Hasta La Gadget!

Rumors of a music streaming service from Apple have been circulating since the dawn of the iPod age. Bloomberg is reporting that an internet radio platform from Cupertino is nearing reality, as talks between Apple and the major music labels have “intensified.” The negotiations center around how to share revenues from an ad-supported service that, according to reports, would pose more of a threat to sites like Pandora than it would Spotify. In fact, after Bloomberg reported that the new Apple service could launch during the first quarter of 2013, Pandora stocks plummeted over 17 percent and trading of the company was briefly halted. According to sources Cook and co. are seeking much more flexibility than its potential competitors enjoy and earlier access to new releases. The shift towards ad revenue and a new platform for helping listeners discover music is considered by most involved to be an essential evolution of the iTunes ecosystem as sales of digital downloads have slowed. For more, hit up the source links.

Filed under: Internet, Apple

Apple nearing deal with labels for internet radio service, says Bloomberg originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Oct 2012 16:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The latest participants in the carriage dispute dance are DirecTV and Viacom, with the two companies attempting to reach a new agreement before their existing one expires tonight. If they don’t, the network’s 26 channels (MTV, BET, VH1, Spike TV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon etc.) could be cut off at midnight. As usual, each has its own side of the argument with Viacom claiming DirecTV has been underpaying for years, while DirecTV accuses Viacom of seeking an increase that will add up to a billion dollars in a year and is responsible for pulling the channels while negotiations continue. We’re not particularly sympathetic to the plight of either corporate behemoth (or optimistic that any savings will ever reach customer’s pockets) but if you must support one over the other then there’s plenty of propaganda to be found at the links below. This may not be as crucial as Dish Network’s (potentially) Breaking Bad-interrupting tiff with AMC, but if we have to miss an episode of Workaholics or Awkward it’s going to be bad for everyone.

Update: We’ve revised the total channel count from 26 as Viacom stated to 18 — as much as we like HD feeds, we don’t usually count them twice.

[Thanks, AJ]

Continue reading DirecTV vs. Viacom squabble could see MTV, Comedy Central and 16 others go dark at midnight

Filed under: Home Entertainment

DirecTV vs. Viacom squabble could see MTV, Comedy Central and 16 others go dark at midnight originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The good ship T-Mobile isn’t staying anchored in any one port for mobile payments: just hours after the ink started drying on a deal with MasterCard for NFC, the carrier’s parent company Deutsche Telekom has confirmed to Bloomberg that it’s been talking with Google as well. While Deutsche Telekom’s innovation lead Thomas Kiessling hasn’t said more about a pact beyond its being “theoretically possible,” it’s not hard to do the math and picture Google Wallet coming into the equation if discussions go smoothly. Google won’t go so far as to comment on its own — not that the silence is stopping the would-be German partner, which is also chatting up banks and individual credit card firms to make sure everything falls into place. If it pans out, a Google alliance would certainly help T-Mobile fend off competition from Orange in Europe and give Google Wallet some much-needed support.

T-Mobile talking to Google about mobile payments in Europe as well, keeps playing the field originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 Jul 2012 00:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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