In a development that could impact streaming audience share of the competitive music-service market, Sony announced that it will launch PlayStation Music with Spotify as an exclusive partner. This means an integrated music service is coming to the PlayStation Network’s 64 million active users. Continue Reading
Amid the public relations nightmare of Sony getting hacked last month, sleuths found email correspondence among top brass discussing the potential sale of Sony/ATV. Since then, Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton stated in an interview with Bloomberg that the company is not considering a sale of the publishing arm. Sony/ATV’s Chairman and CEO Martin Bandier also issued a memo to his team reassuring them that the parent company was not selling off the division. Continue Reading
iHeartRadio announced another partnership today at CES, this one with Sony Computer Entertainment. Beginning early in the first quarter of this year, the iHeartRadio platform will arrive on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 game consoles. Continue Reading
Sony experienced a debilitating hack on its confidential information earlier this month, with hackers publishing reams of email correspondence between the company’s leaders online for public viewing. Some of these emails revealed that Sony Corp. was considering selling off the music publishing arm because of concerns over its growth prospects. Thanks to a 2012 acquisition, the music publishing arm includes Sony/ATV Music Publishing and EMI Music Publishing. Continue Reading
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
A field report from Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, by guest columnist James Cridland. Will smartphone handset companies decide that they can profitably create their own music services? Nokia and Sony are promoting their home-grown music services in the Barcelona trade show. Continue Reading
Music recognition data house Gracenote has been acquired by Tribune, from Sony. The Gracenote unit will probably be bundled into Tribune’s media services division, according to Bloomberg. Sony acquired Gracenote in 2008. Continue Reading