency, Inc., George David Weiss, president of The Songwriters’ Guild of America, Inc., and Napster president and CEO Konrad… Read more »

It’s a safe bet that most radio listeners have never heard of rock singer Matthew Harrison. The owner of tiny Third Monk Records, which released Harrison’s album, says there’s a simple reason: The company can’t afford the hidden costs of obtaining radio airplay. Jeff Robinson, the label’s sole proprietor, said he doesn’t have the money to hire independent promoters who heavily influence station playlists. “They’ve got it locked up and there’s absolutely no room to do what I’m trying to do,” Robinson said. “And if you can’t get exposure for your product, you’ll never be able to sell any records.”… Read more »

Since Bob Dylan’s Grammy-winning album “Time Out of Mind” was released four years ago, the 60-year-old rock master has played 460 live shows, soaking up the cheers from crowds around the world. He feeds off his Never Ending Tour, dancing, grinning, cracking jokes, engaging in guitar duels with his band, then standing at solemn attention, his suit coat soaked with sweat, bending in a deep bow before leaving the stage. In the spring he went into the studio to give some of the energy back, and the result is “Love and Theft,” an album already hailed as one of the… Read more »

The body of the late pop and soul singer Aaliyah was flown back to the United States Tuesday as safety experts examined the plane that crashed in the Bahamas, killing her and eight others. A private jet carrying the body of the 22-year-old singer and movie actress landed at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, and a hearse carried the casket away to an unknown location, according to sources. Several hours earlier, heartbroken fans gathered outside a Nassau funeral home to watch as a black hearse drove away with Aaliyah’s body. At Nassau International Airport, police stood guard while her… Read more »

NetRadio today announced an agreement with OpenGlobe, an entertainment services and convergence technology company, to include all NetRadio channels through the OpenGlobe Entertainment Services. “Our agreement with OpenGlobe is another significant step towards extending the delivery of NetRadio’s content beyond the reach of the PC by allowing listeners to access it in their homes, while shopping in malls, retail stores, in corporate private networks, and eventually in the car and on portable devices,” said Steve Holderman, NetRadio EVP of marketing and sales. Through this agreement with OpenGlobe, NetRadio’s channels will be streamed on the Compaq iPAQ Music Center, Kenwood Sovereign… Read more »