MUSIC BUSINESS NEWS

Apple Co-Founder, Chairman Steve Jobs Passes Away   "Steve's brilliance, passion, and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve." It was with these words that the Apple Inc. Board of Directors yesterday [Oct. 5] announced the passing of Steve Jobs, who co-founded the company in 1976 and pioneered, among other things, the digital music era by launching the iPod in 2001. Offering consumers the ability to carry "1,000 songs in your pocket," the device revolutionized portable music players and led to the development of the iTunes store, which has sold tens of billions of digital music tracks. In 2007 Jobs introduced the touch-screen iPhone, followed a year later by Apple's App Store, where developers could sell applications ["apps"] that made the phone a device not just for making calls but also for listening to music, managing money, editing photos, and playing games. Last year Apple unveiled the iPad, a touch-screen computer that helped make Apple the second-largest company in the U.S. Jobs had battled cancer since 2004 and underwent a liver transplant in 2009 after taking a leave of absence for "unspecified health problems." He took another leave of absence in January of this year - his third since his health problems began - and resigned in August. At that point Jobs became Apple's chairman and handed the CEO reins over to his hand-picked successor, Tim Cook. [Full story: MSNBC] Supreme Court Rules Against ASCAP Appeal; "Downloads Are Not Performances"   The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal filed by ASCAP, which had claimed that downloading a song from an online store constituted a public performance. The high court's decision let stand a lower court ruling that clarified a technical but important distinction about the way songwriters and music publishers are paid by determining that, unlike webcasts and online streaming, a download is a "mechanical reproduction" of a song in a fixed format. As noted by the New York Times, that term comes from the days of sheet music, and continues to this day when applied to records and permanent downloads. "ASCAP, one of the three major organizations in the U.S. that collect royalties on behalf of publishers, argued that the digital transmission of a download was a public performance, in addition to its being a permanent reproduction," the Timesreported. "A federal district court ruled against ASCAP. Last year the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District agreed with the lower court's decision, saying that downloads do not satisfy the conditions for public performance as laid out in the Copyright Act, which states that to perform a work means 'to recite, render, play, dance, or act it.'" The Supreme Court's ruling stemmed from a case originally filed by ASCAP in 2007. [Full story: All Access Music Group] Clear Channel, Microsoft Expand Partnership To Bring iHeartRadio to Xbox Live   Clear Channel Radio has extended its strategic partnership with Microsoft to integrate the new iHeartRadio service into Microsoft's Xbox 360, making it the only digital radio service on Xbox Live. Through this new arrangement, Xbox Gold members who have Kinect for Xbox 360 can use the product's sensor to control digital radio using their voice and body, giving them access to iHeartRadio's 800 live broadcast and digital-only radio stations and custom channels of music. "Clear Channel is committed to innovation and deep social integration," Clear Channel Radio CEO John Hogan said in a statement. "The new iHeartRadio's integration with the Xbox 360 enables Kinect users to control digital radio in their living room. There is nothing else like it on the market and it's another example of how we are committed to being wherever our listeners are with the programming and services they want and expect." The expanded partnership between Clear Channel and Microsoft builds on a previous integration of iHeartRadio on Windows Phone 7 as well as to stream last month's iHeartRadio Music Festival in HD radio exclusively on the Xbox 360. [Full story: MarketWatch] Rhapsody Acquires Napster From Best Buy   Digital music subscription service Rhapsody, locked in "battle mode" with Spotify, this week finalized its purchase of Napster from Best Buy in an effort to expand its user base. Under the terms of the agreement, Rhapsody will absorb all Napster subscribers and other assets, while Best Buy will receive a minority stake in Rhapsody. According to TechCrunch, the "other assets" that will move over to Rhapsody include Napster's IP portfolio, while Napster's record label contracts were not mentioned in the acquisition announcement. Napster has a streaming music catalog of over 15 million songs, as well as apps for the desktop, mobile devices, and TVs, and its software provides access to streaming music radio stations, thousands of playlists, offline music, and charts. Rhapsody has a catalog of 13 million songs, and its ancillary services, including cross-platform apps, playlists, and a radio feature, are similar to what Napster now includes. The stock-based deal is expected to close on November 30th; terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. [Full story: TechCrunch] Microsoft Discontinues Production Of Zune Music Player   Microsoft this week discontinued production of its Zune line of MP3 music players and will stop selling the devices once current inventory runs out. Zune's demise is not unexpected, since the company announced earlier this year that it was phasing out some production of the device. By issuing a short statement saying "we will no longer be producing Zune players," Microsoft explained it would continue to provide support for current Zune owners, but its efforts in digital music would now be focused exclusively on the Windows Phone line of mobile devices. Perhaps as a sign of what lay ahead for the Zune, Microsoft killed off its Kin line of feature phones last year after just a few months on the market. "Microsoft should never be in hardware," observed Rob Enderle, principal consultant at Enderle Group. "They've shown time and again that they can't be Apple, so they should just try to be a better Microsoft by sticking to software." [Full story: Information Week] ReDigi Set To Sell "Used" Digital Tracks Online, But Legal Issues Remain The founders of Cambridge, MA-based ReDigi are developing an online marketplace that would allow consumers to buy and sell "used" digital songs - tracks they no longer wish to keep in their collections - to other consumers. ReDigi users will first download a piece of client software and then indicate which songs in their computer they wish to sell. Once the songs are uploaded to ReDigi's servers they are deleted from the user's hard drive. The company says its "verification engine" ensures that only legally downloaded files - not, for instance, MP3s ripped from a compact disc - can be uploaded. And, even if the user cheats and makes a copy of a song or changes the name of the file, the company says its "omniscient" software will detect that. The big question, of course, is whether ReDigi's business model is legal, since it involves the resale of a digital music file. Company CEO John Ossenmacher says he's not too concerned about lawsuits, believing that the company's business is covered by the "first-sale" doctrine. Still, Boston Globe columnist Scott Kirsner contacted the Recording Industry Association of America, which declined to comment on ReDigi's resale concept. So did spokespersons at both Sony Music and Warner Music Group. [Full story: Boston Globe]   Al Bell Presents American Soul Music  ... And American Soul TV If you're into classic and contemporary Soul, R&B, Blues, Gospel, Jazz, Hip-Hop Soul, Rap Soul, and Neo-Soul, we invite you to listen to Al Bell Presents American Soul Music. Former Stax Records owner and Motown President Al Bell personally has programmed this awesome radio station online, presenting your favorites from the 1960s and '70s [and some '80s], a lot of the best new music that's being released today, and some real gems you haven't heard in a long, long time. Come to www.AlBellPresents.Com and hear it for yourself! And now...join us for Al Bell Presents American Soul TV here.