July 2008 News
30.07.08
RealNetworks is looking to push ringtones sales via film and TV
billboard.biz
30.07.08
UK - New service called Gig Junkie, offering comprehensive gig listings
gigjunkie.net
30.07.08
Charts - M.I.A.'s track 'Paper Planes' leaps to the top spot on iTunes' electronic song chart after featuring in the trailer for new movie Pineapple Express
starpulse.com
29.07.08
Atlantic Records launches the new Fanbase 'app', aimed at 'superfans'. The first artists to get involved are T.I., Simple Plan, Shinedown, and Pretty Ricky
businesswire.com
29.07.08
Rawrip - the online music-discovery and retail platform - launches in beta. It claims to offer artists and labels 100% of all download royalties (supporting itself on ad revenue). It plans to launch fully in November
billboard.biz
28.07.08
UK charts - Dizzee Rascal stays at number 1 in the singles and Coldplay go back to number 1 in the albums
bbc.co.uk
28.07.08
Weezer introduce 'Let's Write A Sawng', getting fans to help write a track online. If it turns out well, it will appear on their album
nypost.com
28.07.08
Article on the rise in children's music sales, which grew more than 38% from 12.3M to 17.1M units last year (according to Nielsen SoundScan)
philly.com
25.07.08
The Jonas Brothers have become the first act ever to sell more than 100,000 online copies of three tracks in a row
yahoo.com
25.07.08
Charts - Katy Perry stays at number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a fifth week with 'I Kissed A Girl'
billboard.com
25.07.08
USA - Guitar Center uses its 20th annual drum-off to find the best drummer in the US
billboard.biz
24.07.08
Atlantic Records partners with Amazon.com to allow Staind fans to pre-order the band's new album via mobile (using Amazon's TextBuyIt service)
billboard.biz
24.07.08
Charts - Nas has the number 1 album in the US. His untitled album sold 187,000 copies in the last week
billboard.com
24.07.08
The Pretenders' new album, Break Up The Concrete, will be released on 23rd September. But ahead of that, the band will give away a new track every week for free
nme.com
23.07.08
BSkyB is planning an ambitious new ISP music subscription service in partnership with Universal Music, rolling broadband access to music into a monthly fee
bbc.co.uk
23.07.08
Mötley Crüe are to broadcast a live concert from Las Vegas for free online via DeepRockDrive
starpulse.com
23.07.08
UK - music retailer Zavvi, which took over Virgin Megastores a year ago, is to celebrate its first birthday through a partnership with Youth Music. Starting this week, the partnership will see Zavvi hosting in-store events, band nights, sponsorship busking, and music quizzes
mad.co.uk
22.07.08
MTV UK is launching an avatar-based social networking site (entitled MTV House) where users can take part in competitions and promotions
brandrepublic.com
22.07.08
Apple's new Beijing store is open for business
macworld.com
22.07.08
MTV signs a deal with the OCC to air the Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart across its UK and European channels
musicweek.com
18.07.08
MySpace is planning a major overhaul of its mobile site
nma.co.uk
18.07.08
Coldplay stay at number 1 on the European Top 100 Albums chart for a fourth week
billboard.biz
18.07.08
Rhapsody will use Death Cab For Cutie in its next ad campaign
billboard.biz
17.07.08
Warner Music Group licenses its content to SendMe Mobile, the direct-to-consumer mobile content distributor
billboard.biz
17.07.08
Dancejam, the dance-oriented social network founded by MC Hammer, enters into partnerships with both Weezer and Janet Jackson
techcrunch.com
17.07.08
US charts - Lil' Wayne stays at number 1 on the Billboard 200. Tha' Carter III sold 125,000 copies in the last week in the US
billboard.com
16.07.08
USA - MTV has developed a new interactive online music guide in order to enable viewers to discover more about the music they hear on the various MTV channels. The site includes 30-second song clips and preview songs set to appear in the coming 24 hours
billboard.biz
16.07.08
Radiohead partner with Google to get people to remix their latest video, 'House Of Cards'
billboard.biz
16.07.08
imeem, the ad-supported music service, has launched its Mutiny & Mayhem competition which will give two artists a performance slot on the second annual Treasure Island Music Festival
billboard.biz
15.07.08
Rock Band 2 will feature Guns N' Roses, AC/DC, and Bob Dylan. Over 80 songs will be on the game and 20 bonus tracks will be available for download
billboard.com
15.07.08
Disney Interactive Studios has struck a deal with Music For Relief that will place music content within Disney's upcoming Wii and DS game, Ultimate Band
dmwmedia.com
15.07.08
Radio station Kiss uses the Blyk mobile network to drive listeners
musicweek.com
14.07.08
OurStage and Live Nation partner up on a trial where the former becomes a feeder for the latter
digitalmusicnews.com
14.07.08
