murdoch

MySpace Music, that long slumbering music unit of the struggling social network, is considering whether to begin charging users, according to a source close to the negotiations.

The source said Wednesday that MySpace Music execs have spoken to some of the top labels about creating a subscription service. This apparently confirms a report published Tuesday by the Web site of Side-Line, a music magazine. Citing sources close to News Corp., parent company of MySpace, the publication said it wants to move MySpace Music to a paid model and that it's burning through a lot of money each month.

MySpace … Read more

News Corp.--the newspaper, TV, and film company built by media mogul Rupert Murdoch--sees something in digital music it likes.

News Corp. has acquired a small stake in music start-up Beyond Oblivion, which plans to enable consumer electronics makers to preload music on handhelds, computers, and other gadgets, according to multiple music sources.

Beyond Oblivion did not respond to interview requests. Allen & Co., the well-known boutique investment bank, was also part of the $10 million series B funding round.

With MySpace Music, News Corp., already has acquired a significant position in digital music. That site is run in partnership … Read more

It appears the day when we we'll be paying to read general interest news stories on the Web is coming sooner rather than later--perhaps as early as June for readers of the U.K.-based Times publications.

News International, the British division of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., announced on Friday that two of its newspapers, The Times and The Sunday Times of London, are set to begin charging readers using its sites in June.

The two papers have been offering their content in a combined news Web site called Times Online. Under the new plan, however, News International … Read more

A new profile of septuagenarian media mogul Rupert Murdoch says that the News Corp. chief is ready to press legal action against Google if talks fail with the search giant over indexing content.

In a lengthy article in New York magazine that hit the Web late on Sunday, writer Gabriel Sherman quotes a source high up in the media industry echelon who says Murdoch is "pretty tightly wound up over Google and has been ready to sue them...He doesn't trust them at all." The lawsuit, presumably, would come if Google refused to stop indexing News Corp. … Read more

Google has often been seen as a competitor to traditional newspapers, but the search giant is now teaming up with two major papers for a new experiment in presenting news online.

Google announced on Wednesday "Living Stories," an experimental new feature designed to deliver news stories, updates, editorials, and multimedia focusing on specific topics, all on one single Web page.

Each Living Story, whether it's on health care, global warming, or the war in Afghanistan, has a permanent URL that you can follow. That page displays everything from headlines to summaries to in-depth articles on that subject. … Read more

It was inevitable that someone would seriously consider taking Google's dare.

For years, Google has all but dared traditional media companies trying to develop online businesses to live without the traffic it sends their way. The folks at the Googleplex make it clear that content owners who believe Google is unfairly indexing (or stealing, depending on your point of view) their content can easily remove that content from Google's massive corner of the Internet.

There's a tradeoff for that independence, of course: Don't expect the advertisers that have signed deals based on site traffic to pay … Read more

Jeff is taking the week off to get a head start on Thanksgiving, so Wilson and I invite Mark to help us out on today's episode of The 404 Podcast. After spending a couple days out of the office last week, it feels great to get back in front of the mic. It's no fun being home with the flu, but it did give me an opportunity to check out Twilight. No, not The Twilight Saga: New Moon, I meant the first one, which I never bothered to watch in theaters. I'm glad I didn't spend $12 to watch it, too! Get all the details plus a sneak peek at the new movie in theaters now. Wilson also checked out Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey's new movie, "Precious." The movie also features Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique, who's up for an Academy Award nomination for her performance as Precious' abusive mother.

The first story of the day is about the much-publicized-but-never-materialized Hulu iPhone App. The self-proclaimed "bada**" portable player was first announced in April '09, successfully drumming up hype for a product that never actually came out. Wilson and Mark speculate that it could be because Hulu is preparing to launch a paid version of the streaming video site, which could potentially be holding up development of the iPhone version, which leads us to pose the question: How much would YOU be willing to pay for a monthly Hulu subscription on your iPhone? Do you frequently watch video on your smartphone, and if so, how much does it eat up your battery life? Leave us a comment and let us know.

Mark and Wilson know a thing or two about Black Friday after heading out to Best Buy every year to video tape the anxious shoppers waiting in line, but this year is a different story. While those two are fast asleep in their beds, others will be pushing, fighting, and kicking to get the best deals at their local big box retailers. But as Chris Matyszczyk tells us, some of the deals might not be awesome as they seem. Watch out for deceptively low product quantities that give zero hope for anyone NOT third in line, as well as "derivatives," aka products that are advertised as brand name but are actually "inferior models." If you're planning on waiting in line, be sure to listen to this segment for helpful tips on how and where to shop for the best deals this Black Friday.

We're only recording three shows this week, but be sure to tune in LIVE tomorrow and Wednesday for a few surprise guests and more turkey talk!

Turns out when we blew up the moon a few weeks ago, we found water! Yay! The bottled water companies are presumably planning their trips now. THIS is how we motivate us to get back to the moon! We also hear more from old man Murdoch on blocking Google from indexing his newspapers, and Dell launches a smartphone. Does anybody want it?

Rupert Murdoch to remove News Corp’s content from Google ‘in months’ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/digital-media/6559694/Rupert-Murdoch-to-remove-News-Corps-content-from-Google-in-months.html… Read more

We get an email telling us our podcast RSS feed is now blocked in China after talking about the dispute over World of Warcraft between two Chinese government departments. Really? THAT is what got us blocked. We also get a kick out of good old Grandpa Murdoch's latest ramblings. And happy birthday Firefox. You're vulnerable.

Murdoch: We'll probably remove our sites from Google's index http://mumbrella.com.au/murdoch-well-probably-remove-our-sites-from-googles-index-11366

Murdoch Making News Invisible To Search Engines? Not So … Read more