Morning Fix: Justin Timberlake and Vanderhooks on Myspace; Flom and Rudolph to Bid on UMG’s EMI Assets; Easterlin Running Roadrunner; Latin Grammys; FutureSound
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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, VANDERHOOKS DETAIL MYSPACE'S NEW MUSIC-CENTRIC DESIGN:At a press event unveilingthe new Myspace's private betato media Thursday in Los Angeles, JustinTimberlake, along with Specific'sTim and Chris Vanderhook, shed additional insight intothe next phase ofthe music-centric Myspace,which will remain in invite-only beta through early 2013.
Billboard.biz
JESSE & JOY WIN BIG AT LATIN GRAMMYS: Mexican pop/rock duo Jesse & Joyran away with the night as four-time winnersat the Latin Grammys, taking home trophies for best record, song and contemporary pop vocal album. Otherbig winnersincluded Juanes, Arturo Sandoval and 3BallMTY.
Billboard.biz
JASON FLOM, JOHN RUDOLPH TO BID FOR UNIVERSAL'S EMI ASSETS: SOURCE:Billboard has learned that formerBug Music CEO John Rudolph and Lava Records founderJason Flom have partnered to throw their hat in the bidding ring for the EMI assetsthat Universal Music Group must sell as part of the terms of their acquisition of EMI.
Billboard.biz
FROM THE FUTURESOUND CONFERENCE: FRED WILSON WARY ON MUSIC INVESTMENTS; QUESTIONS SPOTIFY'S VALUATION, APPLE'S MUSIC LEADERSHIP: Union Square Ventures' Fred Wilson— whohas backed Twitter, FourSquare, Tumblrand others — loves music but he's still "relatively cautious" about investing in it,he said during his keynote Q&Aat Billboard's FutureSound Conference. During the talk he talked about Turntable.fm, said Spotify "probably isn't worth $3 billion,"and said Apple is a "follower, not a leader" in music
Billboard.biz
EXCLUSIVE: MIKE EASTERLIN NAMED GM OF ROADRUNNER: Mike Easterlin has ascended to GM of Roadrunner Records, filling the voidcreated by the departure of label president Jonas Nachsin
,which was announced Wednesday. Earlier this month, Easterlin was named GM of Fueled By Ramen
and according to a source will now oversee both labels.
Billboard.biz
SPOTIFY ROLLS OUT BROWSER-BASED MUSIC PLAYER IN BETA:Spotify has rolled-out its first ever browser-based music player in beta,according to a report confirmed by the company. Spotify said it is looking to release the fully baked product "over the next several weeks or months."
Billboard.biz
TOPSPIN ALLIES WITH PLEDGE MUSIC, FIREBRAND, INGROOVES AND ARTIST GROWTH:At the Billboard FutureSound Conferenceon Thursday, Topspin announced non-exclusive agreements with four digital music companies including Pledge Music, Firebrand, INgrooves Fontana and Artist Growth.
Billboard.biz
RIAA & NARM LAUNCH NEW GUIDE TO DIGITAL MUSIC SERVICES:The Recording Industry Association Of America ( RIAA) with NARM, the music business association, and its affiliated organization digitalmusic.org, have jointly launched the "WHYMUSICMATTERS"
website, a "comprehensive one-stop educational guide for fans looking for information about digital music services and other online retail outletswhere they can find their favorite music."
All Access Music Group
TWITTER ENHANCES SEARCH, DISCOVER AND APPS; ADDS EMAIL:As Twittertries to surface more content from its network, it continues to beef up tweets and its Discover section of the site. To wit, the company just announced a new features to make sure that you know the context behind a story so that you can figure out why it's being shown to you within another big feature, Search.Additionally, the social media site is finally adding an email option directly to its stream.
TechCrunch
CNET
APPLE'S STOCK PRICE HITS SIX MONTH LOW, TV RUMORS SWIRL: Apple's stock price has declined steadily since September 19, two days before the iPhone 5 was released. Shares are off 25 percent since September.The stock price closed at a six-month low yesterday. The price is still up 30 percent on the year but far from its 74 percent increase a few months back– though many analysts remain bullish on the stock. The news comes just as rumors are again swirling about the possible release of the long-awaited Apple TV.
TechCrunch
All Things D
PSY, DRAKE, GOTYE JOIN AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS BIRTHDAY BASHThe American Music Awards rings in its 40th year on Sunday,with top nominees like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj battling for the top trophiesand Stevie Wonder leading a tribute to the show's late founder, Dick Clark. Also, 50 Cent, Hayden Panettiere and Phillip Phillips were just announced as presenters.
Reuters
The Hollywood Reporter
MARTIN FAY, FIDDLER CHIEFTAINS FIDDLER, DEAD AT 76; R.I.P. PETE NAMLOOK, ELECTRONIC MUSIC PIONEER: Martin Fay, a classically trained violinist who helped revive traditional Irish music as a founding member of the Chieftains, died on Wednesday in Dublin. He was 76. Pete Namlook, the electronic producer and ambient innovator who founded Germany's Fax Records in 1992, has died at 51.
New York Times
Pitchfork
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