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Music Gets More Social As It Moves To The Cloud

"Social tools and media are of course already inherently connected and inherently cloud based, whether it be Facebook, Twitter or MySpace.  When woven into the fabric of a digital music offering they bring that experience to life.  In a connected music experience that exists across multiple devices and multiple platforms, social connectivity is more important than ever. Social connectivity turns a bored 10 minutes waiting for a train into a connected a fun engaged interaction with a friend, sharing playlists on MySpace. It transforms looking for something new to listen to on your iPhone into a social discovery journey."

- Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research

The Super Bowl Still Rocks

(UPDATED) One can certainly fault The Who for a lackluster (aka embarrassing) performance, but you have to admit the music stil matters to the Super Bowl. From the musical connection that many people feel with the winning city New Orleans to the songs used effectively in so many of the ads, the Super Bowl still rocks.

In addition to the worthy Saints, another real winner yesterday was Audi and its clever uses of a re-worked Cheap Trick classic "Dream Police". (Audi offers a free download of the remake here.)

Topspin Shares Impressive Music Marketing Study

Perhaps more than any existing modern music marketing and sales platform Topspin is based on data.  They collected it from the beginning, have done enough diverse campaigns to see the trends and have a team to understand the patterns.  At a recent MidemNat presentation Topspin co-founder Shamal Ranasinghe shared the most in depth overview of their findings to date.

Some of the important and perhaps surprising trends that Topspin has discovered include the importance of physical goods to many fans and their love of premium offerings. More than half of the transactions in the Topspin study are under $10, but they only accounted for 17% of overall revenue. Rather the majority of revenue for most artists came from items priced $25 and over that included physical items.

Other findings include conversion rates for a variety of marketing activities and channels.  Anyone serious about music marketing needs to watch this presentation and read more of the conclusions.

Topspin's Marketing With Data Presentation at Midem

View more presentations from Shamal ranasinghe.

Big Cuts Ahead As EMI Fights For Survival

(UPDATED) Last week EMI reported a $2.4B loss and a March $160M loan payment due CitiGroup. The problem, which started when Terra Firrm paid too much for EMI, leaves the major label group fighting for survival.

In an attempt to put together a restructuring plan that will attract a much needed additional investment from Terra Firma, the company is in high level meetings to cut costs and dramatically grow digital revenue and profits from non-music sales like music merchandise division Loudclothing.

Further reductions in EMI's 3500 strong workforce are also inevitable.  The company already reduced staffing by almost 3000 when Guy Hands and Terra Firma bought the music group.

EMI CEO Leoni-Sceti Vows To Fight On

New Music Industry Job Board

Hypebot's exclusive New Music Business Job Board features select paid and internship positions in the music and music technology industries. Current open paid positions include:,

•  Megaforce MRI Transdreamer (NYC)

1. Digital-leaning marketing person
2. Part-time administrative assistant

If you have a music industry job available, Hypebot's Job Board costs just $29 and jobs are featured here, every day in a special job block in Hypebot's center column, as well as on SimplyHired.net sites across the net.  Post your jobs here.

Judge Dismisses EMI's Lawsuit Against Seeqpod

Earlier this week, U.S. District Court Judge Laura Taylor Swain granted Seeqpod’s motion to dismiss EMI's case against them, citing a lack of personal jurisdiction in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York. The ruling and an out of court settlement with a co-defendant effectively ends a two year old lawsuit that put the music search and play engine under and scared away many of its competitors. The original lawsuits forced Seeqpod into bankruptcy and drew fire from new music industry advocates who believed that Seeqpod's and sites like it were important mechanisms for music discovery.

More Music Industry News: Jelli, Tough Times For Publishers, Get Busy, Zune, FundTunes & More

• January was a banner month on Jelli with more than 1 million votes were cast by Jelli listeners deciding in real-time what plays online, on digital radio, and on FM. Jelli is social radio, where the listening community has the decides what plays.
• Universal Music Publishing Group's global chairman and CEO David Renzer is warning 2010 could be the most challenging year yet for music publishers. (California Chronicle via Billboard)
• A social game to pick pop hits could kill the A&R man. (TechCrunch EU)
• Topspin's Ian Rogers offers the latest update on his Get Busy Committee management project. (Fistfulayen)
• Zune News: Microsoft dropped Zune HD prices without explanation. (ars) Zune pass users are complaining about disappearing music. (Engadget) I wonder if this is related to a rumor that I heard about Zune moving from MediaNet to its own system?
• Veteran net and media execs start a fund to build IPad apps. (press release) The iPad os not a sure winner yet, but as I've said before its has real potential for the music industry.
• FundTunes, in association with Universal Music Canada,  has launched a new website to download digital music to fundraise for a cause. The first of its kind in the country, FundTunes helps raise money for Canadian charities, nonprofit organizations, amateur sports teams, schools, clubs, and other community groups. (press release)
• Springsteen Pissed At ASCAP For Implying He Instigated Lawsuit Against Pub; Demands His Name Removed (Techdirt)

