Sony Corporation of America has signed a merger agreement with Gracenote. Sony will pay approximately $260 million "plus other contingent considerations". Gracenote’s existing business will continue to operate separately and. Continue reading

HYPEBOT FEATURES: Microsoft turns off MSN track authorization reminding us why DRM sucks Weak economy starts to hit entertainment Sony buys Gracenote for $260M Sonicbds hires a VP Fontana grabs. Continue reading

Mark your calendars! SXSW 2009 will be taking place March 13-22. Interactive and Film: March 13-17 Music: March 18-22

Sonific, creators of the SongSpot widget that enabled bloggers and others to embed a single song player anywhere with ease is going offline May 1st. Co-founded by music futurist Gerd. Continue reading

IN SUPPORT OF A UK I-POD TAX Music Manager Forum CEO Jon Webster responds to my commentary last week critical of a proposed UK tax on manufacturers whose devices  enable . Continue reading

SpiralFrog, the free ad-supported music service, has appointed industry veteran and former Maverick and Pipeline GM Russ Rieger to the newly created position of vice president of strategic initiatives. Rieger. Continue reading

> EMI’s restructuring is facing contractual obstacles including key man clauses. (Reuters UK) > SonyBMG is joining Universal on Nokia’s Comes With Music bandwagon. (Engadget) We want details! > LG. Continue reading

We spend hours each day worrying about the minutia of the music industry, but today is a day when we need to look beyond our selfish selves and think about. Continue reading

We’re in the midst of huge global demographic and economic shifts. Are you and you’re company ready?