It’s been available for a few months for unlocked iPhones, but Simplify Media’s iPhone application has finally hit Apple’s App Store. Simplify Media’s software, which can also be used on the iPod Touch, will let users stream entire iTunes libraries wirelessly.

Start by downloading the desktop version of Simplify Media’s software for the PC, Mac or Linux and create a screen name. Then find and download Simplify Media’s iPhone application from iTunes or directly from the iPhone or iPod Touch.

The software will let you stream your entire iTunes music catalog and those that belong to up to 30 of your friends who also have the application running on their computers.

Bloggers reported that an earlier version of the software for the iPhone was buggy. We haven’t played around with the latest version yet. The iPhone software is free for the first 100,000 downloaders, Gizmodo says. (Gizmodo)

(Updates earlier post to clarify deal terms)

After four years of recriminations and in-fighting between executives from Sony Music and executives from BMG Music Entertainment, Tokyo-based Sony Corp has decided to end the mutual pain of a controversial merger and take full control of Sony BMG.

Artists like Beyonce, Bruce Springsteen and Justin Timberlake will now record under a new banner: Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

The FT had reported in June that Bertelsmann was looking for $1.2 billion-$1.5 billion for its 50 percent stake in Sony BMG, but it looks like the German media company settled for $600 million-$900 million — the exact sum depends on how you do the math.

Basically, Sony said it is paying $600 million cash to Bertelsmann, which will also get half of another $600 million in cash on Sony BMG’s balance sheet for a grand total of $900 million. The deal values Sony BMG at $1.2 billion. (UPDATE: You can argue that half of Sony BMG’s cash belonged to Sony, so its total cost was $900 million but Sony says it hadn’t consolidated Sony BMG’s cash. Bertelsmann adds that the value to it was higher than $1.2 billion, after taking into account tax breaks)

Will full ownership by Sony give the record label a new lease on life? According to Music & Copyright research, Sony BMG ranks second in the music industry with a 20.1 percent market share, behind Universal Music’s 28.8 percent. Here’s what some analysts told our correspondents in Tokyo and London:

Daiwa Institute of Research analyst Kazuharu Miura

Sony BMG is a company whose sales have been on a declining trend. But it has managed to post profits so far thanks in part to its restructuring efforts. There is no reason to see this as particularly negative. But I don’t think this is something that prompts investors to chase Sony shares, either.
Sony’s cash out is $600 million, while Sony BMG has been posting after-tax profit of about $100 million to $200 million. Of that profits, Bertelsmann’s portion will come to Sony after the deal. So, Sony can expect a return of about $50 million to $100 million for a $600 million investment. That is not a bad
investment.

Informa music analyst Simon Dyson

It would appear that Bertelsmann was getting out of the music industry altogether but actually they’ll still deal with some management and rights, which signals that they think there’s money to be made, just not in retail.
I’m probably a little more pessimistic than most people. I’m very sceptical as to whether music sales are going to return to growth for a good five or six years.
Sony is big in music and games, for example with Guitar Hero, for which artists seem keen to sign up. I wouldn’t think that actually owning the music company would need to be a part of it.
BMG on the surface seems to have got the most out of it. But they’re very clever people at Sony, perhaps they’ve got some kind of plan.

Jupiter music analyst Mark Mulligan

This is absolutely related to the fact that the music industry is in a really difficult time. But it has much if not more to do with Bertelsmann refocusing itself. What Bertelsmann really created was a cross-media megalith, trying to do too many things across too many areas. Owning everything isn’t necessarily the best way of getting the most out of a media company.
The timing and the importance of getting this done has been intensified by the state of the music industry. The music industry’s declining but some time in the next couple of years the decline will slow. Digital music sales will ultimately catch up with the rate at which CD sales are declining.

(Photo: Reuters)

It was Nintendo’s turn to play a little music. Following on the heels of popular music genre games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, Nintendo showed off Wii Music at its E3 press conference.  Here’s a quick video — shot by our video games reporter Kemp Powers — of Nintendo executives, including legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto , playing the Mario theme song. (Hint: Miyamoto is the short Japanese man.)

