Warner may play sour note for Sony BMG review
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Warner Music's  decision to approach EMI Group  may strike a sour note for music rivals Sony  and BMG  as they try to win approval from the European Commission for their own merger.
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Sony considers adding native mp3 support to its players Ars Technica
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When Warner Music Group created a   record label with Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs last year, industry   insiders said the company was taking a big risk with a star who   may have lost his hit-making touch.
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By JESSICA MINTZ SEATTLE - A federal jury's ruling that Microsoft infringed on two MP3 patents and must pay $1.52 billion in damages could turn into a major sour note for other technology companies in the digital music business.
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(InfoWorld) - The head of Warner Music Group defended the use of DRM (digital rights management) with digital music on Wednesday in an apparent response toÂ recent criticism from Apple CEO Steve Jobs. Jobs roiled the music industry last week by suggesting in aÂ letter published on Apple's Web siteÂ that the music labels are to blame for the fact that music from Apple's iTunes music store can only be played on Apple's iPod music players -- something Apple has been criticized for. "DRM and interoperability are not the same thing," Edgar Dorfman Jr., chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, said in a speech at theÂ 3GSM World CongressÂ in Barcelona on Wednesday. "We believe in interoperability," he said. "Consumers want it and should have it. We at Warner, and I hope the rest of the music and content industry, will make it as easy as possible to achieve interoperability." Jobs said last week that Apple uses a proprietary DRM system because the music industry requires it to fix any failures in the technology in a short amount of time. If Apple shared its DRM technology it would not be able to meet that requirement, he said. Dorfman did not mention Jobs or Apple by name but his remarks appeared to be in response to the criticism. Apple hasÂ come under fire,Â particularly in Europe, for its DRM technology, which ties its music stores to its players. Apple isn't alone, however. Microsoft and Sony also operate digital music stores that require customers to play the music only on their own music players. iTunes is the biggest digital music store, however, and the second largest, eMusic.com, only sells music that has no DRM. Jobs also wrote that he would prefer to sell music without any DRM protection. That's a concept Dorfman doesn't think is up for discussion. "I don't agree that intellectual property should have no protection. We should all agree that intellectual property deserves some measure of protection," he said. "But that is distinct from the issue around interoperability." Today's music protection environment isn't ideal, Dorfman admitted. "There can't be so much protection that we create a poor consumer experience. We need to work to find perhaps a better balance than works today." Â
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Warner Music is still considering its  position on Britain&#39;s EMI and is more likely than not to make  an improved offer by early next week, two sources familiar with  the situation told Reuters on Monday.
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Independent Music Companies are challenging the merger of SONY and BERTELSMANN (BMG) saying it would lead to a &quot;market imbalance&quot;.
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Consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. said on Thursday it is mulling a major strategic shift to make digital music devices that play MP3 song files.
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Struggling music company EMI Group PLC, beset by profit warnings and an accounting scandal in Brazil, was thrown a potential lifeline Tuesday with a possible new takeover bid by former suitor Warner Music Group.
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Warner Music Group Corp., home to recording artists such as Red Hot Chili Peppers, James Blunt and Daniel Powter, said Thursday its first-quarter profit fell 74 percent due to fewer albums released during the period and soft domestic and European sales. Its shares fell nearly 5 percent.
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LONDON -- The long courtship between EMI Group PLC and Warner Music Group is on again. EMI confirmed Tuesday that it had received an approach from Warner about a possible bid.
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Warner Music Group Corp.   said on Wednesday any takeover offer it might make for  Britain's EMI Group Plc  would probably be all cash.
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Warner Music Group  has approached Britain's EMI  about a possible bid despite uncertainty over whether it would win regulatory approval, in the latest twist in a seven-year tit-for-tat takeover battle.
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Blog: Warner Music has reached a settlement with music-sharing service Imeem. Could legal music-sharing services finally be poised to take off?
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Goodbye, litigation. Hello, partnership Just two months after Warner Music Group sued online media-sharer imeem, claiming copyright infringement, the two companies have announced a rapprochement. That's French for "the big record labels are beginning to like this Web 2.0 thing."â¦
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Warner Music Group  said on Monday it was still considering making an offer for Britain's EMI  which has agreed to a 2.4 billion pounds ($4.7 billion) cash takeover from private equity group Terra Firma.
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including its own Sony BMG venture - over the MP3 song format. Sony is considering manufacturing devices that play digital