Sony BMG, Warner Music Downloads Missing at Wal-Mart

Songs from a larger number of Sony BMG and Warner Music Group artists are now unavailable from Wal-Mart's online music store, potentially the result of a licensing impasse between the parties. One source tied into the situation pointed to show-stopping disagreements related to the licensing of DRM-free content. (Digital Music News)

MySpace and Record Companies Create Music Site

As part of the deal, MySpace will spin out its popular MySpace Music service as an independent joint venture in partnership with Universal Music, Sony BMG and Warner Music Group. EMI, the fourth major label, is not a part of the deal at this time, but people involved in the negotiations said it would probably join soon. The music companies will own minority stakes in the venture and will make their entire music catalogs available. (NY Times, LA Times, Financial Times, Business Week, Billboard, AP, PaidContent, PR)

Perez Hilton Announces Boycott of Sony/BMG Artists

After Perez Hilton posted streams of songs that may or may not have been the work of Britney Spears (it turned out they were), Sony/BMG and its subsidiary Zomba filed a lawsuit against the gossip site. Hilton claims the suit is unfair because the songs were not downloadable. Now, PerezHilton.com has announced a short list of artists that are "dead to [them]," including Tori Amos, Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, The Gossip, Adele, Lil' Mama, Pink, Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Whitney Houston. (Wired)

Sony BMG, Warner Near Deal With MySpace

MySpace's plan to launch a digital-music joint venture with the major record companies is picking up steam, as the social networking giant nears deals with Sony BMG and Warner Music Group, multiple sources familiar with the situation told The Post. The agreements could be signed as soon as this week. The service is expected to launch later this year. (NY Post)

Sony BMG developing online music service

The CEO of Sony BMG Music Entertainment says that the company is developing an online music subscription service that would give users unlimited access to its music and be compatible with a host of digital music players. As for costs to subscribers, the newspaper quoted him as saying that the "simplest option would be a flat rate" fee per month of around 6 to 8 euros ($9 to $12) for unlimited access to Sony BMG's entire music catalog and that the downloads would be compatible with all players, including Apple's ubiquitous iPod. (AP)

Bertelsmann ponders its harmony with Sony

Bertelsmann, Europe’s biggest consumer media group, said that it would sell out of the music business if Sony, its joint-venture partner, was willing to offer a similar valuation to that paid by Guy Hands when he bought EMI for £2.1 billion last year. Thomas Rabe, the chief financial officer, said: “What we will do depends on price. Of course, the EMI price is a good price for a seller, but we would not be interested in selling if we were offered a figure based on the current valuation of Warner Music. The market is undervaluing music assets.” (Times Online, FMQB)

Online, Mobile Percentages Keep Tilting at Majors

Just last month, top digital executives Ted Mico (Island Geffen A&M) and Thomas Hesse (Sony BMG) pointed to breakdowns of nearly 40 percent during discussions in New York. And earlier this week, Rio Caraeff, a top mobile and digital executive at Universal Music Group, offered more data. "Our mobile business is about half of our digital business, and our digital business is about 40-60 percent of our new releases," Caraeff told Digital Music News during the Mobile Monday symposium in Los Angeles. (Digital Music News)

Sony joins We7 to make music free

We7, a free, advertising-supported online music service backed by Peter Gabriel, has become the first to claim the support of a major label, after Sony BMG, home to Mark Ronson, Bruce Springsteen and the Hoosiers, pledged to license its catalogue of more than 250,000 tracks to the company's new online music streaming service. (The Guardian)

Sony BMG signs with We7!

Sony BMG, one of the UK's largest and most successful record companies, has signed with We7 to provide free streaming of its music to We7 users in the UK. From the end of April, We7's users will be able to stream music, on demand and for free with a short audio advert before each track, from the extensive Sony BMG catalogue. The label will also make available to stream on demand new releases from its current roster of artists. (PR)

'It's the wild west out there'

Given the parlous state of the music industry, it seems fitting to meet the UK chief of music giant Sony BMG slumped in the corner of an east London pub. In an age of rampant piracy and the well-publicised travails at major labels - most recently EMI cutting a further 2,000 jobs in the face of an artist revolt - Ged Doherty, who is also chair of the organising committee for this week's Brit Awards, should by rights be drowning his sorrows. (The Guardian)

Microsoft in MTV and Sony BMG deals

Microsoft has struck pan-European deals with MTV International and Sony BMG to provide programme clips and music videos across its MSN Video service. The deal will see clips of shows such as South Park and music videos from artists as diverse as Elvis and Britney Spears made available via MSN Video across European countries including the UK, France and Germany.

