Label:Life

An investor group that includes media moguls Haim Saban and Edgar Bronfman Jr. is preparing a $2.5 billion bid for Time Warner Inc.’s music business, according to a source familiar with the situation.

Sources have said that Time Warner would choose between a bid from the investor group and one from music industry rival EMI Group Plc by a Thursday board meeting.

EMI is only bidding for Time Warner’s recorded music business, while the offer that the Saban, Bronfman group was putting together involves the music publishing unit as well. [more @ www.msnbc.com]

Microsoft Corp. said on Monday it will jump into the online music sector next year, joining an increasingly crowded market that already includes Apple Computer Inc.’s iTunes Music Store and Roxio Inc.’s reborn Napster online music service.

“We are excited to confirm that MSN will deliver a download music service next year, and we look forward to sharing more details at a later date,” said Lisa Gurry, lead product manager for Microsoft’s online division MSN. [more @ www.www.forbes.com]

George Michael has signed a new worldwide recording deal with the U.K. arm of Sony Music, the company he left in the ‘90s after a drawn-out court battle, Billboard Bulletin reports.

A Sony spokesperson declined to comment on terms of the deal. Michael is currently recording “Patience,” his first album since 1996’s “Older,” for an expected release in early 2004.

In late 1992, Michael went to court in an attempt to break free from his recording contract with Sony Music Entertainment. He parted with the company in 1995, signing with DreamWorks for North America and Virgin elsewhere.

Sources close to the negotiations at the time said Sony was to receive a cash sum of $30 million-$40 million as a payment to release Michael. This was to be paid by DreamWorks and Virgin against their earnings from the release of subsequent albums.
[more @ www.billboard.com]

Sharman Networks, owners of file-sharing program Kazaa, is launching a $1 million advertising campaign to woo the entertainment industry.

The company has been attempting to get top music and movie companies to distribute legitimate, copy-protected versions of their products through the Kazaa network – but to date, no major player has been willing to play ball.

Talking to News.com, Sharman CEO Nikki Hemming explained the thinking behind the adverts: “Altnet [Sharman’s marketing and technology partner] and Sharman have experienced deafness on the part of the industry for way too long, and there’s a point where you have to take action.” [more @ www.internet-magazine.com]

Major record labels have been snooping onto the world’s peer-to-peer song-sharing networks in a bid to measure which artists are proving popular among file-sharers.

Media tracking company BigChampagne has been monitoring P2P services since 2000, and has sold the data it collates to some of the industry’s biggest names, the company claims in an AP report.

Disney, Dreamworks, and Warner Music Group subsidiaries Atlantic, Warner Bros. and Madonna’s label, Maverick, are all BigChampagne clients. Company chief Eric Garland claims to have worked with all the major labels during the past three years. [more @ www.theregister.com]

Two Sydney students have been give 18 month suspended jail terms for their part in Australia’s biggest copyright infringement case.

Federal Court Deputy Chief Magistrate Graeme Henson said although the actions of Charles Kok Hau Ng, 20, of Blacktown, and Peter Tran, 19, of Canley Heights were serious enough to warrant a custodial sentence, their sentences were suspended because they had made no monetary gain from the MP3/WMA Land website, that illegally offered more than 1000 songs for download.
[more @ www.news.com.au]

In December 2003, Warp will make their entire back catalogue and all new releases available as high quality, pay-per-track MP3 downloads.

Bleep.com will be the quickest and easiest method of downloading Warp music from the internet. Unlike p2p file sharing (or even iTunes), bleep.com does not require users to install proprietary software to access MP3 downloads. [more @ www.warprecords.com]

The value of global music sales will continue to fall in the years to 2005, according to a new report by Informa Media Group.

The report, The Global Music Industry (3rd Edition), estimates that the global value will drop below $28 billion in 2004 before returning to growth in 2005, driven primarily by the restriction of online file exchange coupled with greater control of CD copying. By the end of 2008 the value of global sales is estimated to have risen to $32 billion. [more @ www.mi2n.com]

Wilmington, Delaware, is enjoying a novel service through the telephone exchange. Phonograph music is supplied over the wires to those subscribers who sign up for the service. Attached to the wall near the telephone is a box containing a special receiver, adapted to throw out a large volume of sound into the room.

A megaphone may be attached whenever service is to be given. The box is attached to the line wires by a bridged tap from the line circuit. At the central office, the lines of musical subscribers are tapped to a manual board attended by an operator. A number of phonographs are available, and a representative assortment of records kept on hand.

Each musical subscriber is supplied with a special directory giving names and numbers of records, and the call number of the music department. When it is desired to entertain a party of friends, the user calls the music department and requests that a certain number be played. [more @ www.earlyradiohistory] [Far out huh?...And we thought we were cutting edge!-ED]

Sony Music and BMG took the lead in the ailing music industry’s race to consolidate on Thursday, signing a 50-50 joint venture pact to create a record firm rivalling Universal Music as the industry leader.

BMG’s parent, German media giant Bertelsmann , said its music unit would tie up with Sony Music , linking the world’s fifth- and second-largest record companies in a venture to be called Sony BMG.

The combination, bringing Sony’s Beyonce Knowles and Michael Jackson together with BMG’s Britney Spears and Pink, puts the two ahead of competitors EMI Group and Time Warner’s Warner Music, which are still discussing a merger. [more @ www.biz.yahoo.com]