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REWIND: The New Music Industry's Week In Review

Welcome to Hypebot's weekly recap up of new music industry news.

• Sony Raises Price On Whitney Houston's Hits Just Hours After Her Death
   SESAC Is For Sale, #3 U.S. Performing Rights Firm Could Fetch $500 Million
• MySpace Adds 1 Million Users After Music Refocus 
• SF Music Tech: A Bright Future For Music Tech, Lessons Learned
• JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Cracker's Dave Lowery On Artists "Shafted" By New Music Industry [VIDEO}

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NEWS BRIEF: RIAA/IFPI vs. Google, Megaupload Less Guilty?, ICM, Twitter Ads You Can Afford & More

RIAA/IFPI Explored Possible Lawsuit Against Google For Not Ranking iTunes Above Pirate Bay. (Techdirt)

• Is Megaupload "a lot less guilty than you think? (ars)
• ICM has not renewed the contracts of three literary agents in what appears to be a larger pending downsizing that will likely include the music and film divisions. (The Wrap)

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NEWS BRIEF: ReDigi Slams Capital & Rdio, Google $4 Sale, Spotify Said No To Adele, Tunecore & More

MP3 Reseller ReDigi Has Accused Capitol Records & Rdio of Sabotage (Wired) Rdio is now blocking song samples from ReDigi.

• Google continues its lower price push with dozens of $3.99 albums and $.59 tracks in honor of Black History Month.
• Why Spotify Turned Down Adele's "21" (Fast Company)  Adele was willing to have her album "21" available on the streaming music service. But Spotify would have had to change its whole strategy to accommodate her.

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NEWS BRIEF: WMG Digital To Sony, Bonnaroo Leak, Grammys Get Social, YouTube Changes Deal & More

Just days after Sony DADC transferred physical product distribution for Sony, EMI and Universal to Andereson Merchandise (full story here), Sony appears poised to take over digital distribution for Warner Music Group, Billboard reports.

• Bonnaroo has named Spotify a launch partner. (Spotify)  Did they also just leak their 2012 lineup including Prince, Radiohead, Phish and the Red Hot Chili Peppers? (Daily Swarm)
• Social Media Helps Grammys Achieve Huge Ratings in Broadcast and Social TV. (Mashable) And here are some stats that, I think, tell a somewhat different story.

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NEWS BRIEF: #SFMusicTech, Sony Cashes In On Witney, Spotify "Extreme", Mobile Backstage & More

The action shifts to SF Musc Tech today with an A list of music industry and music tech attendees.  Hisham Dahud (@hishamdahud) is there for Hypebot. Be sure to say hello and tell him what you're working on.

• Witney Houston fans are crying foul as Sony UK increases the price of her greatest hits collection hours after the singer's death. (DigitalSpy)
• Spotify has added an "extreme" setting to its mobile apps that boosts streaming quality to 320kps. (TNW)

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REWIND: The New Music Industry's Week In Review

It's Grammy Weekend in LA, but the new music industry action is already shifting northward as SF Music Hack Day begins its marathon followed by SF Music Tech next week. Hypebot's  Hisham Dahud will be there.  Be sure to say hello and share what you're working on.

• Remember iLike? The Social Music Network Officially Died This Week
• Spotify's Ek On Royalties, Social Media & The Future 
• Warner Music Losses Grow 44%, Revenue Flat Despite Digital Gains
• An Inside Look At The DJ Shadow, SoundCloud Remix Competition

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Major Label Owned VEVO Shows Pirated NFL Show At Sundance

VEVO, the music video powerhouse owned primarily by Universal and Sony and including content from EMI, would seem to be the last company to knowingly stream pirated video at a major event. But that's exactly what they did at their recent Sundance party and the NFL's Patriots vs Ravens playoff game.

NEWS BRIEF: Secret Google Music Device, Piracy Un-Slowed By Mega Takedown, Sirius, Slacker & More

Google will begin manufacturing its own home music system, according to the New York Times. It's part of a broader move to create move beyond the desktop and create a closed eco-system much like Apple (iTunes, iPod, iPhone, iPad, Mac) and Amazon (Kindle).

• MegaUpload takedown didn't slow pirateD downloads, IT just moved them offshore. (IT World) Downloads to U.S. users coming across longer distances, more expensive link.
• Slacker has added Steve Wadsworth, a former senior executive at Walt Disney, to it's Board of Directors.

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NEWS BRIEF: Google $4 Sale, TuneCore Publishing, Grammy Protests, McCartney Streaming & More

(UPDATED) Google Music has put most Grammy albums for sale at $3.99 and tracks for $.59. Most are a lost leaders for Google designed to drive traffic to their fledgling service, but are priced above the $3.49 that Billboard now requires for chart eligibility.

• TuneCore's new publishing venture has signed 1,400 songwriters and over 30,000 compositions in the past 10 weeks.
• The protests against The Grammys' cutting categories continues with a concert and more. (GrammyWatch)

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NEWS BRIEF: Cash Music, Score 1 For ReDigi, Sony Merges Services, UK Loves UK Acts, OK Go & More

Non-profit CashMusic.org recently snuck out the first officially supported version of its new platform designed to provide free, easy-to-use online tools for artists. Apparently, this is the first of many upgrades and new features in the works.

