Music licensing giant Broadcast Music Inc. filed a suit yesterday against online music service Pandora at the U.S. Southern District Federal Court in New York. BMI has ended negotiations for publishing rates and is now seeking a determination of rates for a blanket license that covers all music streamed on Pandora. The filing follows Pandora’s controversial attempt to pay lower publishing rates by acquiring a South Dakota terrestrial radio station, in order to become eligible for the blanket license fee. Continue reading Music Publishing Turmoil: BMI Files Lawsuit Against Pandora

Clear Channel, which owns the iHeartRadio online music service and about 800 radio stations, announced this week that it will pay Fleetwood Mac a percentage of radio-advertising revenue in exchange for playing the band’s newest music via online services. As Internet radio and subscription services impact the music business, Clear Channel has initiated deals with labels for digital use of music in exchange for a share of airplay revenue. Fleetwood Mac is the first to close such a deal directly. Continue reading Fleetwood Mac and Clear Channel Agree on Revenue-Sharing

As part of the grand opening of the Interactive Media building at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, filmmakers George Lucas and Steven Spielberg spoke on a panel regarding the future of entertainment. During the discussion, the inevitable landscape of entertainment media was characterized as grim for the majors with rising movie ticket prices and theatrical releases becoming a niche market, as content continues its vast migration to online video-on-demand. Continue reading Industry Vets See Big Future for VOD, Problems for Studios

The growing popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, Roku and Apple TV have led to older audiences becoming more comfortable with the on-demand approach to viewing traditional television content on devices other than their TV sets. As a result, producers of Web-based programming are hoping that inexpensive Internet talk shows will help with this online transition for new viewers as well as consumer-brand advertisers. Continue reading Talk Shows are Making the Transition to Mobile Programming

Apple opened its Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco yesterday with a 2-hour keynote address that re-emphasized the company’s coolness factor, its ability to innovate and a return to a focus on design. Apple introduced its much anticipated iTunes Radio music service, new MacBook Airs with improved battery life, a super-fast cylindrical Mac Pro, the Jony Ive-designed iOS 7 with redesigned icons and distinct functional layers, and a new Mac operating system dubbed “Mavericks.” Continue reading WWDC: Apple Unveils New iOS, Cylindrical Mac Pro and More

During yesterday’s Worldwide Developers Conference keynote, Apple introduced its much anticipated streaming music service. The free, ad-supported iTunes Radio will feature a sizable music catalog, thanks to deals Apple has made with all the major record labels. The service features algorithmically programmed stations, more than 200 genre-based stations and a station that reflects music currently trending on Twitter. Continue reading WWDC: Apple Introduces Ad-Supported iTunes Radio Service

At the National Cable and Telecommunications Association conference yesterday in Washington D.C., Comcast announced that it has begun shipping a new wireless gateway to its residential broadband customers that will serve as both a private Wi-Fi router and a public hotspot. The bold (and possibly controversial) move will enable Comcast to essentially crowdsource its Wi-Fi network, turning home gateways into public hotspots. Continue reading Cable Show: Comcast to Create Crowdsourced Hotspot Network

At its annual developers conference in San Francisco today, Apple is expected to unveil its ad-supported streaming music service. The company is also expected to introduce new Mac notebooks and a redesigned iOS featuring a simpler interface. Apple’s new Internet radio service will compete with online music services such as Pandora, Rdio and Spotify. The move into streaming music could also help it compete with rival Google, which has been successful with robust Internet services. Continue reading Apple Expected to Unveil New Streaming Music Service Today

Television viewers are uploading episodes of their favorite shows and re-editing them, marking the next step in the increasingly interactive relationship with media content. One viewer unpacked the nesting-doll narrative of “Arrested Development” when the new season was released on Netflix, and re-edited it in chronological order before posting links on Reddit. Fans of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” recently posted their versions of a particularly violent scene to YouTube, after setting it to pop music and cartoon sound effects. Continue reading Television Fans Edit Their Own Versions of Favorite Shows

Viacom and Amazon announced a multiyear deal earlier this week that will provide Amazon with exclusive rights to Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. shows aimed at children and preschoolers. The agreement, estimated to be worth several hundred million dollars, also includes content from Viacom networks MTV and Comedy Central. The deal with Amazon was inked after Netflix and Viacom failed to renew their licensing agreement. Continue reading Netflix Competitor Amazon Nabs Exclusive Deal with Viacom

Google announced this week that the newly launched Redbox Instant by Verizon app is now ready for Google TV. Available in the Google Play market, owners of second generation hardware will be able to make full use of the app’s streaming capabilities (as detailed at the Google I/O conference, only newer devices have the necessary DRM support). Google Play is currently offering a one month free trial for new subscribers. Continue reading Redbox Instant by Verizon App Now Available on Google TV

The NPD Group has released its Q1 2013 figures for streaming video-on-demand and, not surprisingly, Netflix is still in the lead. However, more consumers are trying alternatives as Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime experienced gains. According to NPD’s VideoWatch VOD report, the number of viewers watching TV shows using SVOD services increased 34 percent, compared to Q1 2012. Netflix dominated at 90 percent, although 4 points lower than last year. Continue reading Q1 Report: Netflix Leads SVOD, But Viewers Trying Others

Multiplatform video service provider Vubiquity and DVR pioneer TiVo announced a partnership yesterday that will integrate Vubiquity’s AnyVU Streaming service with the TiVo user experience. AnyVU Streaming is an end-to-end multiplatform video solution that enables service providers to launch TV Everywhere services. The TiVo user interface will allow for integration of Vubiquity’s subscription movie package ViewNow on any device. Continue reading AnyVU: Vubiquity and TiVo Partner on TV Everywhere Solution

The majority of television content viewed on mobile devices is accessed through Netflix and Hulu Plus, rather than via networks or pay TV providers, suggests a new study commissioned by the Council for Research Excellence (funded by Nielsen). About 64 percent of shows watched on smartphones and 54 percent on tablets were accessed through online video-subscription services, while broadcast and cable websites and apps only accounted for 26 percent of TV viewed on mobile devices. Continue reading Netflix and Hulu Plus Most Popular with Mobile TV Viewers

Ericsson released a new mobility report yesterday that suggests video traffic is growing on mobile networks by 60 percent annually and overall data traffic is predicted to grow 12-fold by the end of 2018. The report notes that global smartphone subscriptions reached 1.2 billion in 2012, a number expected to approach 4.5 billion by 2018. Additionally, Ericsson anticipates 60 percent of the world’s population will be covered by LTE in 2018. Continue reading Ericsson Mobility Report: LTE and Mobile Video Drive Growth