From today's Wall Street Journal: "In a bid to create a stronger competitor to Apple Inc.'s market-dominating iTunes Store, Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks announced Tuesday that it is merging its online digital-music offerings into a joint venture with RealNetworks Inc...

"Verizon Wireless... has signed on to supply mobile distribution for the joint venture's content. That could provide additional leverage against Apple...

"The move appears to spell the end of MTV's Urge digital service, launched in partnership with Microsoft Corp. last year... MTV itself no longer invested significant resources in Urge after Zune's debut, according to a person familiar with Urge.

"Teaming up with MTV could give Rhapsody a broader reach, thanks to the music channel's strong marketing and vast reach in cable television and other media. MTV plans to promote the service heavily on its television channels...

"The pairing is the latest effort by RealNetworks to raise the  profile of Rhapsody...

"The venture is to be headed by Michael Bloom, who currently heads Urge for MTV Networks. MTV is to contribute editorial content, including music blogs."

Subscribers can read the entire story at the Wall Street Journal.

RAIN is brought to you today by:

Ando provides software and services to the radio and television industry which assist stations in monetizing their audience. These services include Webcast Metrics which measures actual online listener statistics, Ad Injector provides both broadcast and targeted ad insertion / content replacement for radio and television and provides detailed impression data on advertising campaigns, and PodFuse which provides targeted dynamic advertising insertion and measurement into both audio and video podcast content. To learn more about Ando Media's products and services or speak with our sales/technical staff, contact us. x

From the RBR Newsletter: "We admit it. The MusicFirst Coalition is right: 'Radio should be held to the same standards and should play by the same rules as its competitors.' Agreed.

"AM and FM stations should pay the same performance royalties as Internet streamers and satellite radio — and that royalty rate should be zero.

"The radio industry should be aligning itself more closely with the Internet streamers to not only fight the outrageous CRB increases in Internet streaming fees, but to have Congress eliminate them altogether.

"Just as AM and FM radio airplay sells records, Internet radio airplay sells records. In fact, the Internet guys have added a great bonus to the record companies and artists that over the air broadcasters could never provide — a way to click through and immediately buy the music the listener is hearing.

"And with the broad variety of music that can be offered through unlimited Internet streams, new markets are being created for obscure music genres and markets are being rejuvenated for the sale of oldies from artists such as Sam Moore and Judy Collins.

"Similarly, new HD Radio channels will be a boon to record sales once enough receivers are in the market. Radio sells records. We know it. Record company executives know it. Artists know it...

"For AM radio, FM radio, HD Radio and Internet radio, the common cause should be congressional action to level the playing field and make no one pay for helping the record companies sell their wares."

Subscribers can read the entire editorial at RBR.

From the Guardian Unlimited: "Music recommendation site Last.fm is making its artist charts available outside the site in print for the first time, providing insight into the listening trends of its 20 million global users.

"The site tracks every song listened to by its members and compiles detailed charts for each user and for the site as a whole.

"Last.fm will compile top 10 charts for the fastest-rising UK artists, most listened to artists in the UK and overall UK listening.

"The first charts will appear in trade magazine Music Week, which relaunches this week.

"...Last.fm plans to publish similar charts in the US.

"A spokesman for Last.fm said the 'hype chart', which is currently picking up artists such as Kate Nash and Biffy Clyro, is 'the most important chart for the industry because it provides a taste of what we'll be listening to a few weeks ahead'.

"The same Last.fm data picked up the popularity of Gnarls Barkley's Crazy before it hit the mainstream charts last year."

Read the entire article at the Guardian Unlimited.

Advertisement

"If it weren't for these talented (builders), Walgreens wouldn't exist..."

"How many CDs people are buying isn't as important as which CDs..."

If the claims of some music industry observers are correct, then the responses you
posted from the Washington Post blog (as well as the earlier ones from the
petition) won't make a difference to the big record companies because to them, how
many CDs people are buying isn't as important as which CDs people are buying.

They were happy when all that most people heard was the narrow playlists that terrestrial radio played and a substantial portion of their purchases were the big name acts they wanted promoted. When too many people are discovering lesser known artists and buying their CDs instead of the chart toppers (especially when they're from
independent labels), they consider it a problem.