• A judge has denied EMI's request to immediately shut down used mp3 reseller Redigi. (Hollywood Reporter)
• Sony has merged its PlayStation Network into broader online services rebranded as the Sony Entertainment Network. (PC)

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NEWS BRIEF: "Tell You 5 Things...", WMG Joins Digital Royalty Fight, Rdio, Deezer, Grammys & More

During a weekend of reading, one piece stood out. "I Just Want To Tell You Five Things…" is a wonderfully honest must read by BigChampagne co-founder Eric Garland, now of Live Nation Labs.  We're trying to get Eric to share more. Until then, stop revving up for another Monday and take 5 minutes to read and absorb it.

• Warner pulled into digital royalties dispute via Sister Sledge lawsuit. (CMU)
• Rdio's updated Android app is now including new features: collection, playlists, new releases, top charts, recommendations, and support for Android Ice Cream Sandwich's remote control client.

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REWIND: The New Music Industry's Week In Review

• Midem 2012: A Roundup Of News & Announcements
  
• AmazonMP3 Pulls All TuneCore Tracks In EU & UK, Distributor Alleges Payment Issues
• SXSW Accelerator Names Music Tech Finalists
• Mark Mulligan On Agile Music: Artist Creativity & Music Formats In the Age of Mass Customization
• Spotify's Royalty Rate For Indie Artists Up Just $0.001 In 2011, Despite Big Subscriber Growth

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NEWS BRIEF: Lana Del Rey #1, Challenges For New Sony CEO, Google + ReDigi, Willie Nelson & More

Lana Del Rey - the new artist every critic seems to love to hate - has debuted at #1 on the iTunes charts in 15 countries including UK, Germany, France and USA.

• New Chief Takes on a Sony That Is a Shadow of Its Former Self. (NY Times)
• Google has filed a brief in the case of EMI vs mp3 reseller ReDigi asking the court to "deny the motion for preliminary injunction without reaching the complex and profound legal issues outlined."

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NEWS BRIEF: Facebook Lowers IPO to $5B, Spotify Nabs Coldplay, Pirate Bay Shifts Domains & More

(UPDATED) Rumors peg today as the day that Facebook will file a $5 billion IPO. Pour Mark, that's down from an estimated $10 billion.

• Spotify has finally nabbed Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto and the Bob Dylan's catalog is back up. The changes were first noticed by Struart Dredge of MusicAlly who we thank again for providing much of our great Midem coverage. UPDATE: Just got word the MOG has it too.
• The Pirate Bay has quickly shifted its domain from .org to .se to prevent domain seizure.

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REWIND: The New Music Industry's Week In Review

Spotify Hits 3 Million Paid Subscribers, 20% Conversion Rate.

• Startup Murfie Gets $1.4 Million To Rip Used CD's, Sell  Downloads.
• Gobbler Gets $1.75 Million To Expand Musician File Management.
• Indie EU Trade Group IMPALA Comes Out Swinging In EMI Sale Fight.
• Rhapsody Expands Into Europe With Purchase Of Napster UK, Germany.
• Tom Silverman On The 1st Anniversary Of The Resurrection Of The Music Business.

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NEWS BRIEF: Midem, LyricFind, Google Music, Intel + RealNetworks, Reznor Interview, YouTube & More

The music industry action shifts to Cannes and MIDEM this weekend and Hypebot will have lots of coverage including via a special partnership with Stuart Drudge of MusicAlly.

• One of the first MIDEM announcements comes from LyricFind who have signed what they say is the world’s first global lyrics deals with all four major publishers.
• Google Music now lets you download MP3 copies of your stored tunes. (Verge) Sound like a small change, but its a feature that's likely to be hugely popular.

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NEWS BRIEF: iTunes Sales Hit $6B, Rhapsody to EU, Cowell's DJ TV, The Collective Expands, MOG & More

Global iTunes stores sales rose to $1.7 billion Q4 2011 including from music, video and apps. That's roughly $6 billion for all of 2011, according to an analysis by Billboard's Glenn Peoples, up 55%. The company does not break out music only sales.

• Rhapsody has expanded into Europe with purchase of Napster UK, Germany.
• Simon Cowell's Syco to launch global 'X Factor for DJs' TV talent show in partnership with Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith's production company. (Metro)

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NEWS BRIEF: UMG vs. EU, MegaUpload's YouTube Defense, EMI On SOPA, Apple, Buzz, 7 Digital & More

• Universal bid for EMI faces fierce EU battle. (Express)
• "We're just like YouTube," Megaupload lawyer tells Ars.
• EMI VP Comes Out Against SOPA/PIPA; Says The Answer To Piracy Is Providing A Better Service. (Techdirt)
• Apple broke all earnings records last quater, but music was not the drive. Details here.

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NEWS BRIEF: Diddy TV, Congress On SOPA/PIPA, Facebook Timeline, MegaUpload & More

Sean "Diddy" Combs To Launch Music Cable Network. (B&C) He's planning an urban-skewed music and music news network by the end of 2012, as music takes center stage again on cable (the Cuban/Seacrest HDNet makeover) and online (Google deals with Madonna, others).

• Where do your Congressmen stand on SOPA/PIPA? Find out here.
• Facebook Timeline Now Open To All, Users Get A Week To Clean Up Profiles (TechCrunch)
• Analysis: Megaupload shutdown unlikely to deter piracy (Reuters)

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NEWS BRIEF: Vevo + Facebook?, Megaupload Updates, Changes @ RIM, Tumblr, ReDigi & More

What a Facebook deal with Vevo could unleash. (paidContent) It's hard for me to imagine VEVO putting itself behind the Facebook wall and this deal happening, but money talks.

• Universal could divest to secure EMI takeover bid. (City AM)
• MegaUpload lawyer: U.S. misunderstands the business, (CNet)
• Megaupload Drops Lawsuit Against Universal Music Over Viral Video (THR)

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