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The article presents news briefs involving the music industry. The Latin entertainment company UBO has shutdown operations. UBO cites lack of funding for 2007 operations for shutting down. Forrester Research issued a report finding that only 3% of online households in the United States have bought music from iTunes in the past year. Microsoft reports that it is on track to sell 1 million Zune digital music players by June 2007.

News briefs are presented relating to the entertainment industry. Microsoft agreed to share revenues from its Zune digital music player with record labels. Universal Music Group is waiting to see if the European Commission approves of its purchasing BMG Music Publishing. MySpace has been launched in Japan, and XBox is going to offer film downloads.

Reports on the success of Apple Computer's iPod and other new technologies in the portable digital audio player category throughout the holiday season in 2004. Comparison of the increase in sales of MP3 players during the 2003 and 2004 holiday seasons; Reason for iPod's success; Increase in the sales of compact-disc players.

The article focuses on the A and S series Walkman mp3 player that uses Bluetooth technology to stream music.

The article discusses the controversy surrounding the label body the Canadian Recording Industry Association announcing that it was joining a Retail Council of Canada challenge to the levy filed with the Federal Court of Appeal. The article explains that both organizations oppose extending Canada's private-copying levy to cover "digital audio recorders."

The article reports on China's emerging music industry during 2007. The author focuses on issues that music companies, such as EMI, will deal with while doing business in the region. It is suggested that major growth in the industry will be through digital music available on cellular telephones. A lawsuit EMI filed against Internet search engine Baidu is also discussed. INSET: On the AGENDA.

Reviews are presented of various digital entertainment devices. The Nintendo Wii is discussed. iPods and iTunes are described, along with related products. Also mentioned are Sonos Digital Music System, Microsoft's Zune, Logitech Wireless DJ Music System and the Sony Playstation 3.

This article reports on the rapidly growing mobile-music market in Japan. Mobile phones are overwhelmingly the digital-download medium of choice for Japanese consumers and will likely remain so as new music services and bigger capacity handsets are launched during the next several months in 2006. Japan's three major telecoms, NTT DoCoMo, KDDI and Vodafone, along with such companies as Apple, Microsoft and Softbank are forging alliances and jockeying for position in the market.

The article reports on the results of a study, conducted by the NPD Group for NARM, that found that even as consumers switch to digital music and physical sales decline, the physical product is still important to shoppers. The study shows that even teenagers increased their purchases of physical music.

The article highlights the International Computer Electronics Show held in Los Angeles, California, which kicked off on January 5, 2006. Several companies introduced various devices for digital music at the event including XM Satellite Radio and Samsung. Another highlight of the event is the launching of several mobile music services including V Cast Music from Verizon and iRadio service from Motorola.

Ponders on how long Apple Computer can stay as the top company in the digital music sector. Factors that influenced the market success of the iPod digital music player of Apple; Dominance of Apple in the MP3 player market and online music sales; Leading competitor of Apple.

Reports on the plan of Apple Computer to extend its lead in the MP3 player business with iPod price cuts. Description of the iPod shuffle; Decline in the price of the standard 4GB iPod mini; Information on the clean pricing scheme of Apple.

Reports on the market performance of legitimate digital music business in the U.S., according to a sales report issued by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry on January 2005. Number of digital tracks sold in 2004; Lawsuits against illegal digital distribution; Details of the increased number of legitimate digital music retailers and digital portable players.

Reports on the plan of Vodafone Group for third-generation (3G) handsets and services in Europe and Japan, which was announced on November 10, 2004. Investment of Vodafone to secure 3G licenses; Entertainment options to be offered by the 3G technology; Benefits of the 3G system to customers; Delay in the introduction of the 3G technology in Europe; Advantages of 3G technology over digital portable music players.

Deals with the rise of several competitors of iPod MP3 players. Consumer brands that have run digital music promotions with rivals to Apple's iTunes; Information on the Network Walkman NW-HD1 released by Sony; Significance of the cheap price of flash memory storage.

Discusses the efforts of Microsoft to penetrate the digital music market as of September 11, 2004. Predicted performance of the Microsoft Music endeavor; Prices of their music downloads; Information on the marketing strategy used by the company. INSET: Coming Next: Napster To Go.

