Tuesday, October 20, 2009
The Early Numbers Are In: Is Rhapsody’s iPhone App a Hit?
RealNetworks says more than 500,000 people have downloaded its all-you-can-eat music app. But it’s hard to tell what that number actually means.
Friday, September 11, 2009
All the Music You Can Eat, on Your iPhone? Wall Street Snoozes.
The announcement from RealNetworks that Apple had approved its iPhone app–all you can eat music, to go, for $15 a month–gave the company’s stock a brief jolt yesterday. That’s over now: Wall Street seems to have thought about it and concluded that people won’t pay a monthly fee for music, even on an iPhone.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Rhapsody Beats Spotify to the Punch. But Will You Pay $15 a Month for an iPhone Music App?
Okay, all you Spotify coveters who say you can’t wait to get the much hyped app on your iPhone, here’s your chance: Pony up $15 a month and you can get Rhapsody’s app, which does exactly the same thing.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Rolling Stone’s Web Failure Wasn’t So Shabby, After All. But Now What?
Conventional wisdom of the day: Magazine mogul Jann Wenner, the man who made his mark with Rolling Stone in the 60s and 70s, and then again with US Weekly in this decade, has blown it on the Web. And now it’s too late for him to catch up.
And who knows? It may even be true. But here’s one bit of nuance to chew on: Magazine mogul Jann Wenner has made money–as in, a profit–on the Web for the last five years.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Apple Signs Off on Spotify. When Will Big Music Play Along?
Spotify is the best music service you’ve never used. That’s because the much-hyped streaming music company is only available for Europeans and for a select few in the U.S. who have either gotten sneak peeks or hacked their way into it. The service took one step toward wider distribution today when Apple approved its iPhone app. But that won’t help U.S. users until the big music labels agree to American distribution deals.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Amazon’s Digital Music Store Takes a Tiny Step Forward, Still Trails Apple by Miles
A year ago, Apple’s iTunes owned about 70 percent of the digital music market, and newcomer Amazon had just five percent. Today, Apple still has 70 percent, but Amazon has…eight percent. In other news: People are buying music from Microsoft’s Zune store!
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
RealNetworks Still Barred From the DVD Backup Business. Why Does RealNetworks Want to Be in the DVD Backup Business?
So now that the RealNetworks attempt to get into the movie-copying business has been rebuffed by a federal court once again, I’ve got a question: Why, exactly does RealNetworks want to be in the movie-copying business?
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
RealNetworks: That Game Spinoff Isn’t Happening (Obviously). But We Do Have Plenty of Cash…
Last spring, RealNetworks announced plans to spin off its fast-growing casual games business into a separate company. That’s not going to happen in the midst of a meltdown, and today the company formally acknowledged the reality. But keep an eye on Real, which has a pile of cash and may be in an acquiring mood at some point this year.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Newsflash: No One Buys Music on the Web–Except for the People Who Spent Billions Last Year
Web folk have a fairly justified suspicion of anything they hear from official music industry reps these days. But this stat seems about right to me: 95 percent of all songs downloaded on the Web last year were stolen, says the industry’s international trade group.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
RealNetworks Cuts 130, 7.5 Percent of Workforce
Next up on today’s layoff parade: RealNetworks, which is cutting 130 jobs, or 7.5 percent of the workforce. Standard explanation: The company is trying to “bring expenses in line with revenues in a time of economic turmoil.”
Sony, Warner Music Pull Full Songs From iLike. Look Out, Theoretical Facebook Music Offering!
Last summer, iLike.com rolled out a new feature: Visitors to the upstart music site would be able to listen to entire songs from all the big music labels for free, via an arrangement with RealNetworks’ Rhapsody, which already had a license deal with the big guys. But Sony and Warner Music Group have since pulled their songs from iLike.com, say people familiar with the situation. This has implications for those still considering building their own music service. Like, say, Facebook.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Yahoo’s Music Outsourcing Continues: CBS Takes Over Radio Offering
Here’s a Yahoo story I can report with certainty: The company is getting out of the Internet radio business, by handing over its Launchcast streaming music service to CBS. The transition will kick in during the first few months of 2009, says Michael Spiegelman, who heads up Yahoo’s music unit. It’s one of a series of moves the company is making to essentially outsource its music offerings to third parties.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Web 2.0 Music Pioneer iLike Looking for Buyers
iLike, the Web start-up that made a name for itself by becoming Facebook’s de facto music service, is looking for a buyer, according to multiple sources. I’m told that iLike is actively soliciting a list of buyers that include RealNetworks and Ticketmaster, which already owns 25 percent of the company.
Friday, October 31, 2008
Would You Pay $162 a Year for All the Music You Can Eat?
That’s the offer, sort of, being made by something called Datz Music Lounge. Are there catches? You bet–this is the music business, after all. But it’s a potentially intriguing idea that could work both for music fans and the industry.
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About Peter
Peter Kafka has been covering media and technology since 1997, when he joined the staff of Forbes magazine. Most recently, he has been the managing editor of the tech and media Web site, Silicon Alley Insider. Read more »
Ethics Statement
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
