EMI

Apple, record labels head for negotiating table

It's time once again for negotiations to begin between Apple and the record labels, but things are a little more interesting on this go-round because of Apple's recent deal with EMI.

For years, record companies have been trying to get Apple CEO Steve Jobs to raise the price of individual songs sold through the iTunes Store, but Jobs has stuck fast to the 99-cent fee, The Associated Press reports. Last month, however, that stance changed with plans to make versions of songs from EMI's artists available for $1.29.

The catch? Those songs have to be free … Read more

News roundup: MySpace, Yahoo, Amazon

MySpace and Photobucket make amends. The block on videos from Photobucket for MySpace users was lifted yesterday. According to a post on the Photobucket blog, "open lines of communication and procedures with MySpace" were made to make sure it doesn't happen again. The blockage affected nearly a quarter of Photobucket's 40 million registered users. Related: MySpace launched a version of its site today for Latino Americans.

Yahoo, Gracenote launch lyrics service. Yahoo Music users will now be able to pick up the lyrics to their songs after a deal was made with digital media company Gracenote. … Read more

Last barrier removed for the Beatles on iTunes

Major record label EMI announced today that they have settled an ongoing copyright dispute with the Beatles that had prevented the label from licensing their music for distribution. In light of EMI's recent deal to release its catalog on iTunes, it appears that there is little left to prevent the Fab Four's back catalog from finally being released online.

Legal issues aside, the band has historically declined offers to sell downloads of its music. Still, with Steve Jobs using the Beatles' music as part of his Macworld demonstration for the iPhone, it's fair to say Apple is … Read more

eMusic poised to gain from DRM hysteria

With all the iTunes/EMI DRM-free ballyhoo going on, it's easy to forget that sites like eMusic have already been offering inexpensive, DRM-free downloads for years. While Apple and Microsoft casually backpedal out of the DRM mess they've made, eMusic is announcing a very attractive new monthly subscription model that offers 25-cent downloads of DRM-free MP3s. It may not be Apple's reported 256kbps AAC quality, but for the average user a 192kbps MP3 sounds just fine--especially at 25 cents a song.

eMusic's new plans (called Connoisseur) come in three types 100, 200, and 300 downloads per … Read more

The Good, The Bad, and The DRM-Free

On Monday, the face of digital music was potentially changed forever when record label EMI Group announced that it would be offering premium versions of its albums available for download, with better audio quality and no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions attached. Even more surprisingly, EMI's first partner in the endeavor is Apple's iTunes Store, which many would argue is the poster child for DRM's shortcomings.

EMI's DRM-free offerings won't be available on the iTunes Store until next month, but the label has announced that the first premium album, the self-titled LP from The Good, The Bad, and the Queen … Read more

Deal or no deal: EMI and Apple's DRM-free premium music?

The world has been waiting for the Beatles to come to iTunes for a while, but if you were hoping that was the topic of today's press conference between EMI Group and Apple, sorry; there's still no Beatles on iTunes. But in May, EMI's entire music catalog will be available in premium DRM-free form. In case you're wondering, premium means higher quality music files--as well as a 30-cent price hike ($1.29 vs. $.99) per song--for the privilege of downloading music stripped of digital rights management.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs suggested that half of iTunes' music … Read more

A taste of honey: More Beatles online

More good news for Beatle-niks: EMI and Apple Corps have released the entire Love album online for free as part of the lead-up to its official release on Tuesday in the United States. To listen, you must log in on The Beatles site with an e-mail and share your location. The site is plotting a map of everyone in the world who has listened online to the album, which is a reinterpretation of the Fab Four's work. Fans can also view a film with interviews of Paul, Ringo, Yoko Ono, George Harrison's widow, Olivia, and producer George Martin.… Read more