Search Results for: soft play

To commemorate their 20th anniversary, Pet Shop Boys will reissue five of their original studio albums – “Please,” “Actually,” “Introspective,” “Behaviour” and “Very” – on July 3, 2001. Each has been re-mastered and will be accompanied by a bonus CD in a custom slipcase. For the five bonus CDs, each titled “Further Listening,” the British duo have compiled a compelling selection of mixes, hits, previously unheard versions and b-sides that, together with the re-mastered studio albums, documents their career from 1984 until 1994. In addition, each album comes with a bonus 36-page booklet featuring full lyrics, rare archive photographs and… Read more »

RealNetworks is scrambling to stem investor jitters that the online streaming-media giant is about to lose its exclusive agreement to provide streaming media services to users of AOL, the world’s most popular ISP. The company’s stock tumbled nearly 20 percent early last week on speculation that AOL Time Warner is poised to dump Real and provide Microsoft the opportunity to replace RealNetworks’ technology as media player of choice for AOL’s estimated 29 million subscribers. Analysts believe that AOL is unlikely to dump RealNetworks anytime soon, but ongoing talks between AOL and Microsoft over a key co-distribution deal within Microsoft’s new… Read more »

Alanis Morissette has returned to the jagged little sound that made her famous. The Canadian singer debuted eight new songs during a show Friday night, providing a generous preview of her next album, which is sitting in limbo while she fights a contract dispute with Maverick Records. Much of the new material harked back to the edgier pop-rock of Morissette’s 1995 smash, Jagged Little Pill, and steered away from the moody, Eastern-influenced sound of its follow-up, 1998’s Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Accordingly, the two-hour performance – the first of two consecutive nights at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre – was… Read more »

As the fight over digital musical copyrights moves into a new stage, song-swap service Napster said it is looking for a new ally – music publishers. “I’m spending a lot of time thinking about publishing,” Napster chief executive officer Hank Barry told Reuters. “We could get all the labels in the world on the service but we still couldn’t do anything without the publishing rights,” said Barry during a recent interview. Barry echoed what many big label executives are grappling with as a growing dispute over publishers’ royalty rates threatens to undermine recently announced plans to launch commercial services as… Read more »

Taiwan high-speed Internet access firm GigaMedia Ltd. said on Monday it would sell part of its music Web site to record label EMI Group Plc in a strategic alliance to jointly offer music downloads. U.S.-listed Giga said it spun off its Juice.com music site into a separate company capitalized at T$100 million and EMI would take a minority stake in the firm. Officials declined to give financial details of the agreement. “The alliance supports our goal of creating new platforms to promote our artists and distribute their music in a secure, protected, and commercially viable manner,” Mathew Allison, president of… Read more »

Redwood City, Calif. based Liquid Audio, has announced a corporate restructuring plan designed to cut costs and streamline the company’s business focus. The corporate restructuring program announced today is aimed at recording a cash flow of approximately $3.5-4 million in the second quarter. The company will announce financial results for the first quarter on May 10th. According to Kim Strop, spokesperson for Liquid Audio, the restructuring program will include a reduction in staff of approximately 40 percent across all departments, bringing the number of employees to roughly 115, down from 195. The company also will de-emphasize non-core business areas, including… Read more »

Bowing to a threatened recording industry lawsuit, a Princeton University computer scientist decided against revealing Thursday how he and other researchers thwarted security measures meant to protect copyright digital music. Edward Felten, an associate professor whose team included Rice University and Xerox-PARC researchers, had been silent for days on whether he would present his findings at the International Information Hiding Workshop in Pittsburgh. On Thursday, a frustrated Felten said he decided against releasing the information because of the potential for lawsuits against the researchers, their schools and conference organizers. He did not say what he would do next. “Litigation is… Read more »

Citing the powerful allure that Napster’s free service has had on millions of music fans, the head of MusicNet – a new music subscription joint venture backed by three of the world’s biggest record labels – sounded a note of cautious optimism Tuesday. “It’s still unproven that people will go from paying zero to a reliable but paid service,” said Rob Glaser, chief executive of media software giant RealNetworks Inc. and acting CEO of MusicNet. “I’m optimistic, but until it plays out in the marketplace, its not proven,” Glaser said, speaking at a Beverly Hills breakfast for entertainment executives and… Read more »

Hiwire, a provider of targeted advertising solutions for live streaming media, will begin to support MP3 format streams, and is the first ad insertion company to work with all three major streaming formats, including Windows Media, RealPlayer, and MP3. “With the ability to insert ads into MP3 streams, Hiwire is the only company that can reach individual listeners in all of the major streaming formats, including Windows Media and RealPlayer,” said Warren Schlichting, chief executive officer for Hiwire. “As broadcasters and content providers look for the best way to generate online revenue through advertising, Hiwire gives them the targeting and… Read more »

Joey Ramone, lead singer of legendary punk band the Ramones, passed away at 2:40 p.m. Sunday at the age of 49. The towering front man, born Jeffrey Hyman, did not respond to treatment for lymphatic cancer, a disease that attacks the body’s ability to fight infection. Along with his cohorts Johnny, Tommy and Dee Dee – all of whom adopted Ramone as a surname – Joey was credited with helping found the modern punk movement. In mixing the griminess of the New York streets with a love of bubblegum pop, ’60s girl groups and the Stooges, the Ramones inspired everyone… Read more »