spotify

Spotify has signed an American distribution deal with Universal Music Group, the world's largest music label. The pact means that the streaming music company now has U.S. deals in place with three of the four largest labels, making it likely that the company will finally be able move across the Atlantic this summer.

The service still doesn't have a pact signed with Warner Music Group, but people familiar with discussions say the two sides are closer than they have been in the past, and are optimistic a deal will get done. It's possible that Spotify could … Read more

As Amazon, Google, and Apple appear to be leading digital music in the direction of the cloud, it seems a good time to look back at some of the most influential online music services of the past.

Some people might argue that the modern digital music era started with the launch of iTunes. Others will say the birth of Napster kicked it off. The truth is two years before Napster launched in 2000, there were plenty of companies jockeying for dominance in online CD sales as well as downloads.

They were competing in nascent Internet radio or trying to create … Read more

Donald Bell and Antuan Goodwin stop by the studio for a very special episode of Boys Out Loud with your host Brian Tong. We discuss the future of Google Wallet and whether or not we will spend more money for higher quality apps for the Windows Phone. We also discuss Apples Malware evolution as well as the PayPal founders idea to pay high school grads not go to college and instead start their own tech companies. All this and much more on todays episode of BOL.

Facebook and Spotify are creating a new music service that will be offered to the social network's users in countries other than the United States, according to Forbes.

Spotify is still without the necessary licenses to operate in this country after trying to make the move for nearly two years, music industry sources told CNET.

Forbes reported that in perhaps as soon as two weeks, Facebook users could see a Spotify icon on their news feed. Upon clicking the icon, the new service's software will be installed on a user's desktop.

The software will then run in … Read more

Fate smiled on Mark Gorton this week.

The founder of file-sharing company Lime Wire agreed on Thursday to pay $105 million to the Recording Industry Association of America to settle a 5-year-old copyright case. Sure, that's a lot, but consider that the settlement figure is equal to only 7 percent of the $1.4 billion the RIAA sought.

This is likely the final chapter for LimeWire, after 10 years in operation. The two sides agreed to settle a year to the day after U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood ruled that Gorton was liable for willful copyright infringement. Later, Wood ordered that the LimeWire peer-to-peer network be shut down. The financial agreement between Gorton and the labels came amid a jury trial to determine how much Gorton would have to pay in damages.

For fans of cheap, easy-to-obtain music, a few modest reasons for hope sprung up during the two-week-long damages trial.

Edgar Bronfman, CEO of Warner Music Group, one of the four largest record companies, said under oath that he supported the unbundling of music. You might be saying to yourself: "So what?" People have had access to unbundled music for a decade now, thanks to services like iTunes and, yes, LimeWire. All I can tell you is that there are plenty of decision makers at the labels who believe the industry won't recover until consumers are buying albums again. … Read more

It's National Star Wars Day and we celebrate with someone who loves space, Brian Cooley! Spotify sets its sights on iTunes, but its still only available in Europe. The Department of Justice is taking a deeper look at the AT&T/T-Mobile merger deal, and DO NOT rent a laptop from Aaron's unless you want someone spying on you. Plus, how can you not love the Paint for Cats App!

Spotify is getting serious about taking on Apple.

Arguably one of the most well-respected music services in Europe, Spotify has 13 million tracks available and announced in March that it had 1 million subscribers. Spotify has a free, ad-supported option available to customers, as well as a premium service for unlimited access to the tracks on mobile phones and offline.

The company announced a major update to its service today, including allowing people to sync the songs in their Spotify playlists with the iPod Classic, iPod Nano, and iPod Shuffle. According to the company, people will need only to plug … Read more

Links from Monday's episode of Loaded:

Nintendo will launch the next-generation Wii in 2012

Rumors are heating up about Apple and Google's hypothetical music services

Dish Online customers can now stream HBO content if they subscribe to an HBO package

A company in Tokyo claims to have made the "world's thinnest glass" for touchscreen devices

A new app on iTunes follows the rantings and ravings of actor Charlie Sheen

Rather than launch its own digital music service, Google is considering whether to partner with an existing service, including the likes of Spotify, to power Google Music.

According to a source with knowledge of the talks, Google has told the labels that it has begun discussions with Spotify in recent weeks, though no agreement is in place. Spotify is the European streaming-music service that also has ambitions of launching in the United States.

The talks with Google and Spotify have coincided with an inability by Google to reach agreements with the four top record labels on licensing a cloud music … Read more