REWIND: The Music Industry's Week In Review

• EMI struggles to survive:  The major label group reported a $2.4B loss and now faces a $160M laon payment to Citi. The problem started when Terra Firrm paid too much for EMI.
• A new format? Warner Nashville tries cutting the album in half.
• The New Music Seminar LA a sellout and a big success. Daniel Ek of Spotify keynoted and shared efforts to launch in the US. Expert panelists shared lots of practical information.
• Facebook denied more rumors that it is planning a music service.
• MySpace's Owen Van Natta talks about iLike and his 8 Months as CEO.
• Indie hip hop label Difinitive Jux has gone on hiatus.
• NYC rock/rappers Shinobi Ninja engage fans with a new GPS enabled mobile game.
• eMusic gets more social via Facebook Connect.
• Live Nation pays $6.5 million in post merger bonuses.
• Ustream scores $75 million from Japan's Softbank.
• Share you're favorite song about the music industry.
• Video: Terry McBride on "The Emotional Power Of Music".

TuneCore Names Steve Rosenberg SVP Biz Dev

(Updated) TuneCore has added to their executive team by bringing  in Steven Rosenberg as SVP, Business Development.  His portfolio within Tunecore was not specified in the company's announcement.Most recently, Rosenberg held the position of VP, Head of Americas Business Development & Strategic Alliances for Thomson Reuters. He joined Thomson in 2006 as Head of Content Licensing and the Third Party Redistribution group. Rosenberg also served as Senior Manager, Strategic Planning and Sales at Reuters & Bridge Information and did stints ar CIBC Oppenheimer and other investment banking boutiques, where he took several information technology companies public. 

Why EMI Is In Trouble: Guy Hands Paid Too Much

(Updated) The headlines are harsh: EMI Reports $2.4 Billion Loss. Needs $160 Million To Avoid Citi Loan Default. But after years of cost cutting, how could the home of The Beatles and Coldplay be in such dire straights? Iall boils down to a single fact England's consummate deal maker and Terra Firma head Guy Hands paid way too much money for the music group.

The numbers show EMI's once struggling music division is actually doing OK. Operating profits grew from from £56M ($89 Million US)  to £163M ($256 Million US) contributing to overall profits of almost £300M ($472 Million). That's not bad given the state of the overall state of the recording industry and the global economy.

The problem for EMI is the payments that the company has to make to Citi to service the £2.6BN ($4.1 Billion US) of debt and having to stay within the loan's solvency covenants.

More: EMI Reports $2.4 Billion Loss. Needs $160 Million To Avoid Citi Loan Default

Warner Nashville Tries Cutting The Album In Half

Sales of full albums are falling faster than an Olympic ski racer on an ice covered slope.  And then time between releases can leave too-long gaps in the marketing cycle. 

Warner's Nashville is looking for an answer by dividing Blake Shelton's "Hillbilly Bone" as a "Six Pak," a 6 song album of new material to be released on March 2 followed by another six-song release in August.  Pricing, which could be the key to the experiment's success, is not yet available.

Warner Music Nashville SVP of Sales & Marketing Peter Strickland told Billboard that the Six Pak will enable artists "to deliver music to [fans] on a much more regular basis at a value price package."

Some Thoughts From New Music Seminar LA

Some random thoughts and takeaways from this week's NMS LA:

• It was exciting to see both a sold out crowd and this great event coming into its own.  It's a credit to the tenacity of Tom Silverman and Dave Lory and bodes well for the future of the new music business.
• It's also refreshing that almost no one asks, "How can I get a record deal?" anymore, but rather "How can I move my career forward?"
• The Death of D.I.Y. -  There's finally a realization that you can't do it all yourself. You need to assemble a team.  But the beauty of the new paradigm is that you get to assemble the team and it may come together and change dependent on a particular project.
• Spotify's "Coming Soon" sign may be starting to wear out its welcome. (MOG anyone?)
• I enjoyed the panel that I was in with Ian Rogers of Topspin, Bryan Calhoun of SoundExchange, Mike Doernberg of ReverbNation and moderated by Tom Silverman. We shared some great information.  It's too bad that Paul at Digital Music News managed to feature everyone's name and deliberately leave me off the list.  I may be overreacting and maybe he's upset that Hypebot has 2-3 times the unique visitors that he has, but still... Come on Paul...there's room for everyone. The new music industry deserves many voices.

