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All posts tagged "universal"


Monday, November 24, 2008

Get Common's New Album for 99c on December 9

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Media" @ 10:30 AM

http://social.zune.net/artist/Commo...2a3933/overview

"Brace yourself for the music of the future with Common's new album, Universal Mind Control. The Zune staff loved this latest work from Common and wanted the world to hear it, starting with you. So, to help spread the word, for a limited time you can get the entire album for the price of just one song."

Hip-hop artist, Common (a.k.a. Common Sense), is releasing his new album, Universal Mind Control, on December 9 for just 79 Points (99c). It's a limited-time offer, and one that requires a small purchase, so take note.

First, install the Zune 3.x software if you haven't already, then purchase 400 or more Microsoft Points for your account. On the 9th, sign into the Zune Marketplace and add Universal Mind Control to your cart for 79 Points. Any remaining Points can be used to purchase additional Xbox or Zune content. It's that simple!


Thursday, January 18, 2007

Universal Could Take a Bite Out of Apple

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 06:00 AM

http://tinyurl.com/2wnt2o

"Other recording companies have yet to follow Universal's hard-line lead, particularly in suing online video and social networking sites. They appear happy to let Morris carry the fight through lawsuits and other measures. In his tussle with YouTube, Morris called the site a hub for pirated music videos and negotiated a licensing deal that landed Universal and other labels small stakes in the company just before it was acquired by Google for $1.76 billion US last year. Morris has already suggested, albeit guardedly, that his next target will be iPod-maker and No. 1 online music retailer Apple Inc. With Apple's licensing deal to sell Universal music on iTunes set to expire in May, Morris said, "there might be other ways to get paid." Last fall, Morris threatened not to license Universal music to Microsoft just days before it was scheduled to launch its own online music store and its Zune digital music player. In response, the software company coughed up a royalty of just over a dollar for every Zune sold and paid music fees."

Whether you like it or not (chances are, you don't), Universal is on a mission to milk everything for what it's worth. Zune, of course, fell victim to the label's strong-arm tactics late last year, and come May, the iPod could be next. And beyond? Only time will tell.


Monday, December 4, 2006

Zune Royalty Means Zilch for Artists?

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 10:30 AM

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/11/29/steve_gordon_zune_royalties/

"Although this pattern of not paying artists for digital music sales is dreadful, the chances of artists seeing anything from the royalty placed on Zune is even worse. There is nothing in the standard recording agreement that says the labels must share income derived from licensing digital devices. Labels are only responsible for paying for exploitation of music, not licensing electronic devices. So why would the labels share anything with the artists when they already disregard clauses in the recording agreements that would benefit the artists?"

Ever since Universal revealed that it would receive a cut of revenue derived from Zune sales, I was skeptical as to whether the artists would receive even a cent of that. Steve Gordon at The Register tends to agree, and he offers some compelling reasons to explain his thinking. Give them a read and tell us what you think. Are artists really benefiting from these new sale agreements?


Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Universal Gets Greedy

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 07:00 PM

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-11-28T213349Z_01_N28267036_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-SUMMIT-UNIVERSALMUSIC-IPOD.xml&WTmodLoc=TechNewsHome_C2_technologyNews-4

"Universal Music Group Chief Executive Doug Morris said on Tuesday he may try to fashion an iPod royalty fee with Apple Computer Inc. in the next round of negotiations in early 2007. Universal, the world's largest music company, owned by French media giant Vivendi, was the first major record label to strike an agreement with Microsoft Corp. to receive a fee for every Zune digital media player sold."

Universal's power drive doesn't end at Zune. The iPod could be its next target in a few months time, and quite frankly, I don't think it'll end there. What's next, Universal? Accessories?


Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Did Karma Bite Microsoft?

Posted by Aaron Roma in "Zune Talk" @ 03:00 PM

http://www.freedom-to-tinker.com/?p=1086

"There’s an interesting echo here from Microsoft’s antitrust history. Once upon a time, Microsoft insisted that PC makers pay it a royalty for every PC they sold, whether or not that PC came with Windows. This was called a per-processor license. PC makers, in a weak bargaining position, went along. Microsoft said this was only fair, claiming that most non-Windows PCs ended up with pirated copies of Windows."

