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Microsoft hires new firm for Zune Pass

In what is likely a reaction to recent complaints of disappearing music in the Zune Marketplace, Microsoft has hired an outside firm to help clear music for its Zune Pass subscription service.

In an announcement today, Music Reports Inc. revealed an agreement made with Microsoft to "administer the music publishing licensing and royalty accounting for the Zune Pass subscription service in the United States."

The use of an outside music licensing house isn't a new move for Microsoft and its Zune music services. Nonetheless, the change in firms points to shortcomings in the previous arrangement, evidenced perhaps … Read more

Cell phone subscriptions to hit 5 billion globally

On a planet with around 6.8 billion people, we're likely to see 5 billion cell phone subscriptions this year.

Reaching 4.6 billion at the end of 2009, the number of cell phone subscriptions across the globe will hit 5 billion sometime in 2010, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The explosion in cell phone use has been driven not only by developed countries, but by developing nations hungry for services like mobile banking and health care.

"Even during an economic crisis, we have seen no drop in the demand for communications services," said ITU … Read more

Could cable lose its grip on TV business?

Cable companies may be raking in profits as they add more broadband subscribers, but price-sensitive consumers may only be a discount away from ditching them.

On Wednesday Comcast, the nation's largest cable operator, announced it had more than doubled its fourth-quarter earnings, due in large part to a promotional push that resulted in 247,000 new high-speed Internet subscribers. Time Warner Cable, which announced fourth-quarter earnings last week, also swung to a profit, buoyed by gains in broadband Internet and phone subscribers.

But even though these companies managed to report profits and a boost in new broadband subscribers, they … Read more

Rhapsody comes to Android

For heavy music listeners and explorers of new tunes, subscription-based music services make a lot sense on a mobile device. Instead of being bound to your phone's limited storage, you have access to millions of songs for a single monthly fee.

That's why I picked RealNetworks' Rhapsody (and its competitor Spotify, which isn't yet available in the United States) on the Apple iPhone as one of my five most welcome products of 2009.

Now owners of a Motorola Droid, an HTC Nexus One, or any other phone running Google's mobile operating system will be able to … Read more

Cheap GPS: Gokivo app drops to 99 cents

If you've been wanting to test-drive an iPhone navigation app but didn't want to invest $34.99 on CoPilot Live, $49.99 on TomTom U.S.A., or $59.99 MobileNavigator, here's good news: Now you can get Gokivo GPS Navigator for just 99 cents (iTunes link).

Just to clarify, that 99 cents buys you 30 days' worth of navigation (complete with real-time traffic). After that, Gokivo will cost you $4.99 per month or $39.99 if you pay annually (a considerable savings).

It will cost you more over the long haul than a flat-rate app … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1131: The last Word from Microsoft?

Breaking news right at the top of the show as Microsoft loses its appeal and the court rules they have to stop selling infringing copies of Microsoft Word by January 11, 2009. We also welcome the new White House security czar and the Google Yelp drama plays on. We're on break now, but we do have special episodes in the feed. We'll be back on January 4! Have a a great holiday!

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1131

Microsoft loses Word patent appeal http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BL3FV20091222… Read more

Apple's push into subscription TV--a tough sell

Apple is in talks with CBS and Disney to offer television programming using a subscription model, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday but suggested that the venture could face a pretty steep uphill battle.

There's an understatement.

Apple has been incredibly successful with iTunes. It's almost become bad business to not play ball with Apple. But at this point, things are also very different. Consider the following:

• Hollywood has become more tech savvy.

• iTunes largely still uses a pay-per-view model.

• Limited subscriptions offer limited value.

• It's the content, not the network.

• … Read more

MOG entering the music subscription game

If free ad-supported music services aren't going to make it financially, what about paid subscription services? Rhapsody and RealNetworks continue to soldier along, but RealNetworks is apparently looking for investors to take some portion of the Rhapsody business off its hands, and we haven't heard much about Napster since Best Buy, which acquired it a little over a year ago, slashed subscription prices in May in a bid to build membership.

Soon, there will be another competitor in the market: MOG. The company has offered a kind of music blog site with a social-networking spin for a couple … Read more

Music biz expert Passman: Subscriptions can save us

If you work in the music business, you probably already know the name Donald Passman. For the uninitiated, his book "All You Need to Know About the Music Business," which was first released in 1991 and comes out in a seventh edition today, is the book on how the music industry works. If you ever wanted to know how major and indie label deals are structured, the different types of royalties that musicians can earn and how they're calculated, what a personal manager does for a band, how much money artists make on tour, where your ticket … Read more