The Official Post NMS Press Release:

Same As It Ever Was: Buddy Holly Tries To Reason With His Label Boss

The secret recordings.

Disagreements between artist and labels have been happening since the invention of the recorded disc. Way back in 1956, Buddy Holly recorded several songs in Nashville including  "That'll Be The Day". But but producer Owen Bradley reportedly hated rock n' roll, and the results were less than exciting.

Later Holly re-recorded "That'll Be The Day" at a different studio with his own arrangement. But...

James Brown Gives Dance Lessons

James Brown teaches James Brown's dance steps to James Brown's music. 

What could be better?

(via Mike King)

More Music Industry News: Napster UK, MySpace's Hirschhorn Out, Facebook Redesign & More

• Napster is relaunching its UK music service later this year to benefit from the increased exposure it will receive from parent company Best Buy opening in the country. (iStock)
• MySpace Chief Product Officer Jason Hirschhorn will soon be leaving after only 9 months on the job. (TechCrunch)
• A run down of Facebook's new design. (VentureBeat)
• Did The Recording Industry Really Miss The Opportunity To 'Monetize' Online Music? (Techdirt)
• Men at Work stole Down Under riff from Guides: Band may owe campfire songwriter millions in royalties after court rules they plundered flute melody on 80s hit (Guardian)
• Sirius XM launches Blackberry Streaming App.(press release)
• Slacker Radio adds mobile app for Palm webOS smartphones. (press release)
• A reshuffled MTV Networks changes the way its digital sales team sells. (ClickZ
• Vinyl revival helps save indie music shops like this one in Springfield, MO. (Ozarks First)
• Video Game Sales Down Eight Percent In ‘Transition Year’ (paidContent)

EMI Reports $2.4 Billion Loss. Needs $160 Million To Avoid Citi Loan Default

 

UPDATE: Big Cuts Ahead As EMI Fights For Survival

It's official. EMI has reported a 2.4 Billion Loss.

Accountants examining EMI's books as part of a dispute between the label group, it's investment firm owner Terra Firma, and lender CitiGroup are expected to reveal that the company is $2.23 $2.4 billion in the red,

The red ink would put EMI in default of the terms of its massive $4.5 billion debt to Citi which is struggling under its own losses. To make matters worse, a $160 million loan payment is due on March 31st; and if that is missed, the bank may be forced to take control of the struggling company.

EMI's board is is said to be working feverishly on financing proposals to be presented to Terra Firma's investors. But at least 75% of them will have to vote in favor of putting up the extra cash. If not, there may be three majors left standing instead of four.

UPDATE "A breach of debt ratios, which are based on earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, could result in Citigroup taking control of EMI, the people said. EMI reported Ebitda rose 82 percent to 298 million pounds for the year ended March 2009." - Business Week

More: Why EMI Is In Trouble: Guy Hands Paid Too Much

image via ars techinica

The Latest Facebook Music Rumors

Traffic and Facebook is soaring and increasingly artists and music marketers are finding it a great place for social networking with fans.  All this activity and still Facebook does not have its own music service leaving room for a plethora of outside music applications such as iLike to fill the void.

But rumors continue to fly that something is in the planning stages. After all, every major social site has embraced music as a way to attract and retain users. Facebook must be up to something!  The latest rumor was based on a new icon that TechCrunch noticed on some Facebook "Edit Applications" screens.

But Facebook pointed to a Facebook Music Player app that appears on some Facebook Pages and issued another firm "“We have no plans to launch a music service on Facebook.”

It may seem unthinkable that Facebook is leaving music to outsiders.  But if true, how refreshing it is to see a company that in essence says, "We're going to stick to what we're good at and open up our platform so that others can create great things".

Indie Label Definitive Jux Puts Its Hat On The Shelf

The financial realities of running an indie label at a time when far fewer are paying for music, is starting to take its toll. One of my favorite indie hip hop labels Definitive Jux will soon stop releasing new product and go on hiatus.

