Never miss a beat! Stay up to date on the top stories in music business and anything else you may have missed last week in the industry.

Streaming

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Leaked Contract Confirms Amazon’s Pending Streaming Service” css=”custom-class”] A leaked publishing contract posted on Digital Music News confirms the existence of Amazon’s imminent streaming service.

The contract suggests the service would be bundled with existing Amazon offerings, most likely Amazon Prime.[/toggle]

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Spotify Launch in Philippines with $3 Monthly Subscription” css=”custom-class”]Spotify has officially launched in Philippines with a $3 (US) monthly subscription fee. Spotify has also announced a partnership with telecommunications carrier Globe Telecom in which prepaid subscribers are offered free access to Spotify as part of their data plan.[/toggle]
 

Mobile Partnerships & Bundling

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Rhapsody Hits 1.7M Paying Subscribers Thanks To Recent Mobile Partnerships & more” css=”custom-class”]Rhapsody International announced last week that last year they’ve grown 63%, with the music subscription service now reaching 1.7M paying subscribers. The company primarily attributes the new users to their partnerships with mobile phone carriers abroad. One of the most notable sources of growth for Rhapsody occurred last October after signing a deal Telefonica, one of the worlds largest telecom companies that is particularly strong in Latin America. Rhapsody’s European brand, Napster, bundles with mobile carriers in Germany and France, which saw similar rapid growth as a result. [/toggle]

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Spotify and Sprint Bundling Partnership Revealed” css=”custom-class”] A Spotify and Sprint has reportedly concluded negotiations to bundle their streaming service within Sprint’s family plans.

The details are expected to be announced at a New York event on April 29.[/toggle]

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Samsung Signs Bundle Deal With Deezer, Offers Free Premium Service With Galaxy S5 Purchase” css=”custom-class”]A new European partnership between Samsung and Deezer launched last week. The deal will offer six months of free access to the music streaming platform’s ad-free Premium+ service to anyone who purchases the new Samsung Galaxy S5. This marks the first time the smartphone manufacturer has partnered with a music streaming service.

The EU based music service is available in 182 countries, unfortunately however the US is not one of them. With a catalogue of over 30M tracks, Deezer has said it will however launch in the US sometime this year.[/toggle]
 

International Markets

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Report Shows that 84% of Spain’s Entertainment Content is Illegally Accessed” css=”custom-class”] Spain’s Culture Ministry has released a report on online music consumption in Spain which illustrates that 84% is accessed illegally. The report also shows that such access is increasing at a rate of 4.6%.[/toggle]

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”US Internet Ad Revenue Surpasses Broadcast For First Time With Record High Revenues” css=”custom-class”]US internet advertising revenues for 2013 hit a record high of $42.8B, exceeding broadcast television advertising revenues for the first time ever, according to the latest Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Internet Advertising Revenue Report.

Mobile totaled $7.1B in 2013 and achieved triple digit growth year-over-year for the third year in a row, with 110% increase seen in mobile from 2012’s prior year.[/toggle]
 

Legal & Copyright

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Major Labels File Copyright Infringement against Megaupload” css=”custom-class”] Warner Music, Universal Music, Sony Music and Capitol records have filed a lawsuit
against cloud storage site Megaupload. A similar lawsuit was filed by major film studies earlier last week .[/toggle]

[toggle heading=”h5″ title=”Dutch ‘Piracy Levy’ Declared Unlawful” css=”custom-class”] The European Court of Justice has declared the Netherlands “piracy levy” on electronic devices and writeable media unlawful.
Downloading ‘illegal’ movies and music for ‘personal use’ is legal in the Netherlands, with the “piracy levy” used to compensate right-holders. The case was instigated by electronic stores and manufacturers who complained that the levy made their products too expensive. The court were persuaded by these claims and also noted that the system was unfair to copyright holders.[/toggle]
 
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