Posted 11/01/09 at 09:56:45 PM by Justin Kerr

Measuring the impact of illegal downloading on the music industry is a nearly impossible task that only seems to make the lawyers rich, but a new UK based study has concluded that illegal downloader's not only don't hurt music sales, they help. According to the survey which looked at the buying habits of about 1,000 16 to 50 year-old computer users, those that regularly downloaded music illegally also spent nearly 43% more per year through official channels than their legitimate counterparts. According to the UK Secretary of State for Business Peter Mandelson, this proves the shortsightedness of the new "Digital Economy Bill" set to become law next April which aims to boot any user off the Internet accused of downloading copyrighted material three times or more.

Peter Bradwell, from the think-tank Demos who commissioned the Ipsos Mori study agrees and claims, "The latest approach from the Government will not help prop up an ailing music industry. Politicians and music companies need to recognize that the nature of music consumption has changed, and consumers are demanding lower prices and easier access." The UK music industry however remains unconvinced, and insisted that the figures cited in the study show a skewed picture. It turns out in fact, that nearly 61% of all illegal downloader's surveyed claim they would stop downloading illegitimate tracks if they were threatened with losing internet service for a month.

So will illegal downloader’s spend even more money on digital tracks if they get cut off from Bit Torrent's? Or does it help to create fans who would have otherwise spent less on music using traditional discovery methods. It’s an interesting debate, where do you fall on the issue?

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Posted 10/13/09 at 08:48:42 AM by Paul Lilly

The idea of dethroning Apple's iTunes service to lord over the domain of digital music downloads seems like a long shot at best, just don't tell that to BSkyB, the satellite broadcaster who has high hopes for its upcoming Sky Songs digital music service.

Perhaps rightfully so, as BSkyB has inked deals with several music suppliers, including EMI, Sony, Warner, and a bunch of independent labels. But unlike iTunes and its per-track business model, Sky Songs will be a subscription-based service charging subscribers a flat fee every month. This also differs from Spotify, which serves up free access to music but plays ads.

"[Sky Songs] will offer access to unlimited music as well as premium fan-oriented content, while ensuring our roster of artists are appropriately rewarded for their creativity," said Eric Daugan of Warner Music, Europe.

Sky Songs is expected to launch next week with two subscription options available. For £6.49, subscribers will be able to download and keep a single album or 10 songs but forgo unlimited streaming, while the £7.99 subscription ups the ante with unlimited streams and 15 individual downloads to keep.

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Posted 10/06/09 at 06:45:23 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Blackberry users will no longer have to feel let down by their inability to download music wirelessly. UK-based service provider 7digital and RIM have made good on their promise of an over-the-air music download service for Blackberry. 7digital’s application is now available on the Blackberry App World Store.

The absolutely free app provides access to 7digital’s 6 million track-strong library of DRM-free music. Users can download low-quality tracks when on the move. Such downloads are automatically replaced with high bit-rate tracks (usually 320kbps) when the device is connected to a Wi-Fi network. The majority of tracks and albums are priced at $.77 and $7.77, respectively. Smartphones supported at launch are the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Curve 8900, BlackBerry Tour, BlackBerry Curve 8520 and BlackBerry Storm.

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Posted 10/06/09 at 09:33:13 AM by Paul Lilly

Last.fm has officially left the confines of your computer and handheld gadgets and has hitched a ride in car radios. This doesn't come as a surprise, since parent company CBS announced last month that it planned on launching a new radio station called "Last.fm Discovers."

Powered entirely by the Last.fm weekly charts, Last.fm Discovers is kicks off in four major U.S. cities, including New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago.

CBS said programming would include "Last.fm Recommends with Bryan VanGelder", which is a program that plays a popular song on Last.fm followed by two related and recommended songs, "Last.fm Discovers with Sat Bisla", which focuses on weekly charts, and "Shouts", in which comments left on Last.fm about specific songs will be read aloud followed by playing the song the comment is about.

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Posted 09/29/09 at 04:15:45 PM by Pulkit Chandna

After the USB Implementers Forum reprimanded Palm for using Apple’s USB Vendor ID to re-enable iTunes sync on the Pre – Apple had blocked Palm’s Vendor ID, Palm was left with little choice but to abandon the practice. With the release of webOS 1.2 for the Pre, Palm has grudgingly abandoned its fixation with iTunes and opted for Amazon in its stead. Users can now download their favorite tracks from the Amazon MP3 store using either WiFi or WAN. But iTunes aficionados, who own a Pre for some reason, can use third-party alternatives like double Twist and iTunes Agent to enable iTunes sync on their own.

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Posted 09/21/09 at 06:07:14 PM by Pulkit Chandna

Sony Ericsson today lifted the curtain on the world’s very first motion-sensitive headphones. The MH907 headphones possess a special sense for motion and automatically become active when they are comfortably deposited inside the listener’s ears. One can start listening to music by simply plugging in both earphones and pause it by pulling one of them out. Phone calls can be answered and terminated in much the same fashion.

But if the listener wishes to switch from an active music-listening session to an incoming phone call, they have to first remove both earphones and then plug in just one. The MH907 headphones are sensitive to body contact, which prevents inadvertent operation. The MH907 is only meant to be used with Sony Ericsson phones that feature the propriety Fast Port connector. The headphones will go on sale across the globe this week. Sony Ericsson did not reveal their price, however.

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Posted 09/17/09 at 11:55:30 AM by Paul Lilly

Smashing Pumpkins is taking a page from Radiohead's pay-what-you-like business model the band used for its In Rainbows album, but rather than asking listeners to pony up a self-imposed fair price, Smashing Pumpkins plans to give away 44 songs free of charge.

The band said it had begun recording its new album on Tuesday called Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, which will feature 44 songs in all.

"My desire is to release a song at a time beginning around Halloween of this year, with each new release coming shortly after until all 44 are out," Billy Corgan, lead guitarist for the Smashing Pumpkins announced on his blog. "Each song will be made available absolutely for free, to anyone anywhere. There will be no strings attached. Free will mean free, which means you won't have to sign up for anything, give an email address, or jump through a hoop."

Corgan went on to say the band plans to sell highly limited edition EPs, details of which are still being hashed out. Other variants may also be made for sale, such as a digital single with a demo version of a song, Corgan added. And once the entire album is finished, fans will be able to buy a deluxe box set.

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Posted 09/11/09 at 08:40:20 PM by Ryan Whitwam

Spotify is the sort of streaming digital music service you’ve probably been waiting for. Unless you also happen to be European, you’ll have to wait a while longer. The desktop and mobile apps can only be downloaded and used in several European countries at this time.

Spotify is scheduled to launch in the US later this year, or early 2010, but the details of how it will work stateside are still up in the air. In Europe the free version is ad supported, and the ad-free version runs €10 (about $16.60) per month. Due to the competition Spotify faces in the US from services like Pandora, the London based firm is considering a single “freemium” service. Users would be able to pay for specific features.

The service allows users to browse and play any of over 6 million tracks. It even supports offline caching for those times when an Internet connection isn’t available. There is no word yet on the fate of these details for a US release. Licensing negotiations are currently all that stand in the way of US access.

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