Music Ally

The blogosphere has been buzzing this weekend following claims in the New York Post that Facebook is “plotting a possible push into the digital music business” in an effort to take on MySpace Music. That’s their comedy image montage by the way.

The report goes on to claim that the social network is in talks with Rhapsody, iMeem, iLike AND Lala over working more closely with one of them as Facebook’s outsourced music service supplier. While Facebook is apparently also talking to the major labels, it’s not planning to offer any equity in the company, unlike MySpace.

So is it true? The problem with the rumour is that iLike in particular is already pretty comprehensive as a third-party Facebook application, so what difference would any deal really make, other than promoting one music app at the expense of the others?

If you’ve not heard of BaseDrift, it’s a soon-to-launch online driving game, which from its urban racing theme sounds like it’s inspired by console games like the Need For Speed series. So, you’ll race round a bunch of whizzy 3D environments against other players, competing for real-world prizes. But there’s a big music angle too: players can build their own playlists for their virtual car’s stereo, and the company behind BaseDrift has set up its own music promotions agency, which will be accepting tracks from users to promote to the BaseDrift community.

Nokia has introduced its own-brand Music Store into Singapore. The service - for both mobile and PC downloads - is heavy on local reperoire following a few key deals with local Asian Labels (inc. Ocean Butterflies and RS Digital). Tracks will cost S$2 and are sold in DRM-protected WMA format. An unlimited (more…)

Executive reshuffles at Nokia suggest the company may have bitten off more than it can chew with its ‘Comes With Music’ plan. Nokia had earlier denied reports it has agreed to pay Universal Music $35 per handset sold. Now The Register reports the company has agreed to pay the wholesale per-unit price for (more…)

Another day, another new Nokia Music Store. This time it’s France getting the handset maker’s store, with 2.5 million tracks and a strong focus on French artists (an essential quality in a market where more than 60% of charting songs are local in origin). The store will sell tracks for €1 each, with albums starting at (more…)

Blues, schmues. We’ve got the yellows today. And startup Guitarati is helping us find some suitable music to match our mood. The site lets artists upload their songs to the site, then assigns each a colour. As a user, you decide which colour suits your current mood, and are then served up a list of songs, which you (more…)

The investment just keeps on coming for Music 2.0 startups, despite the global financial crunch. The latest beneficiary is social music community mTraks, which has raised $550,000 from a group of private angel investors. The site lets bands set up their own profiles to promote themselves, and sell their music as (more…)