XM Satellite resolves lawsuit with Sony BMG

XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc said on Friday it has resolved a lawsuit brought by Sony BMG over Pioneer Inno, a portable satellite radio with advanced recording features. In a statement, XM said Sony BMG Music Entertainment has withdrawn as a party to the complaint filed by major record companies against XM in May 2006. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (Reuters)

Sony BMG's Q3 sales were flat

Sony Corp released its Q3 earnings today. Sony BMG's Q3 sales were flat at $1.47 billion and net income dropped 12% to $208 million from $236 million last year. That figure includes income from a legal settlement and $13 million of restructuring charges. (PDF via Coolfer)

Universal, Sony BMG Team on Digital Licensing in Asia

Universal Music Publishing Group and major record label Sony BMG on Tuesday announced a digital licensing agreement for the Southeast Asia and India markets, in some areas creating licensing rules in countries where none previously existed. the deal covers audio and video downloads, streaming and subscription services, and mobile products including ringtones and video; it does not cover the countries of Japan and Korea, where deals were already in place. (DigitalMediaWire)

Target Quietly Moves Into Digital Music, Finally; Sony BMG Deal

Target, the big-box retailer, is finally moving into digital music, with the low-key launch of a SonyBMG album. The new album from John Legend, ”Live From Philadelphia” launched exclusively in Target stores last week, and is also available in MP3 format through Target.com. This new promo also ties into Target’s deal with SonyBMG, where the music label is debuting DRM-free MP3 music cards. (Paidcontent)

Bruised music majors back iTunes rival

Next month’s Super Bowl will feature a sales promotion that is audacious even by that event’s over-inflated standards: Amazon.com, the largest online retailer, will offer as many as 1bn free downloads from its new digital music store in partnership with Pepsi and singer Justin Timberlake. The promotion represents a coming-out party for the Amazon MP3 service, which launched in September. But it also poses a question: is a viable competitor to Apple’s iTunes digital music store finally on the horizon? (Financial Times)

DRM-free MP3s will boost music download sales, say UK retailers

The UK's Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) has praised Sony BMG's decision to abandon its opposition to DRM-free music, and allow online retailers to sell its tracks as MP3 files. "Sony-BMG's decision to back MP3 is great news for music fans and the music market," says director general Kim Bayley. However, there's a catch. Sony BMG's decision only applies to the US at the moment. "Now that the principle has been established that MP3 is the way forward, it is vital that UK music fans do not get left behind," she says. "We are on the verge of a great boom in download sales, but this can only happen if the music is available." (Tech Digest)

Sony BMG falls in line with rivals after Amazon deal

Sony BMG became the last of the leading music companies to announce a deal to sell its tracks through Amazon.com in the unprotected MP3 format. The deal, which will take effect later this month, overturns Sony BMG's previous reluctance to sell songs without so-called digital rights management (DRM) software. It also means that Amazon.com, the biggest online retailer, will have the support of all four major music companies as it tries to compete with Apple's iTunes store, which dominates the music download business. (Financial Times)

Where's the Logic Behind Sony BMG's Decision to Drop DRM?

Last week, news that Sony BMG (which is half-owned by SNE) would soon drop DRM encryption from their music library leaked but details were scarce. Sony BMG will in fact begin selling unrestricted music January 15th. The method, however, might not make a lot of sense, either. A Platinum Music Pass built around a gift card (called “Digital Album Cards”) will unlock access to downloads on a new website (gift.musicpass.com). (Seeking Alpha)

Sony BMG To Debut MP3 Album Cards

Sony BMG Music Entertainment will roll out its Platinum MusicPass series of digital album cards beginning Jan. 15 at Best Buy, Target and Fred's, with Trans World and Winn-Dixie coming to the party by the end of January. As reported previously, the move marks the company's first commercial foray into MP3s in the U.S., a strategy that until recently it resisted in favor of selling files with digital rights management capabilities. (Billboard)