A'ccounting On You

Two corresponding cases, filed by the same attorney in New York Supreme Court (NY Co./Manhattan), are complaints for alleged breach of contract for failure to provide accountings detailing the labels' exploitation of plaintiffs' sound recordings. One complaint also alleges unjust enrichment.

[Shannon Brenda Greene pka Shannon v. Emergency Records and Filmworks Inc.; Unidisc Music Inc.; filed 12/12/2007; case no. 07-604067 ]
[Leah Lorien Alomar pka Lea Lorien v. DMI Records Inc.; David Morales; filed 12/12/2007; case no. 07-604068]

XM Free from SEC

XM Satellite Radio announced that the Securities and Exchange Commission ended its investigation into the satellite radio company, and the SEC doesn't intend to recommend enforcement action.

The inquiry came after a putative class action was filed against XM, alleging XM failed to provide investors with certain information.

Universal Joins Forces With Social Networking Site

The Wall Street Journal reports that Universal Music has joined forces with social networking service Imeem, Inc. The licensing agreement will allow Imeem's 19 million users to listen to, and embed, Universal music & videos for free on their personal pages. On Universal's end, it will receive a penny-rate payment each time a user listens to one of its songs in addition to sharing advertising revenue associate with a given song. The deal thus promises to provide labels "a revenue stream they've never seen before".

With this deal, Universal joins the other major label groups and marks the first of its kind to cover all four majors. Notably, Universal has a rough-history in such deals - it sued MySpace.com last year for copyright infringement, alleging that the site didn't do enough to prevent users from posting copyrighted materials without authorization.

I Am Iron Man

Love 'em, or hate 'em, heavy metal band Iron Maiden has achieved a level or success and longevity uncommon in the world of popular music. Yesterday, the band announced that it had re-signed with its label of 28 years EMI in a 360 degree deal (excluding the USA), which included touring, merchandise and other revenue.

The band, with an enormous world-wide following, regularly sells out shows in international venues, and has topped charts around the world. It must be the graphic t-shirts...

Amazingly, they have maintained the same manager, Rod Smallwood, since 1979. Unfortunately, the EMI-regime can't boast such loyalty or experience...but nonetheless, Iron Maiden is a "flagship band for EMI".

This Is Thriller!

Another cookie-cutter copyright infringement lawsuit, regarding alleged unauthorized public performance of musical compositions, was filed yesterday in the Western District of North Carolina - Charlotte Division. The compositions - of which there were only 4 instances of alleged infringement - are in the R&B genre.

[Thriller Miller Music v. Arooji's Wine Room LLC; case 3:07-cv-00518-RCJ-CH; filed 12/10/2007]

Music On Your Mobile

Universal Music group entered into an agreement with Nokia Corp., the worlds largest mobile-phone maker by sales, to offer UNLIMITED music downloads for a year on phones carrying the "Ovi" platform, which allows users to buy music. (The core of the service is based on Nokia's prior acquisition of Loudeye for $60 mil.) Dubbed "Comes With Music", users -- who will get a 1 year free subscription and access to Universal's repertoire of artists -- can also transfer music to their computers, though making multiple copies in violation of Copyright protections is limited (DRM).

The service is sure to compete with Apple iTunes/iPhone, and is part of Nokia's continuing expansion into providing on-line services over its telephones.

The real question is whether mobile is truly the direction music is heading? Yes, the iPhone is cool - having your music and phone handy for on-the-go people is a seeming "must". But is it THE ANSWER? Or, just one path of many?

Chrysalis May Get Bid

The Wall Street Journal reported last Thursday (12/7/07) that music publisher Chrysalis Group PLC (London), subject to to bid speculation for almost a year, is currently assessing available options to it -- including a possible offer.

Over The Hills and Far Away

OTCS was one of (literally) millions of entrants to see Led Zeppelin LIVE and REUNITED for tonight's show in London. But, as luck would have it, OTCS didn't get drawn for the lottery...

Any readers at the show, please post comments about the performance.

Also, because this is a tribute concert, OTCS wonders whether there will be a later-released DVD or album (like G. Harrison's Concert for Bangladesh.) If yes, does Led Zeppelin have any sort of back-side deal on this compilation? A percentage of the DVD sales? Will they be so vein as to edit their performance, or outright ban it from the release (a la 1985 Live Aid?).

Murder Was The Case That They Gave Me

Phil Spector, who suffered through a mistrial on murder charges, will be seeing the court room again, likely next fall due to the case load of his criminal defense attorneys. The voluminous record is expected to take at least 5 months for Spector's new counsel to review.

NYTimes - Sums Up 2007 with a Great Radiohead Story

The article speaks for itself, and is worth your time to read. Interesting is the estimate that the average price paid for "In Rainbows" - Radiohead's pay what you want on-line album - was $2.26. That is about TWICE as much as what a successful artist would make under a traditional (i.e., major label) royalties deal.

OTCS must wonder, who is paying $80.00 for the physical set? Yes, it includes artwork, another disc, and vinyl...but won't the extra-disc end up on the Internet? Won't the artwork be available somewhere? And vinyl, isn't it just a novelty these days?