Video

Universal, YouTube near deal on music video site

Universal Music Group, the nation's largest recording company, and YouTube are closing in on a final agreement to create a new premium music video Web site, according to sources close to the negotiations.

The sources said that the proposed service, which is tentatively named Vevo, would be a destination site closely linked to YouTube. Should an agreement be reached, Vevo would likely be the largest music-oriented site on the Web. Talks are ongoing, but a deal could be reached as early as the next few weeks, sources said.

A YouTube spokesman said: "We are always working with our … Read more

Report: Daft Punk to score 'Tron 2.0'

For a certain kind of geek, there's no more important film than Disney's 1982 cult hit "Tron."

The story about a man trapped inside a computer who must continually fight for his life by riding light-bikes across a digital playground didn't do so well at the box office but gained a massive following in the years since.

Now, Disney is working on "Tron 2.0," a sequel to the original, and word is that the studio has chosen Daft Punk, the French electronica duo that is itself a cult favorite, to write the … Read more

Neil Young: YouTube must respect artists

Update 9:20 p.m. PT: To include YouTube's response.

Neil Young wants to remind YouTube that Rockin' in the Free World isn't free.

The iconic musician, whose hits include "Harvest Moon," "Cinnamon Girl," and "Rockin' in the Free World," says in a blog post that YouTube doesn't fairly compensate acts represented by Warner Music Group.

Young is referring to the spat that erupted in January between Warner Music and YouTube. The two companies couldn't come to terms on a new licensing agreement and Warner Music's content was pulled … Read more

Mobui Audience Chat: Socialize while watching TV

If you're a couch potato, there's now a way for you to exercise your brain and socialize, a little bit, while watching TV.

Mobui, a mobile-application developer that acquired Action Engine awhile back, announced Thursday the launch of Mobui Audience Chat.

Basically, this is a mobile app that television broadcasters and studios could utilize to engage audiences' participation in their shows in real time via their mobile phones. Think of this as how you've been voting for an American Idol, only that you now can engage in much more interactive conversations, rather than just send in your … Read more

Artist-specific Kyte apps coming to iPhone

Interscope Geffen A&M, a division of Universal Music Group, announced Monday that it has released iPhone and iPod Touch applications centered on some of the label's most prominent artists, including The All American Rejects, Soulja Boy, The Pussycat Dolls, Lady Gaga, and Keri Hilson. The applications are built off a new iPhone framework from mobile developer, Kyte.

Each artist-specific app will feature video content produced by the individual singer, along with custom branding, an RSS reader that will be updated with artist news, and a built-in chat feature that allows users to talk to each other and … Read more

WireTap Studio taps into audio

Playing with sound files is something not all of us aspire to do in any greater detail than clicking "Buy Now" in iTunes. But this is one of those cool Mac niches that is filled with possibilities you might not have thought about before.

For instance, have you ever wished you could easily record a phone call for a job interview? How about automatically record your favorite radio program from the Internet, even if it's on in the middle of the night? Ambrosia Software's WireTap Studio, recently updated to version 1.0.8, is an inexpensive … Read more

Viacom to shut off MTV music video API

Media giant Viacom plans to restrict the embedding of music videos from MTV Networks.

Justin Tormey, a staff member for MTVN developer services, announced in a blog posting Friday that starting next month, the company would no longer make video embeds available through MTV's API:

We've got a number of changes coming on the MTVN Content API. If you're currently using the API for your site or application please take note of the changes and the timeline.

First, we want to thank everyone for their involvement with the API. You've provided valuable feedback and insight through … Read more

Miro 2.0: Stable and strong

When open-source video jukebox Miro was in beta and known as the Democracy Player, the biggest problem it had was stability. Graduating from beta fixed most of the problems, but not even a name change could erase the feeling that this Webware 100 winning program wasn't firing on all cylinders.

In version 2.0 for Windows and Mac, all that's changed. At the top of the list of changes is a serious attempt to improve the usability. At least on my Windows XP machine, with 2GB of RAM, those modifications have paid off. The program flies now, where … Read more

TV on the Radio suffers from a bad mix

There was all sorts of buzz earlier this week about TV on the Radio's apparently abysmal performance on Saturday Night Live. If you like the band, as I happen to, you have to wonder what happened: their recordings are immaculate, and they have a solid live reputation.

Today, music blog Idolator performs an interesting experiment, embedding the band's performance of "Dancing Choose" on SNL directly above the same song performed on last night's edition of The Colbert Report. The difference is immediately noticeable.

So what the heck happened on SNL? Idolator jokes that they're … Read more