In a decision that could affect the financial relationships between record labels and performers, a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Friday ruled that songs downloaded from Apple’s iTunes store are not actually purchased, but are rather “licensed†by the ostensible buyer.
Google has taken the rare step of asking a California judge to declare that by linking to copyright-infringing works on Rapidshare, the search giant is not facilitating the illegal distribution of copyrighted songs.
Almost a year after its formation, Living Like Ghosts has already released its first EP and has a second in the works. idobi recently sat down with the band members to discuss their history, upcoming projects and what makes them tick.
SOUTH HACKENSACK, N.J. – A cold Saturday in the middle of January was not enough to dissuade a crowd of approximately 150 loyal fans gathered inside a converted warehouse for a good old-fashioned evening of sing-a-longs and hand clapping.
For years there’s been speculation that Apple would supplement their $1/song (now $1.29) iTunes business with a monthly subscription service, but their upcoming plans are quite different and once again are positioning them to lead the digital music industry into a new era. Leveraging their ubiquitous iTunes software Apple plans to upgrade their users almost over night to a cloud music service in an ambitious move to beat Amazon and others to a cloud music service. Record labels are wary to give Apple even greater dominance which is why Apple’s new strategy is designed to sidestep new licenses from the major labels.
Sam E. Goldberg with Twilight’s Ashley Greene Check out S&M Radio’s Sam E. Goldberg at “The Power of Youth” hosted by Dosomething.org Sam interviews with Twilight’s Ashley Greene, 90210 cast members, JoJo, Aubrey O’day, and many more! What Does Young Hollywood Think of Red Heads?
Lenny Santiago has a rich history in the rap game. His hands have been in almost all Roc-A-Fella Records releases (sans Kanye West’s), and now he is running things over at Def Jam as vice president of A&R. He signed DJ Khaled and also spearheaded the A&R work on Jadakiss’ The Last Kiss and Fabolous’ upcoming Loso’s Way (due July 28th), and his big fall project is the new one from Ghostface Killah. But hold up: There’s been some controversy over whether Ghostface will really live up to early descriptions that the record that will be an R&B album. Tony… Read more »
As Internet reports suggested, Pearl Jam was indeed recording a Target commercial under the direction of Cameron Crowe last week at Seattle’s Showbox theater. But there is more to the story than an exclusive retail relationship. It has been known that Pearl Jam is no longer under contract after 18 years of recording for Sony-affiliated labels, and there has been a good deal of speculation about who would release the rock act’s next album. Kelly Curtis, who has managed Pearl Jam since its inception, conducted a wide-ranging interview Sunday night, confirming that the band’s next album — rumored to be… Read more »
Apple is set to offer $700 million to buy microblogging phenomenon Twitter in a deal to be announced in June, according to industry insider reports. Digital media blogs, TechCrunch and Valleywag, both claim to have access to an inside source at Apple who believes the deal is already at the late stages of negotiation, with the hope of completion by June 8. This is so Apple could announce the acquisition of Twitter at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Jose. Apple’s $700m offer is meant to be a full cash bid – a marked contrast to Facebook’s $500m offer… Read more »
Amazon.com and Wal-Mart have both quietly followed Apple’s lead and will now charge more for some top-selling tracks in their MP3 stores. Some songs will now sell for $1.29 at Amazon’s MP3 store, up from 99 cents, while Wal-Mart is now charging $1.24 for top tracks, up from 94 cents. Apple introduced variable pricing to its iTunes music store Tuesday, by charging 69 cents for older tracks, 99 cents for recent songs and $1.29 for new hits, instead of the previous 99 cents for any track. Amazon’s decision to raise prices seems especially unusual, considering that the company actually cut… Read more »
