MySpace Music almost a Wrap

Peter Henderson — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:31:20 +0000

Watch out Steve! MySpace is days away from unveiling a site that actually may give Apple’s iTunes some competition in the digital music space.
Sources familiar with the matter tell Reuters that a joint venture between MySpace and at least three major music companies offering music streaming, MP3 downloads, concert tickets, ringtones and merchandise is just days away.
Sony BMG Music, Universal Music Group and Warner Music will have a stake in the venture they hope will take a bite out of Apple’s grip on their industry. It’s unclear if EMI Group, the fourth-largest music label, will be involved.
The labels have been talking for weeks with News Corp’s MySpace, but a 2006 copyright lawsuit by market leader Universal against MySpace has been a sticking point. Imagine a music company suing over copyright! One source said that suit could be settled in time for the announcement.
It’s not clear when MySpace Music would be launched.
All the companies either declined to comment or were not immediately available.
Long singing the blues over Apple’s strong-armed pricing tactics, some big labels have refused to sign long-term deals with iTunes, now the No. 2 music retailer in the U.S.
Will MySpace Music hit a chord with Steve Jobs, who may finally need to change his tune to sweeten the pot for the record companies?

Yahoo: Here’s why we rejected Microsoft offer

Kenneth Li — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:45:51 +0000

Yahoo’s surprise three-year forecast announcement on Tuesday lays out why the Internet giant has refused to budge from its belief that Microsoft’s bid severely undervalues the company.

The Sunnyvale, Calif. company believes it can nearly double its operating cash flow to $3.7 billion and boost revenue, excluding payments to affiliates, to $8.8 billion. Built into the forecast is an expectation of $1.9 billion of additional revenue over three years in display video advertising revenue, outpacing market growth rates, Yahoo said.

It also reaffirmed previously issued first quarter and full year 2008 forecasts.

Yahoo Chairman Roy Bostock:
“We are pleased to share with the market more details about our business and our expectations for Yahoo!’s financial performance, which provided context for our board’s unanimous rejection of Microsoft’s unsolicited proposal. Yahoo! represents a truly unique strategic platform within our industry. The board of directors and management will continue to work closely together to ensure that any strategic path we pursue capitalizes on that uniqueness and value in a way that maximizes the benefit to our stockholders.”

Your move Microsoft.

(Reuters)

Keep an eye on:

In case investors wondered why the New York Times settled with dissident shareholders, look no further than its February monthly report, which showed a 6.6 percent ad revenue decline. (Reuters)
EBay has set up its own affiliate network to encourage Web sites to drive traffic to its eBay and Half.com Web sites, reducing its reliance on ValueClick’s network. (Reuters)
Slate, the online news and opinion magazine owned by The Washington Post Co, plans to join a bustling business news market with an analysis and commentary site. (Reuters )
Retail data suggest a lousy quarter for Apple’s MP3 players. (AlleyInsider)

(Photo: Reuters)

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MySpace Music almost a Wrap

Yahoo: Here’s why we rejected Microsoft offer