Our paidContent:UK editor Robert Andrews has been at the MidemNet conference in Cannes, covering the big music conference and marketplace. Some highlights: -- @ MidemNet: YouTube’s Hurley: EU ‘Made Things…

Read more »

Our paidContent:UK editor Robert Andrews has been at the MidemNet conference in Cannes, covering the big music conference and marketplace. Some highlights: -- @ MidemNet: YouTube’s Hurley: EU ‘Made Things…

Read more »

“Our intention definitely in 2008 is to drop DRM, so we can have a truly interoperable service linked with network access”, music product development director Brenda O’Connell told mocoNews.net. Orange…

Read more »

U2’s manager has called on ISPs to police subscribers’ online activities and kick off illegal file sharers. “Their snouts have been feeding at our trough for free for too long,”…

Read more »

Qtrax, a new P2P service offering free ad-funded music, spent big marketing bucks to set up big expectations here in France - but, despite being due for download at midnight…

Read more »

This year may go down as the year consumers started getting free music en masse. Not that music itself is free, of course - just that a wave of companies…

Read more »

YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley called on Europe to simplify its content licensing systems. “It would be great, at this point, on the publishing side, if they were able to streamline…

Read more »

Nokia (NYSE: NOK) is looking to add more music labels to its Comes With Music program.  The bundled music access initiative so far includes repertoire from Universal Music Group but…

Read more »

Sony (NYSE: SNE) BMG reckons its digital music revenue will first meet that of its physical sales next year.  “It’s rapidly going to 50 percent in the US - in…

Read more »

Music fan network iLike sees little threat from Facebook’s musical ambitions - but is broadening its base just in case. Having acquired 20 million users in 14 months mainly through…

Read more »

Ed’s Note: Our paidContent:UK editor Robert Andrews is at the Midem conference in Cannes, covering the big music conference and marketplace. Below are his reports from Midemnet, the digital music…

Read more »

Another year, another carnival of hand-wringing about the fractured international music licensing framework. The multifarious avenues via which online music service providers must license tunes is still curtailing development, we…

Read more »

The theme was drawn for MidemNet, the two-day digital content opener to this year’s Cannes music conflab, in a morning “visionary” panel. With Qtrax due to relaunch its legal P2P…

Read more »

This Saturday, it’s back to Cannes for the annual music industry conference. This year, Midem and MidemNet hear from the likes of YouTube co-founder Chad Hurley, Bebo international president Joanna…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] Music industry changes ushered in by digital are prompting a shake-up at EMI Music Publishing that could see some staff lose or change their job. The parent…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] The “conversation with Miles Flint” session at MidemNet Sunday morning seemed like more of an opportunity for the Sony Ericsson president to bask in the handset maker’s…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews]: The music industry must drop the compact disc format and modernize to survive, says hip-hop artist, producer and record label owner Will.i.am. The producer and Black Eyed…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] One of the predominant themes at this conference has been the thorny question - to use DRM, or not to use DRM? After the success of eMusic…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] Over half of mobile users regularly change their handset ringtone—but only 13 percent of them pay for those tunes, according to new data. Presenting figures from Informa…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] The new “fifth major” record label unveiled here at Cannes yesterday has announced its first partnership - a deal with Shawn Fanning’s SNOCAP that will let independent…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] Some major independent record companies have come together to create a “virtual fifth major” label - a strategy designed to improve their capacity to fight online copyright…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] The music business will not make significant enough gains until it drops restrictive DRM, and it won’t be saved by the long tail either, according to two…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] European mobile phone network Orange plans to unveil a music recommendation engine, allowing consumers to learn about tunes from their friends and peers. Herve Payan, the France…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] Microsoft has suggested that new, Flash-based models of its Zune media player could be released later this year. The Redmond company launched the device in November in…

Read more »

[By Robert Andrews] Music recommendation and social networking site Last.fm is keeping coy about whether it may become an acquisition target. The site, which lets users receive artist recommendations from…

Read more »