"We'll still have our website, we will still sell our catalog, merch and more as well as bring you news and updates on all our projects and artists. We will be releasing "KING OF HEARTS", a DEF JUX remix compilation, a 10 year anniversary retrospective and some other goodies." wrote EL-P the founder of Def Jux "But then as a traditional record label DEF JUX will effectively be put on hiatus. We are not closing, but we are changing. The process is already underway, and the last several months (for those wondering what the hell we've been up to) have been spent dealing with the technical aspects of wrapping up the label in it's current form and re-imagining our collective and individual futures."

New Deals Add Indies To Thumbplay's Mobile Music Subscription Offering

U.S. mobile entertainment provider Thumbplay has forged agreements with 20 new content partners for its new music app bringing the total track offering of Thumbplay Music to 8 million.  Beggars Group, Merge Records, Redeye Distribution and Tunecore joining all four major labels CD Baby, INgrooves, IODA and The Orchard.

Thumbplay Music is a cloud-based, subscription music service that provides unlimited, on-demand access to songs. Currently, Thumbplay Music is available by invitation-only on select BlackBerry Smartphones and on PCs/Macs through a downloadable Adobe AIR desktop version. The app is scheduled to go wide in Q1 and will be available on Android, iPhone and additional BlackBerry smartphones.

More indie deals:

Do You Have A Favorite Song About The Music Industry?

This hardly original but clever song from CES set to Barry Manilow's Copacabana about Silicon Valley got me thinking that it's time that we all gave props to an under-recognized genre of music - songs about the music industry. 

What is your favorite song about the music industry? Springsteen's "Radio Nowhere" comes to mind for me.

More Music Industry News: Sony Sales Up, Music Via ISP, Push + Pull Music & More

• Sony sales, earnings bounce back. (CNet) Things ae even looking up in the music division. (Media Memo) Compare that to EMI...
  
• Apple's smartphone market share dips despite strong sales. (ars)
• Analysis: How Much Is A Good Music Service Worth To A Large ISP? (Billboard) The power of music to reduce costly consumer churn is something other industries should explore.
• Analysis: Push and pull makes the perfect music service. (Music Ally) This article focuses on Spotify, but  if you want to see push/pull music in action also check out MOG.
• David Packman weighs in on Amazon Macmillan pricing debate. 
• Keith Urban Gets All Confused About Support For Downloading - After being voted favorite male artist at the People’s Choice Awards last month, during his acceptance speech Keith Urban showed why the people love him. Speaking of his music the star said: “I don’t even care if you download it illegally, give it to your friends, I really don’t care.” Just a month later he says he didn’t mean that at all.(TorrentFreak)
• Five (non-obvious) ways to get new fans. (LA Times)
• Anti RIAA site P2p.net shuts down. (Wired)
  
  

eMusic Gets More Social Via Facebook Connect

Do fans want to connect around music on generalized social networking sites or would they rather get more social via their favorite music sites? There is no one sized fits all answer, but eMusic is making its first moves to connect the two worlds with the integration of Facebook Connect. 

When eMusic subscribers login using Facebook Connect, they are able to publish their eMusic activities back on Facebook. Subscribers can post album ratings, reviews, album and artist links to their Facebook Profile, which also appear on their friends’ News Feeds. This can be done with the simple click of a button from various album and artist pages on eMusic.

“Back in the day of the corner music store, word-of-mouth was one of the best ways to find out about new music,” said Deirdre Stone, eMusic SVP of Product Development. “Facebook is the modern day equivalent and we want to empower the eMusic community to engage in this way."

New Free Daily Download Widget

Spotify CEO Daniel EK at NMS LA: U.S. Launch "Looking Pretty Good"

(UPDATE 2) During an interview yesterday at the New Music Seminar in LA, Spotify CEO Daniel EK said that the U.S. launch of the ad supported streaming music service was "looking pretty good". "This is a huge market," Ek  continued, "and we want to make sure we do it right"

Aware that the packed house at the Henry Fonda Theater were not all familiar with Spotify, EK was both an instructor and a salesman on stage and during an interview with Billboard's Glenn Peoples.  As in his  recent MIDEM interview with Ted Cohen, EK responded indirectly to industry concerns about  small payouts to rights holders by repositioning Spotify as a tool to sell music, tickets and merchandise. Ek also emphasized potential uses for the data that Spotify is collecting to help artists and marketers better understand fans.

