Universal to unveil CDs with anti-piracy software
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Vivendi Universal said on Tuesday its Universal Music Group, the world's largest record company, plans to start issuing CDs in October with software that prevents music from being digitally copied into computer files. Following a lengthy legal battle with song swapping software ...
| Napster Strikes Historic $26 Million Deal With National Music Publishers' Association
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Down but not out file-swapping service Napster reached a preliminary deal with the National Music Publishers' Association on Monday (Sept. 24) worth $26 million which would effectively settle a pending class-action lawsuit against the company in federal court. While still subject ...
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Napster Hires Ex-Netscape Exec.
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (AP) - Napster Inc. has hired a former Netscape executive to oversee membership initiatives as the song-swap company prepares to launch its subscription online music service. Claire Hough will serve as Napster's vice president of engineering, a newly created position, the company ...
| Top Acts Offer Names For Fans' E-Mail Addresses
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Sugar Ray, Korn, Dr. Dre, Metallica, Eminem, and matchbox twenty are among the more than 30 artists that are teaming with Hollywood, Calif.-based XingMail Inc. to offer their fans artist-branded E-mail addresses, Billboard Bulletin reports. Other artists offering the service via ...
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Napster Seeks To Deny RIAA Ruling
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Music file sharing service Napster has filed papers seeking to deny the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and music publishers' request for a ruling that would hold it legally responsible for allowing copyright infringement, Billboard Bulletin reports. The action, ...
| MusicNet says to roll out platform in coming weeks
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - MusicNet, the online music venture between RealNetworks Inc. and three major record labels, said Friday it plans to deliver its technology platform to distribution partners within weeks, the first step toward a full-launch of the new service for subscribers. "Within a couple ...
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Napster Eclipsed by Newcomers!...
NEW YORK (WIRED) - Months after shutting down its file-trading service, Napster has finally been displaced by four new applications that allow users to trade music, movies and software, a new study concludes. Four new file-sharing systems -- FastTrack, Audiogalaxy, iMesh and Gnutella -- were used to ...
| Stealth war against CD piracy
LONDON, UK (BBC) - More than one million CDs with anti-piracy devices have been slipped onto racks in record shops across Europe. The discs form part of an experiment by major labels to find out how well their digital security systems work when trying to stop tracks being copied onto blank CDs or swapped ...
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Online download site to launch
LONDON, UK (BBC) - The latest online service to move into the legitimate music download market has promised big name bands when the service launches in October. Wippit, a UK-based service, will charge users �50 for one year's access to music on its site, which is set to include tracks from artists on ...
| Zomba, MP3.com settle lawsuit
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Zomba Records, the powerful independent record label that is home to the Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears, said Thursday it had settled a copyright infringement lawsuit with online music company MP3.com Inc., a unit of Vivendi Universal. "The parties have settled the litigation ...
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DVD Cracking Case, Western Style
NEW YORK (Top40 Charts) - The two-pronged, bi-coastal legal war being waged against individuals who have distributed a code that can circumvent encryption on DVDs now focuses on First Amendment issues being raised in San Jose. Thursday's court battle was to be held in front of a three-judge panel that ...
| Brothers face prosecution for 'Napster of the East'
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) � Internet song-sharing software is downloaded and enjoyed by millions of music fans and becomes the talk of the nation. Record labels complain and seek to punish the program's creators for allegedly encouraging music piracy.So it goes for Soribada, or "Sea of Sound," South Korea's ...
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RIAA Seeks Napster Judgement
LA (Top40 Charts) - The Recording Industry Association of America requested an October 1st hearing in its case against Napster, hoping that U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel will issue a summary judgement for liability against the song-swapping software company. The RIAA filed a preliminary injunction ...
| 'Billboard' poll: Napster Is Irrelevant !!!
LA (Billboard) - Although Napster promises to deploy a fee-based system for trading and downloading music files in the near future, the majority of online music fans won't be there to support it, according to a recently completed Billboard.com poll. An overwhelming 65% of 8,520 voters believe that Napster ...
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Byrne Gets With Windows
Boston (AP) - David Byrne and Bill Gates will be teaming up this August with each copy of Windows(r) XP operating system containing a promotional copy of David Byrne's song "Like Humans Do" from his latest album, Look Into the Eyeball. The song will play as a digital audio track, complete with album ...
| With Napster Weakened, RIAA Hopes To Settle Landmark Lawsuit
LA (SonicNet) - After driving Napster to its knees in court, the music industry is ready to settle its copyright infringement lawsuit against the now-crippled file-sharing service. Hilary Rosen, president of industry trade group the Recording Industry Association of America � which led the fight against ...
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Radio Free Virgin deals with RioPort, MuchMusic USA
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Webcaster Radio Free Virgin announced deals with RioPort and MuchMusic USA on Tuesday. Under the RioPort deal, RFV users will be able to purchase downloads of certain tracks and albums they hear on the Webcaster's 40-plus channels. Consumers can purchase the RioPort downloads ...
| Napster drops Interim CEO Barry
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Napster is replacing its leader with an executive from its German backer, who will try to steer the company out of its renegade past into a legitimate service that requires fans to pay for music. Interim CEO Hank Barry, a lawyer who came to Napster from a venture capital firm, will ...
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Study: Parents don't rely on 'V-Chip'
LOS ANGELES - Parents rely more on television ratings and less on the high-tech "V-chip" to choose the shows their children watch, according to a survey released Tuesday. While 40% of American families own a TV set with a V-chip installed to block designated programs with sex or violence, only 17% of ...
| Uplister readies download subscription service
NEW YORK (Billboard) - Uplister, an Oakland, Calif.-based music-playlist sharing service, is developing a download subscription offering and has entered into content-distribution deals with indie labels Beggars Group, Matador and TVT. The Web-based service will offer unlimited music downloads on a rental ...
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