Tuesday, March 4th, 2008
Daily News: Tuesday
Signing: One of our favorite new rock bands, Sing It Loud, announced their signing to Epitaph yesterday. What a great band! Their song “Come Around” is a hit. We actually planned on featuring the group in our “Music: Unsigned” section next week. Guess we’re a little bit too late…
Bertelsmann to sell Sony BMG stake? “Bertelsmann AG’s chief financial officer Thomas Rabe met with at least two private equity companies to discuss the possible sale of its 50 pct stake in Sony BMG, Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing no sources.” (via Forbes)
Warner signs 7digital MP3 deal: “Warner Music has signed a deal with digital media site 7digital.com to provide its catalogue in the MP3 format, which can be played on nearly all music devices.” (via Reuters)
More on UMG/Univision Deal: “Just how much did Universal Music Group pay for Univision Music Group? The answer is $351 million, according to details disclosed by Univision in regulatory filings submitted Monday. Of that sum, $113 million is payable upfront, and the remaining amount is payable over the next five years.” (via DMN)
Another Baidu Lawsuit: “A music industry group in China said it sued Baidu.com earlier this year for the search engine’s alleged violation of copyright involving more than 50 songs. Music Copyright Society of China released a statement last Friday in which group official Qu Jingming said Baidu had provided “music listening, broadcasting and downloading services in various forms on its website without approval, and through unfettered piracy, earning huge advertising revenue on its huge number of hits”.” (via The Register)
Invest In A Rock Band: “Listening Post recently caught up with two companies — Sellaband and SlicethePie — that are betting music fans want to bet on music by investing in artists they believe in. By raising money from fans and investors, these companies offer bands a chance to spend $30K and upwards on an album without making a deal with a label. And for fans, these sites offer a way to get involved in music industry financing for as little as $10.” (via Wired)