UPDATE: Spotify has also just announced a major overhaul of its music discovery features.

Terry McBride And The Emotional Power Of Music

Nettwerk Music Group CEO Terry McBride has always been a thinker as we as a successful music entrepreneur. This year his main project is a rejuvenated Lilith Fair tour that will certainly bring back wonderful memories for many.  In this speech at TEDx in Vancouver, Terry explores the emotional power of music and its ability to bookmark moments in our lives that we can return to again and again.

Understanding the power of those moments has sustained substantial careers for the likes of Jimmy Buffett Phish and The Rolling Stones who know what their loyal fans want and give it to them

John Topper: 10 Questions From My 8 Year Old

Guest Post: John Topper is a successful manager (moe and Cornmeal) and music industry entrepreneur.  Occasionally he shares his wit and wisdom with the rest of us.10 questions my 8 year old daughter will ask me by the time she gets to college.

1. What is a record label?
2. Why did people carry around such big cell phones?
3. Did the radio ever play music?
4. How come Live Nation is building condos where all the amphitheaters used to be?
5. Who is this guy Bob Lefsetz and why did they make a wax figure of him at Madame Tussuad's?
6. Why did we used to have so many CDs in the house when I was growing up?
7. What was it like to see a band in an arena?
8. Are the Knicks going to Ever win it all?
9. Has it always been this expensive to buy tickets to a show?
10. How come there are only Jambands left playing venues?

SXSW Announces More Bands & Panelists

Things really started to heat up in Austin Texas as more bands and panelists are being announced for the annual music, film and tech mega-gathering.

Suzanne Vega and DJ Spooky join 300+ panelists and for the best looking schedule I've ever seen and the list of bands is...well, read the full schedule.

More Music Industry News: KKBox To US, Rockhose Launches, Microgen To DDEX & More

It was great meeting so many Hypebot readers yesterday at the LA New Music Seminar. And congrats to Tommy and Dave for putting on such a great (and successful) event.

• Interactive Grammys reach most viewers in 6 years. (Wired)
• Taipei-based KKBOX, which currently provides a catalog of ad supported songs from all four major labels plus Chinese-language music, has signed up 200,000 paying users in Taiwan and Hong Kong for its desktop and mobile streaming music service - and is now setting its sights on the U.S. (GigaOm)
• Three former ECHO Ticketmaster execs have launched Rockhouse Partners. The technology-based entertainment agency will focus on connecting sponsor brands to consumers in the music and sports industries. Co-founders Tawn Albright, Kevin Brown, and Joe Kustelski. (press release)
• DDEX marches on:  Microgen  has been accepted as a Charter Member of the Digital Data Exchange (DDEX), a standards organization that is working to improve information sharing efficiency for the digital music industry. (press release)
• HP to launch music service dubbed The Music Station in Europe. (Reuters)
• Industry Chat: Marc Weinstein, Founder of Amoeba Music (Paste)
• Essay: Can Music Stand on Its Own in Today’s Entertainment Culture? (Creative Deconstruction)

Ustream Scores $75 Million From Japan's Softbank

(UPDATED)Popular live video streaming enabler Ustream has received another $75 million in funding led by #3 Japanese cell service Softbank. Ustream will primarily use the money to expand  service in Japan, China, Korea and India.

Ustream allows anyone with a camera and a net connection or mobile phone that has web and filming capabilities to broadcast videos quicky and easily to their own channels. The site had 50 million unique users in January, but as the company said in a statement Asia offers an “untapped market opportunity for streaming videos.” China alone has 700 million wireless subscribers.

Update: TechCrunch is reporting that Ustream's funding is really $20 million now and the option for $55 million later. Ustream had previously raised $13 million.

NY Rock/Rappers Shinobi Ninja Engage Fans With New GPS Enabled Mobile Game

NYC indie rock/rap group Shinobi Ninja, have launched their own music-focused gaming app for the iPhone. Part cartoon video game, part music video, and part music/video player, “Brooklyn to Babylon: Shinobi Ninja Attacks!” integrates digital music and video into a classic eight-bit video-game environment. Players get immersed in the band’s imagined cartoon world and are rewarded with free music, videos, and merchandise.

In what the band says is a first for music and gaming iPhone apps, “Shinobi Ninja Attacks” also leverages smartphone GPS tracking capability at concerts to locate and reward fans who have installed the app. A “lite” version is available free from the App Store and  the fully loaded retail version sells for $3.99.