Presents information on the status of subscription services in the U.S. digital music industry as of August 28, 2004. Forecast on the revenue growth of digital subscription; Warning of digital music executives of portable subscriptions; Lack of industry standard payment plan.

The article focuses on electronics company Apple's bid to purchase headphone company Beats Electronics in 2014. Topics include the impact of consolidation in the music industry, if technology companies such as Amazon.com and Google will attempt to acquire digital music companies such as Spotify and Rhapsody, and the digital music market in the U.S. in 2014.

The article discusses the international digital music industry as of July 2013, with a focus on how social media and the file-sharing protocol BitTorrent affect music sales. Topics include data released by the market research company Musicmetric on consumer use of BitTorrent and the online music streaming service Last.fm, the use of the subscription service online music player Spotify in Sweden, and charts on global music sales in 2012.

The article discusses the design of digital media platforms by the Internet software companies Amazon and Microsoft as of May 2013, with a focus on the role of digital technology in the music industry. Topics include the creation of an updated Xbox game console by Microsoft, consumer spending on digital entertainment, and digital distribution platforms for music.

The article discusses the digital music retail industry, with a focus on digital revenue for music sales in Latin America for the year of 2012. Topics include the Latin American music streaming market; the role of digital music streaming services such as Deezer, Rdio, and Spotify; and sales through the digital music library iTunes.

The article discusses the Cloud Player digital music service from the company Amazon.com, launched July 31, 2012, which scans users' Apple iTunes or Windows Media computer music files and copies songs to their Cloud Player account without users having to upload the songs. The benefits of the service for music labels and publishers are discussed.

The article discusses illegal knockoff versions of original songs available for purchase on the iTunes digital music store. Topics include artists whose songs have been copied, including the band fun. and the singer Carly Rae Jepsen; copyright law regarding the sale of digital music; and comments by Dalton Sim, the band manager for the musical group fun.

The article reports that the introduction of the iTunes digital music program in Latin America will boost sales and offers information about digital music sales in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, and Colombia.

The article evaluates the SanDisk Sansa Clip Zip digital MP3 player.

The article discusses Google's planned acquisition of Motorola Mobility and the potential impact the acquisition will have on the mobile entertainment market. It discusses how the move will position Google in relation to the computer and mobile device company Apple and how the acquisition will improve Google's smartphone devices. The article also discusses Google's digital music service.

The article reviews the HiFiMan HM-602 music player, which can be purchased at Head-Direct.com.

The article examines efforts by the Internet industry company Google Inc. to create a music downloading service to compete with the iTunes service of Apple Inc. The technology of Google's planned service, which is a hybrid of cloud computing and streaming technology, is discussed. Music trade executives express differing opinions on Google's chances of success in digital music.

The article discusses Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 Series operating system and the company's strategy for revitalizing it's struggling digital music service. Weak sales of Microsoft's Zune digital music players in the U.S. is examined. The company plans to give a Zune player to anyone who buys the Phone 7 Series cellular telephone.

The article presents information on the plans of household electronics retailer Best Buy to partner with manufacturers, in order to design exclusive products targeted to Best Buy's customer base. The potential this has to benefit the music industry is noted. Best Buy has purchased the digital music service Napster, and bundled a one-year Napster subscription with some of the computers it sells. INSET: STREAMLINED STREAMING.

The article reviews the Opus No. 4 digital music server by Olive.

The article presents an evaluation of the Pacemaker portable digital disc jockey system from Tonium.

The article discusses the competition between digital devices such as the iPod, made by computer company Apple, and the Zune, made by computer company Microsoft. The controversy caused by the alleged use of a Zune by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is described. The popularity of the Apple brand and public opinion regarding Microsoft's products are also explored. INSET: VOLUME DISCOUNT.

The article looks at Musiclatina.com, a Latin music digital download store which offers music from various major and independent record labels. Owner Juan Hidalgo, founder of independent label J&N, is discussed. The author compares the digital downloads available on Musiclatina.com to that of iTunes Latino.

The article presents a selection of news stories related to the digital music industry. The NPD Group released a survey which indicated that increasing numbers of smart-phone owners are using the devices to listen to music. AT&T is including a version of the video game Guitar Hero with some of its services. Jambase and ReverbNation are to trade concert data from their respective services.