The third single from Mariah Carey's E=MC2 album will be the subject of a remix competition on the online community Indaba Music. Users will pick their 10 favorite mixes via online voting
yahoo.com
14.07.08
Converse's Three Artists: One Song campaign (featuring Pharrell Williams, Santogold, and Julian Casablancas) makes its debut today as TV and cinema commercials
adweek.com
11.07.08
Coldplay's Viva La Vida is the biggest digital album of all time. It has sold 394,000 copies digitally in three weeks
digitalmusicnews.com
11.07.08
Apple opens its first store in China (in Beijing) on 19th July
macworld.com
11.07.08
UK - interesting piece on the booming festival market. There are about 500 a year now and they attract around 3M people
bbc.co.uk
10.07.08
Metallica's long-awaited new album Death Magnetic is to arrive in a number of different packages, including a 5 X LP 180 gram box with five individual sleeves and Metallica lithograph
gigwise.com
10.07.08
Lil' Wayne's is back at number 1 in the Billboard 200 this week. Tha' Carter III sold 156,000 copies in the last week in the US
billboard.biz
10.07.08
Latin music labels Fuego and MCD Entertainment partner with IODA for worldwide digital music distribution
09.07.08
Suretone Records offers up a new social networking website in partnership with companies such as Fuse and Mozes
billboard.biz
09.07.08
Article on the growth of music in videogames. Games companies are spending anything between $300,000 and $1M on securing music for their games and the games industry is worth $38B
buisnessweek.com
09.07.08
USA - Madison Square Garden Entertainment is looking to buy 910 acres in New York to set up a new 3-day, multi-genre music festival there by 2010
billboard.biz
08.07.08
Universal Music Group has entered into a deal with Thumbplay for 10 Jay-Z tracks to be offered as ringtones (that were previously unavailable in this format)
billboard.biz
08.07.08
NME launches a new mobile service called NME Mobile
nme.com
08.07.08
The Vines stream their new album for free on MySpace (for free) ahead of its physical release
billboard.biz
07.07.08
Spain's biggest-ever festival, the Rock in Rio event, drew in over 290,000 visitors over its five-day run
nme.com
07.07.08
Fans attending the 2008 Projekt Revolution tour will receive a lanyard which can be exchanged at any Champs Sports store for a free USB wristband containing four unreleased Linkin Park MP3s and tracks from other artists. Customers spending over $50 also receive the USB wristband
billboard.biz
07.07.08
Get free iTunes content without having to trawl through iTunes
freedownloads.com
04.07.08
MasterCard's Roots Of Rock campaign will offer up free downloads from the entire Universal Music Group to its cardholders. After the first 100,000 are gone they'll cost $0.80 each. A sweepstake grand price is also on offer of a meet and greet with Jon Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, or Kenny Chesney
billboard.biz
04.07.08
Coldplay stay at number 1 on the European Top 100 Albums chart with Viva La Vida while Duffy's 'Mercy' stays at number 1 on Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart
billboard.biz
04.07.08
Heineken is to set up a retail unit in Amsterdam selling Heineken-branded clothing, music, and concert tickets. The shop will also house a small music studio where customers can use synthesizers to create and record music
wsj.com
03.07.08
Last.fm offers Radiohead's In Rainbows album as a free stream
last.fm
03.07.08
Coldplay stay at number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Viva La Vida sold 249,000 copies in the last week in the US
billboard.biz
03.07.08
UK – Registration is open for Nokia's Skate Almighty roller disco - featuring music from Hot Chip, Zero 7, and Bodyrox - on 11th-13th July. On registering for the event, you'll also receive a pincode to download free tracks from the Nokia Music Store
nokia.co.uk
02.07.08
The Harry Fox Agency has surpassed 2M licensed songs (from 36,000 publishers). It cumulatively now administers over 15.2M licences
billboard.biz
02.07.08
Get a free Tricky track ('Bacative') on 7digital for a week from 11th July. You can also stream his album in full and for free on the site from 1st July ahead of its 6th July release
7digital.com
02.07.08
SpitNow.com, the global hip-hop social network, has launched its new website and digital music/merchandise marketing widget
tradingmarkets.com
01.07.08
Getty Images' Pump Audio division signs a deal with Kobalt Music Group to administer its music catalogue (registering, tracking, and collecting royalties etc.)
billboard.biz
01.07.08
MySpace partners with Vodafone to launch Vodafone Music Reporter. It allows the mobile operator to advertise its latest music initiatives and has a UGC strand for users
directtrafficmedia.co.uk
01.07.08
Nokia signs up Warner Music Group to its Comes With Music initiative. Warner catalogue is also now available globally via Nokia Music Stores
moconews.net