60 Million Americans Listen To Internet Radio

According to a Bridge Ratings study of internet radio listeners, 60 million Americans listen to net radio during an average week. 84% of those  regularly listen to online simulcasts of terrestrial radio and 62% listen to net only stations.

The study predicts that by 2015, 77 million Americans will be regular listeners of net radio, and by 2016 net-only radio and terrestrial simulcasts will have equal online listenerships.

"The hard part is getting heard."

"Art, fashion, live performance are the things that help us connect now.

We think if people hear the music and what we have to say, then we can start a relationship with them.

But the hard part is getting heard."

- Steven Scott, guitarist and singer for the Afternoons in an L.A. Times article "The path to success is no longer labeled".

Indie Label Exit Stencil Goes Free For February

Wonderfully named indie label Exit Stencil is giving it all away during Free February. Almost all of their 20 release catalog will be available for free digital download. No gimmicks, no asking for donations, no limit to the number of releases available to each person -- just a free chance to check out a bunch of bands they've worked with over the past couple of years.

Included are HotChaCha (above), Mystery Of Two, Blake Miller and others. Visit www.exitstencil.org and download away.

I'll ask the label heads of Exit Stencil to gauge the success of it's Free February experiment when it's done. Particularly of interest is how did it effected both short and long term sales. 

What do you think? Will Exit Stencil benefit from the publicity bump that giving everything away may bring.  It certainly worked for Mojo Nixon and his million track blitz on Amazon.  Or are fans tiring of free and would Exit Stencil's artists have benefited from a more strategic giveaway strategy?

5 Tips For Success Social Meda Success

5 Expert Share Social Media Tips For Indie Musicians

Via the LA Times:

1. Be real. "It can't just be about commerce. People want to connect with you and get to know you. They don't want to connect with you if you're just telling them to go buy your record. They don't want you to be perfect, either. They want you to be real." - Evan Greene, chief marketing officer, the Recording Academy

2. Pick a couple of services you like and focus on them. "There are so many services out there that trying to do everything and be everywhere is impossible. Play around with them. It's okay to mess up. And don't have a PR person handle your tweets. It should be all about having a real conversation with your fans." - Kevin Rose, founder, Digg

3. Have something unique. "There's so much already out there, and people have so little time that having something unique about yourself and your music can give you a competitive advantage. Figure out what's unique about you and ask: What is the distilled message? It has to be something so remarkable that other people will have to share it." - Pete Cashmore, founder, Mashable

More New Music Industry News: Spotify Adds France, iTunes & The iPad, Cameo Carlson & More

I'm in LA today for the New Music Seminar and hope to see many of you there. Please stop me at least to say hello.  And don't miss the piece that Kyle Bylin posted yesterday. "Trapped In Cognition: The Plight of the Digital Age" is one of his most thoughtful essays yet. Read it and help spread it with a tweet, digg, link, etc. This one's worth sharing.

• Muzak emerges from Chapter 11. (AP)
• Towards a kinder, gentler "three strikes" for file-sharers.(ars)
• Spotify has moved from invite only to now offering its free music service to all in France. This should prove a major threat to struggling Deezer. (Spotify) Rumors have U.S. label and publisher talks stalled.  But Spotify CEO Daniel Ek is in LA now and moving the ball forward is at the top of his agenda.
• How to make the iPad a better digital music device. (CNet)
• Grandma endures wrongful ISP piracy suspension and is vindicated. (Media Maverick)
• Apple’s Next Revolutionary Product: iTunes (Wired)
• Q&A: Universal Motown Exec VP Cameo Carlson (Billboard)
• Net Neutrality Won't Prevent BitTorrent Blocking - Ignited by the Comcast fiasco in the US, the concept of Net Neutrality has been brought into the mainstream resulting in planned government interventions. However, unlike the name suggests, Net Neutrality might not stop BitTorrent blocking and could leave us worse off than when this all started. (Torrent Freak)

MySpace's Owen Van Natta Talks About iLike And His 8 Months As CEO

It's easy to dump on MySpace. After all, Facebook and Twitter are experiencing rapid growth and getting the headlines. But I met Owen Van Natta at MidemNet.  I also got to watch him speak and interact with others. His style is guarded - perhaps the result of being part of a huge public global company.  But I'm convinced that he along with the super smart head of MySpace Music Courtney Holt are sincerely developing a plan to reposition and perhaps save MySpace.  He talks a bit about where things are headed including the iLike acquisition in this video interview via TechCrunch.