DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS – WEEK IN REVIEW

• Apple was the subject of intense speculation this week. The company sent an invite out to a special event in San Francisco on September 7th, with most pointing to an iTunes phone unveiling. Meanwhile, labels continued to make noise over iTunes Music Store pricing, and renegotiations are scheduled to happen in early 2006. The labels favor a variable pricing structure, instead of the uniform approach delivered by Apple.
• Action was also heavy in the UK. The British version of Virgin Digital has already launched, and HMV Digital is scheduled for a September 5th rollout.
• MusicNet will power both services. Meanwhile, the BBC hinted at plans to offer an online music service.
• Elsewhere, MTV rolled out a content-rich broadband site surrounding its Video Music Awards. The site offered artist interviews, special awards show features, and a complete on-demand stream of the show.
• US album sales continued to drop this week, part of a multi-year slide in pre-recorded CDs. Meanwhile, new data surfaced showing a negligible sales impact from digital albums.
• Meanwhile, publishers and subscription services hit a negotiation stalemate.
• Specifically, a publishing consortium is reportedly demanding a 16 percent share of overall music subscription revenues, far greater than the 6.9 percent offered by the stores.
• MySpace is reportedly considering a label move, with the company founders allegedly in discussions with an unspecified major.
• In the P2P space, eDonkey surpassed BitTorrent in a ranking offered by CacheLogic.
• Creative pointed to a US Patent on a portable MP3 player user interface, beating both Microsoft and Apple to the punch.
• And momentum gained on Elektra v. Santangelo, a possible trial involving the RIAA and accused file-trader Patricia Santangelo. That has the legal community buzzing, and could be the first challenge of its kind for the RIAA.

From Digital Music News