Thursday’s Music 2.0 Briefing: WMG Stock Downgrade, Imeem Buys Snocap. Tagoo.ru & Much More
> Jack Johnson scored his second #1 album as "Sleep Through The Static" debuted at #1 selling 375,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Of that 139,000 units were downloads, making it the biggest sales week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads.
> In another blow to Warner Music Group, Moodys Investor Services has lowered the company’s rating to B1. (CNNMoney) The stock fell another 1.37% yesterday on an up day for the parket. Track it here.
> Nikki Sixx denies recent rumors that Motley Crue is signing a 360 deal with Live Nation.
> imeem appears set to buy the struggling Snocap. (TechCrunch)
> UK online retailer Play.com is launching an all mp3 store beating Amazon to the UK market. (Reuters)
> A Universal exec pointed to "unlimited access" (aka TotalMusic) and temporal pricing (i.e. – select content to a limited audience for a higher price like direct via the net from band to fan) as two "utopoan" futures for the music industry. (moco via coolfer)
> Borders is previewing a new concept store that includes kiosks for CD burning and downloads. (mlive)
> Tagoo, a new Russian based Google style mp3 search engine that points to free downloads is gaining popularity rapidly. (Threat Level) It’s a never ending game of top them on one site and another will just take its place. Traffic is so heavy on Tagoo that it is experiencing time out issues.
> A new survey says teens rely on their parents to teach them about copyright. (ars) So when the current generation of downloaders grow up; there’s no hope left for intellectual property rights as we know them. Creative Commons anyone?
> The Danish ISP ordered to block Pirate Bay will fight it in court. (PC World) Meanwhile Pirate Bay has already launched jesperbay to serve its Danish fans.
> A Wharton research study points to iLike as serious booster of music sales. (Mi2N)
> AirSpun.com has added a new set of social music tools designed to help fans discover new bands using a "sounds like" search, mix their own videos and create an audio player widget to embed on MySpace and Facebook). AirSpun claims a community of 16,000 indie bands, artists, and labels "actively selling and marketing their music".
