CDs

The Music Business Welcomes the Future, a Decade Behind Schedule

Peter Kafka in Media on January 6 at 4:36 am PT

Maybe it was Adele. Maybe it was Lady Gaga. Or maybe just gravity. But the music labels are finally selling more digital stuff than discs.

Yikes! The Digital Music Business Is Still Stuck in 2005.

Peter Kafka in Media on November 10, 2011 at 4:20 am PT

Spotify may be the future. But right now the industry is dominated by iTunes and a phone fad most of you forgot about years ago.

Voices

Music for Nothing and the Fans for Free

Hany Nada, Founding Partner, GGV Capital in Voices on October 28, 2011 at 5:10 pm PT

Consumers won’t pay for recorded music in the future — but fans will pay for music experiences.

Voices

Retailers' Video, Music Services Spin Wheels

Miguel Bustillo, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on January 28, 2011 at 3:40 pm PT

Big retail chains keep trying to sell or rent music and movies online as sales of CDs and DVDs decline, but these ventures have done little to dent the market share of industry leaders Netflix Inc., Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Spotify CEO Daniel Ek Live at D: Dive Into Mobile

Tricia Duryee in Commerce on December 7, 2010 at 10:12 am PT

Spotify’s Daniel Ek, who heads up the most talked about streaming music service in Europe, continues to promise a U.S. launch this year. With three weeks left, will the Swedish entrepreneur keep his promise? Look at Ek’s interview with MediaMemo’s own Peter Kafka from D: Dive Into Mobile after the jump.

Converting Songs From AAC to MP3 in ITunes

Walt Mossberg in Mossberg’s Mailbox on December 1, 2010 at 3:10 pm PT

Walt answers readers’ questions on iTunes and Norton Antivirus.

Voices

Best Buy Joins Free Shipping Fray

Matt Jarzemsky, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on November 17, 2010 at 8:33 am PT

Best Buy Co. said it plans to offer free online shipping on certain items through Dec. 21, following a similar move by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. earlier this month. The electronics retailer said Wednesday its offer is valid on “hundreds of thousands” of items, including all CDs, Blu-Ray and DVD movies and gaming software and accessories.

FTC Gives Ed Felten Freedom to Tinker

John Paczkowski in News on November 4, 2010 at 11:55 am PT

Looks like the Federal Trade Commission got its first choice of Chief Technologist, because it’s hard to think of anyone better to serve in that capacity than Princeton computer science professor Ed Felten, a guy whose CV makes everyone from Microsoft to Diebold shudder in embarrassment.

Voices

Mobile, Not Net, Drives Indian Music Sales

Amol Sharma, Reporter, The Wall Street Journal in News on October 22, 2010 at 8:15 am PT

any Indians enjoy streaming or downloading music on the Internet, whether the latest Bollywood hit or an oldie. But mostly people do this illegally on sites with pirated content, which is why there was an opening for Google to launch a service in India to let users to find legitimately licensed music, as WSJ reported today. (The service launched Friday and is available at www.google.co.in/music.)

Amazon Fights Apple…By Improving the iPad

Peter Kafka in Media on June 28, 2010 at 3:30 am PT

Many people expect Jeff Bezos to combat the iPad by reinventing the Kindle, adding color and other features. Here’s a step: Kindle titles that feature audio and video clips–if you read them on the iPad via Amazon’s Kindle app.