The reception for the game was mixed.  The game does let you simulate more than 60 different instruments and it does seem easy to use. However, no one keeps score and you can’t play out of tune because the game picks-up motions to play the melody. The complaint seems to be that it is too basic and simple. (To be fair, many people said that about the Wii when it came out.)

One of my colleagues may have said it best. Guitar Hero and Rock Band makes you feel like a rock star. This game makes you look like you are in a high school marching band.

 Was it any coincidence that Apple decided to trumpet its victory as the biggest U.S. retailer of music on the same day the world’s biggest social network declared its intentions to provide an alternative?

Who knows? What’s certain is Apple now faces another in a growing legion of competitors aiming to chip away at its dominance.

Here’s what the experts think:

James McQuivey, analyst at Forrester Research:
“A MySpace music store is exactly the right step to get the music industry to the next level because it recognizes that consumers don’t just buy music, they experience it, which is a much larger concept — they share, they discover, they heckle, they even use it to provide self-identify. That’s what people do with music already on MySpace, it’s what has made Last.FM and Imeem.com so popular so quickly. But none of those experiences take it to the next level, allowing consumer to integrate buying music and related things. ”

Ben Drury CEO of 7Digital, a UK-based digital music service:
“Initially, this looks like a positive move for consumers. DRM is still a big issue for a lot of music fans and this latest announcement is further evidence that the majors are moving away from it all together. Competition to iTunes’ domination of the market is always good news, as it helps drive competitive pricing in the digital music sector. However, the quality of the user experience may still be an issue. MySpace pages are chaotic due to the levels of customisation and could easily put consumers off the service. It will also be interesting to see how many consumers, or parents of young consumers, will be willing to hand their credit card details over to MySpace when buying music.”

Paul Myers Chief Executive Wippit (digital music service):
“I think the effect that MySpace has had on music has been hyped out of control. Half truths or misunderstandings like those that the Arctic Monkeys or Lily Allen were broke on MySpace have become accepted as fact in some circles. And it’s a problem that might hurt it in the long run as the majority of friend requests most people get on MySpace these days are from aspiring musicians plugging their wares and not old friends or new acquaintances. If it carries on MySpace will become a service of aspiring musicians, spamming aspiring musicians, spamming aspiring musicians.”

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?

The Live Nation touring and merchandising agreement with supergroup U2 could be worth $100 million estimates one Wall Street analyst.

Live Nation, a tour promoter that is evolving rapidly into an all-round music company, has prepped a 12-year deal with supergroup U2 which includes its merchandising, digital, image licensing in addition to its touring but hasn’t revealed how much money will change hands (not to us anyway).

However David Joyce, media analyst at Miller Tabak, ventures that the deal will be in the $100 million range. Joyce, who likes Live Nation’s prospects, has based his guesstimate on the $120 million figure that Live Nation is widely believed to have agreed with Madonna in cash and stock last year.

The Madonna deal was a much more far-reaching partnership that included three albums over 10 years. While the U2 pact doesn’t include recording, it’s a longer term deal with a bigger live act says Joyce.

What does $100 million get you these days? Well for 12 years Live Nation can print as many ‘U2 waz ‘ere 2018 World Tour’ t-shirts as they can sell, and they might be able to convince a few more big pop names to come on board the touring/merchandise all-you-can-eat fiesta now that they have Madonna and U2 on their calling card. But will they make their money back? That’s the big question.

Joyce cautions that the record labels want a piece of the action as well:

“Will the music label companies, facing continued secular decline in their traditional album-selling business, get into the concert promotion, artist merchandising, and fan website business with their currently signed artists, thereby fending off Live Nation’s expansion attempts?”

That appears likely, especially as Live Nation works quickly to formalize deeper relationships with the biggest names in pop and may be willing to pay more than the labels at present. It’s shaping up to be an arms race that could end up getting very expensive.

(Photo: Reuters)