The article discusses the success of a music discovery feature on Micorsoft's Zune digital music player. The Zune has the ability to tag songs for later download from the built-in FM radio and suggest music recommendations based on user listening habits gleaned from a predictive algorithm. A Zune Social community network also matches members with similar musical tastes and the ability to download music straight to the device via a Wi-Fi connection. INSET: MUSIC STREAMS TO GO.

The article is about regional Mexican music digital sales in comparison to overall sales. It says that the majority of the music is bought as physical media, in stores, and only a small percentage is purchased online. Mexican music chain La Curacao is trying to make its Internet music store, Pasito Tunes, more popular.

The article discusses the growth of Australian mobile digital music sales, forecasting a rise in such sales to parallel the sales in East Asia. Soundbuzz Australia notes that ringtone purchases slowed in 2007 but that music and video sales via mobile devices are rising. The Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association notes the correlation between the growth of third-generation networks and demand for music-capable mobile devices. The impact of the iPhone is discussed.

The article presents highlights from the Music & Money Symposium held by "Billboard" on March 6, 2008. It is noted that Ticketmaster hopes to see growth in the ticket resale business. The American Association of Independent Music president, Richard Bengloff, reports that independent-label music has more listeners in digital than terrestrial radio. Investment in digital music is slow due to the threat of lawsuits from music labels.

The article reports that the Canadian Private Copying Collective announced that it will not appeal a Federal Court of Appeal decision that rejected its application to levy a tariff on digital music players. The levy has been opposed by various retail groups, as well as the Canadian Recording Industry Association.

The article discusses digital lockers which allow users to upload music, photos, and documents to a virtual hard drive. The author explains that a secure login process allows access to stored files in the locker from almost any device connected to the Internet. Company MP3-Tunes launched a digital locker service devoted strictly to music files and also introduced an extension that allows users to play their music through a PlayStation 3 game console. Legal issues with lockers is discussed. INSET: RECEPTION LINE.

The article reports on the slow development of mobile-based music subscription services, envisioned as a monthly fee integrated into cellular telephone bills for unlimited music access. Challenges include software development, pricing, and customer education. AT&T executive Rob Hyatt comments on his company's experience with the effort. INSET: TOUCH AND GO.

A news brief is presented on the launch of a mobile music unlimited downloads subscription service in the Asia-Pacific region by British provider Omnifone in partnership with wireless carrier 3 Hong Kong. The service, 3 MusicStation, is priced low to try to compete with the high rate of piracy in the region.

The article reports that Sony Corp. and KDDI, which is Japan's second-largest mobile-phone operator, are partnering to launch a new music-download service that will allow mobile phone users to copy tracks onto digital music players they've downloaded from the internet and stored on handsets. The two companies are planning to launch the Au X Sony Music Project service during December 2007.

The article reports that Sony BMG Entertainment has entered into an exclusive partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. to develop branded music and entertainment-based programming for hotels that fall under the Starwood banner, which includes the Sheraton, Westin, Le Méridien and Luxury Collection brands. Under the long-term deal, Sony BMG will provide services such as digital music stores and in-room television offerings.

The article reports that the Spiralfrog ad-supported free digital music service plans to go live September 17, 2007 in the United States, following months of delays, executive upheaval and more than ten million dollars spent. The U.S. launch is an important step in determining whether offering free music in return for watching advertising is a viable business model for the struggling digital music industry. INSET: LET'S DO LAUNCH.

The article reports that the Great Britain-based mobile technology developer ROK Entertainment Group has launched an international digital-entertainment service. Software from ROK Media will allow users to upload their compact discs to a computer hard drive and load them onto memory cards for their mobile phones. ROK Media will introduce video material in late 2007. They hope to challenge Apple's iPod players and iTunes application in the mobile music market.

The author reflects on his experiences listening to his music collection on his portable digital music player and notes that he enjoys revisiting older songs that he had forgotten about so much that he has become less interested in buying newer music. He ponders whether this is a widespread phenomenon which would partially account for the overall decline in music sales.

The article presents several product reviews for electronics being released during the fourth quarter of 2007, including a portable radio from Slacker, Microsoft's digital music player Zune, and Apple Inc.'s home media adaptor Apple TV.

The article reports that the European Union has launched a research study that examines the health risks posed by personal music players. According to the article the study will have the goal of identifying acceptable levels of noise that music should be played at on the players. The study, which is being conducted by the EU Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, is expected to be completed by March 2008.