Tag archive: independent record labels

A federal appeals court revived an antitrust lawsuit Wednesday that accuses major record labels controlling 80 percent of U.S. digital music sales of scheming together to charge high prices. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the lawsuit can proceed before a judge in Manhattan because enough facts, as described by the plaintiffs, support the claims. The lawsuit brought by music purchasers had been tossed out by a lower court… Read More

At the Midemet music conference this weekend in Cannes, France, a new licensing agency named Merlin representing the independent music sphere launched itself, and announced it had forged an agreement with Sean Fanning's Snocap to offer music from independent record labels for sale via MySpace and other popular online destinations. The move would put the social networking site—one of the Internet's most-visited… Read More

A new online music service was announced yesterday which promises to allow music lovers to create their own digital music stores and sell their favorite music to consumers. The service, dubbed BurnLounge, is in public beta now. BurnLounge, the company said, provides users with proprietary software and a large catalog of music from major and independent record labels, giving users the ability to create and operate their own digital music… Read More

“This is a great benefit to small acts that will can receive greater online distribution than independent record labels usually provide by releasing music for these artists through digital only services such as Apple's iTunes, RealNetworks' Rhapsody and Microsoft's MSN Music. If digital sales are substantial (at least 5,000 copies), Universal has the option to release the song or album in CD form and begin retail… Read More

A multi-year deal with Twentieth Century Fox grants THQ Wireless the rights to develop and distribute games based on The Simpsons, which remains one of the most popular TV shows in the world and has recently aired its 300th episode. THQ plans to release the first Simpsons wireless service in the USA in the second half of this year, incorporating a variety of games, graphics and MMS/SMS applications. Closer to home, THQ Wireless has also… Read More