News Byte

Google Paid Mozilla Nearly $300M Last Year (a.k.a. Almost All of Its Revenue)

Mozilla had $304.5 million in revenue from royalties in 2012, it reported yesterday in an annual release of financials (PDF), with 90 percent of the money coming from Google. We’d broken the news in late 2011 that Google had renewed its search deal with Mozilla, committing to pay almost $300 million per year. So, yup, that was right.

Spotify’s Daniel Ek on Profits, Label Deals and Angry Musicians: “We’re Doing Really, Really Well”

Just about every digital music service is struggling. Not Spotify, says its CEO. And he says the musicians who are complaining about their payouts are going to come around.

Voices

The More Pandora Sells, the More It Loses

A tenth of a cent might not sound like a lot of money. But Pandora Media Inc.’s 18 percent stock drop Wednesday is a sobering reminder that those fractions add up — especially when advertising sales don’t keep pace.

Voices

Vringo Awarded $30 Million in Patent Suit

Small technology company Vringo Inc. was awarded about $30 million in damages and granted future royalties by a federal jury in its patent suit against a handful of technology giants, including Google Inc. and AOL Inc., according to a person familiar with the case.

Apple to Samsung: You Give Us $2.5 Billion and We’ll Give You a Half-Cent-a-Unit Royalty

“Samsung has reaped billions of dollars in profits and caused Apple to lose hundred of millions of dollars through its violation of Apple’s intellectual property.”

Motorola Mobility to Microsoft: We Demand a Royalty Recount

Google and Microsoft beg to differ.

Voices

After 95 Years, a Royalty Deal for Artists

The largest U.S. radio broadcaster and an independent Nashville record company said Tuesday they have reached a novel agreement that represents a major bet that radio’s future is online rather than over the air.

With Motorola in Google’s Hands, Microsoft Eyes Possibility of Patent Deal

Sources close to the software maker say the company is hoping a change in ownership could open the door for new settlement talks.

Dear Amazon Shareholders: Our Customers Adore Us! Love, Jeff Bezos.

Customers, yes, but Apple and the book-publishing industry — not so much.

You Know What’s Cooler Than Two Million Dollars?

He’s an a–hole. That guy has $2 billion that he made from figuring out ways to steal royalties from artists, and that’s the bottom line. You can’t really trust anybody like that.

— Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney on why he’s not a fan of Sean Parker

Pandora's Tim Westergren Speaks!

Motorola and RIM Hug It Out