sony music entertainment

Sony Music Entertainment says the price hike in the United Kingdom on Whitney Houston albums following the singer's death was a "mistake," but some industry insiders are skeptical.

On Sunday, a day after Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel, prices for two of her albums: "The Ultimate Collection" and "Greatest Hits" jumped in price in the U.K. iTunes store. In dollars, the prices rose from $7.80 to $12.50.

Right away, Sony and Apple came under fire from consumers who believed one or both of the companies were … Read more

LOS ANGELES--In the days leading up to the launch tomorrow of Google Music, the company has continued to try and close licensing deals.

On Friday, CNET reported that Google had signed a licensing deal with Universal Music Group but had not signed Warner Music Group or Sony Music Entertainment, though those companies continued to negotiate.

All Things Digital reported last week that EMI had also penned an agreement.

The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Google will likely launch with Universal, EMI as sell as Sony. Music industry sources say that Google has labored right up to the finish … Read more

LOS ANGELES--A lot of news has leaked out about Google's launch of its upcoming music service but the company may yet offer a few surprises on Wednesday.

Google has invited journalists to a press event here on Wednesday and sources have told CNET that the company will launch Google Music then. But today Google sent a new invitation for a party it is throwing after the press event with the help apparently of T-Mobile.

The title of the invite reads "Experience the world of T-Mobile and Google."

The invite also says that the party will include live … Read more

Spotify has struck its first licensing agreement with one of the four largest record companies and is closing in on a second deal, but what is it costing the European music service to open up shop in the United States?

The answer is plenty. The impasse that has prevented Spotify from acquiring U.S. music rights for more than a year has forced the streaming service to make significant concessions to the record labels, multiple music industry sources told CNET on Monday.

Not only has Spotify sweetened its financial offer to the top labels, but the streaming-music service has agreed … Read more

One of the chief concerns that some in the music industry have about digital-locker services is that at least a couple of them allow all songs, even pirated tunes, to be stored in the cloud.

Thomas Hesse, digital chief for Sony Music Entertainment, said as much at the Midem conference in France on Saturday, according to Billboard.

"We are very uncomfortable with a model where you can just throw anything into the cloud and stream it, if what you threw into the cloud was not legitimately purchased," Hesse said during a panel session. "It's not the … Read more

For over 18 months, Spotify has hyped the coming of a U.S. service. It now appears that one of Europe's most important digital entertainment companies has a toehold in the United States.

Music industry sources have confirmed that Spotify has struck a licensing agreement with Sony Music Entertainment, the second largest of the top-four record companies and the home of such acts as Alicia Keys, the Foo Fighters, and John Mayer. The terms of the deal weren't available.

In October, CNET reported that Spotify, which offers ad-supported music free in addition to paid subscriptions, had moved closer … Read more

Apple's letter to music labels about the company's adoption of 90-second song samples sounded brash and uncompromising, reminiscent of how the company once seemed to negotiate with the music industry.

Apple wrote in e-mails to an undisclosed number of music industry executives--made public on Tuesday--that it would soon offer longer samples for songs that are at least two-and-a-half minutes in length. For shorter songs, iTunes would continue to offer 30-second previews, the company wrote. CNET broke the news in August that Apple planned to offer longer samples.

What raised eyebrows about Apple's note was that … Read more

Round up the usual suspects.

Playlist.com filed for bankruptcy protection and undoubtedly the major record companies will be blamed. In filing for Chapter 11 on August 6, the music service reported that it has $2.2 million in total assets (only $203,000 in cash) and owes the four largest record companies a combined $25 million.

For years, online music stores have claimed consumers just don't spend enough on music anymore to support big licensing fees. Label critics will argue case closed, greedy record executives caused Playlist's downfall. The story, however, is much more nuanced.

While licensing … Read more

"American Idol," the juggernaut talent show that has dominated TV ratings the past nine seasons, has signed a new distribution and marketing deal with Universal Music Group, the largest of the top four record companies.

Yes, this story isn't exactly technology-centric, but the partnership between UMG and Simon Fuller, the creator of "American Idol," could impact download sales for two of the four biggest major recording companies.

The show, to date, has sold more than 120 million iTunes downloads and has helped launch the careers of such music stars as Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and … Read more