Author: Anna Washenko

Samsung in trouble for making Milk Music a free service

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Samsung has drawn the ire of the Korea Music Copyright Association with its Milk Music. The group of record labels signed a contract with Samsung stating that the tech major would begin charging for the streaming service starting Oct. 10. Samsung is still offering Milk for free to the owners of certain smartphones, but it is paying the streaming charges to Soribada, a subcontractor and local music distributor. The association ended its contract with Soribada today as a result, claiming that continuing to operate Milk Music without its approval would be a copyright infringement. Continue Reading →

Rumor Fact(ory): Sony split from ASCAP/BMI could come by year’s end

Posted on by Anna Washenko

As the Department of Justice weighs what to do about digital performance rights, Sony/ATV/EMI has been making bold claims that it would consider leaving the collective licensing system in order to negotiate its own rates. According to The New York Post, that could be happening soon. The paper reported that Sony could split from ASCAP and BMI by the end of the year. Continue Reading →

SoundCloud stumbles in licensing talks with major labels

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The Financial Times reported that SoundCloud has hit stumbling blocks in its negotiations with three major music labels. Sources told the publication that Universal, Sony, and Warner have all rejected SoundCloud’s proposed terms and are looking for a better deal. In fact, Universal is allegedly not in conversation with the online music portal anymore. Continue Reading →

Nielsen finds entertainment is of high value to connected car buyers

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Nielsen published its latest insights on the outlook for connected cars. The high-tech vehicles are appealing for the cool factor; 60% of future auto intenders said they want one to experience emerging technologies. But the desire for entertainment on the road was a close second, at 58% of future auto intenders. In fact, the Nielsen results revealed that 36% of connected car users streamed audio every time they got in their vehicle during the second quarter of 2014. Continue Reading →

Early hands-on with Pono player reveals how it’s shaping up

Posted on by Anna Washenko

The Pono Music crowdfunding campaign has been successful (to put it mildly) in the fundraising stage, but most of those contributors are still waiting to see what their pledges have created. Eamonn Forde of The Guardian was able to get hands-on time with one of the Pono Player prototypes and shared his experience. He said the improvements in sound quality that Pono delivered were impressive on both expensive headphones and cheap earbuds. Since that was the top promise made by Neil Young and his colleagues, that’s a relief to hear. Continue Reading →

Deezer reportedly partnering with Vodacom for South Africa deal

Posted on by Anna Washenko

Deezer may be getting a leg up in the South African market for music streaming thanks to a partnership with Vodacom Group. Bloomberg cited an unnamed person familiar with the negotiations who said the Vodafone unit would offer its customers access to Deezer through an exclusive year-long deal. Neither Deezer nor Vodacom offered comment on the report. Continue Reading →