Digital Music News (digitalmusicnews.com)

Snocap Chops Staff, Possible Sales Play Ahead

October 11, 2007

Snocap has now chopped 60 percent of its staff, according to information circulating late Thursday. The development first appeared in Silicon Valley rumormonger ValleyWag, and was later confirmed by a compan... Read More...

Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: Madonna’s New Bank

Paul Resnikoff

October 11, 2007

Is Madonna really worth $120 million? Perhaps the diva is showing some wear-and-tear, but this superstar can still deliver big singles and drive ticket prices into the thousands. Remember the Confessions To... Read More...

Samsung, Sprint Deliver Beyonce-Branded Phone

Paul Resnikoff

October 11, 2007

The Beyonce image is now spreading into mobile, thanks to a custom-tailored Samsung device. The aptly-titled B'Phone is essentially a retrofitted UpStage, a sleek multimedia device that sports screens on both sides. The B'Phone is being carried exclusively... Read More...

Piper Jaffray Study Indicates Lowered Teenage Swapping

Paul Resnikoff

October 11, 2007

File-sharing is now decreasing among teenagers, according to a recent Piper Jaffray study. The group surveyed a total of 980 teenagers in the United States, and reported cooling file-swapping activity alongs... Read More...

Post-Radiohead, More Direct-to-Consumer Plans Bubble

Paul Resnikoff

October 10, 2007

Radiohead delivered its name-your-price album to recipients today, a potentially game-changing event for the music industry. The move featured an unorthodox pricing strategy, but the bigger bang came from th... Read More...

AIM Tunes: Beta Clunkiness, Fewer Illegalities

Paul Resnikoff

October 9, 2007

File-swapping volumes have ramped tremendously over the past few years, despite aggressive legal action by major labels. But decentralized, P2P networks are only one component of an expanding online swap meet. BitTorrent is now grabbing the market for heav... Read More...

Terra Firma Chief Presses Digital Agenda, Urges Progressive Steps

Alexandra Osorio

October 8, 2007

Terra Firma chief executive and newfound EMI owner Guy Hands recently pushed a digital agenda to fellow executives, and urged a shift away from traditional distribution and formats. Hands offered the points wi... Read More...

Yahoo Music Chief Rails Against Content Protection, Inconvenience

Paul Resnikoff

October 8, 2007

Yahoo Music is being placed under a microscope by higher-ups, and portions of the site could be eliminated. Early last month, Yahoo chief Jerry Yang pointed to a broader restructuring, and the underperformin... Read More...

AT&T’s Samsung SGH-a717: More Music, More Confusion

Paul Resnikoff

October 8, 2007

Most music fans on the AT&T network are vying for an iPhone, though the carrier offers a range of other multimedia devices at more affordable rates. Perhaps anything outside of the iPhone is simply second-best, but budget-conscious buyers may be willing... Read More...

AOL Instant Messenger Upgrade Enables Shared Playlists

Alexandra Osorio

October 4, 2007

AOL is now offering an instant messenger upgrade that enables shared, streaming playlists. AIM 6.5 allows a plug-in, AIM Tunes, which shares the collections of friends. The Windows-based release allows stream... Read More...

Resnikoff’s Parting Shot: Why Major Labels Just Lost

Paul Resnikoff

October 4, 2007

The RIAA scored a quick victory on Thursday, and cooled future challenges in the process. Predictably, Cary Sherman underscored the illegalities of file-sharing, and the penalties that violators face. But that message has failed to resonate with music fans... Read More...