There has been much controversy, and rightfully so, surrounding last week's announcement that Microsoft has reached an agreement to pay Universal Music Group a royalty for each Zune player it sells. (In case you've been living under a rock, yes, that is a royalty for each player, not song!) Speculate all you want about the reasoning behind this agreement, but as I see it, it boils down to one thing. Universal strong-arming Microsoft because UMG feels it should be compensated for the potential pirating that Zune users might do. The folks over at Freedom to Tinker pointed out something quite interesting. Maybe this deal is just an example of karma coming around and biting MS on the rear. It seems that back in the day, Microsoft enforced what was referred to as a "per-processor license". Microsoft apparently forced PC manufactures to pay a fee on every PC sold, even if that PC did not have Windows installed! Microsoft reasoned that most PCs would end up with an illegal copy of Windows, so they might as well get their money up front. Sounds eerily familiar, doesn't it? Of course, as usual, we the consumer are the big losers here.

Tags: universal, umg, fee

Friday, November 10, 2006

What Microsoft Thinks of the Universal Deal

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 04:50 AM

http://zuneinsider.com/archive/2006/11/10/on-the-universal-deal.aspx

"Today we're announcing that we'll pay UMG a per device royalty for every Zune player sold – a first in the industry. Why? We're about supporting artists, and ensure they continue to prosper with the emergence of the digital music model. The distribution of digital music isn't that old, and the current method isn't really doing a lot to compensate artists fairly. We worked closely with Universal to create this revenue opportunity for artists, as the industry transitions to a time when it can fully take advantage of new opportunities that digital experiences offer, both for consumers and for artists and labels."

There were more than a few eyebrows raised yesterday when it was revealed that Universal would be getting a cut of Zune sales. Unfortunately, Microsoft and Universal couldn't talk specifics, but the former did raise a couple of points today that I thought were worth sharing. Firstly, a portion of the cut goes to Universal's artists. Now who the artists are and how much of that cut they get is still a question mark. We did say they couldn't talk specifics, right? ;-) Secondly, Microsoft is talking to other labels (indies and majors) about the opportunity to participate in a similar manner. Yes, we'll give you a minute to get your head around that one. It's a "power to the labels" approach that not everyone is going to want to embrace. The upside of all this is that there'll be more tracks pre-loaded on the Zune than first announced, and there'll be more tracks available for purchase in the Marketplace (yay to choice). The downside is that over time, the strong-arm tactics of the labels is only going to worsen (nay to money-grubbing). They'll make money off the songs. They'll make money off the hardware. Soon, it'll be your clothes, and your soul.


Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Universal Gets a Cut of Zune Sales

Posted by Darius Wey in "Zune Talk" @ 11:45 PM

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyid=2006-11-09T031549Z_01_N08407877_RTRUKOC_0_US-MEDIA-MICROSOFT-UNIVERSALMUSIC.xml&src=rss

"Microsoft Corp. (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to pay Universal Music Group a fee for each new Zune digital music player it sells when the iPod rival launches next week, the companies said on Thursday. The groundbreaking deal could redefine the digital music business pioneered by Apple Computer Inc. (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research). Rivals including cell phone makers eventually could pay for hardware sales as well as for the music itself, Universal said. Microsoft is trying to break into an industry closely aligned with archival Apple, which is credited with nearly single-handedly building the legal Web music world with its iPod players and iTunes music store. But Apple does not give a cut of sales of iPods to music companies. It only pays labels for songs sold on its iTunes music store."

At this stage, we're not quite sure how this adds up. None of the pre-loaded content appears to belong to Universal or its sub-groups, and they still get a cut even if the user doesn't load a single Universal track on to the device. So what's going on? Perhaps Microsoft and Universal are getting ready to ink a deal that will put the Zune in a favourable light, and this is just a woo tactic to keep Universal from getting too cozy with Apple. We'll be keeping our eye on this one.


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