[WaTunes] – WaTunes Opens Up 2010 With Streamline

Hey guys,

WaTunes will launch tomorrow on New Years and better than ever! We've been working very hard to come up with ways to make your experience better. We've receive lots of feedback of content delivery issues that made us came up with a new solution. Today, we are very excited and proud to introduce you to our new Content Delivery technology: Streamline. Streamline has been embedded into the Content Management System, making it easy for you to setup, upload, and deliver your music to our digital services. Below are questions and answers of the differences between the old and Streamline system:

Q: What is the difference between the old system & Streamline?

A: A huge difference is the new setup process to send your contents. Streamline is setup in 3 easy steps:

• Create your UPC code and disc number (default to 01)
• Input Album Information
• Upload Music using our new Java Applet

Another difference is that the old system enable users to upload MP3s. Streamline requires that all users upload their contents in WAV (CD Audio) format. Album Covers must also be 600x600px JPG.

Q: How quick is the process from getting my music delivered to stores like iTunes?

A: Previously, we've had issues regarding content delivery with our old system. Some process took days, others took weeks and maybe months! Yikes! With Streamline, all contents are delivered to iTunes and other services within 3-6 hours prior to your album being fully submitted successfully using Streamline.

Q: What if my albums are currently "In Review"?

A: If you have a release that is 'In Review', we ask that you contact us so that we may remove the content from our system and enable you to re-upload your music using Streamline. Once your content is delivered using Streamline, it'll be delivered to iTunes and other services with great transparency.

Q: How does the Java Applet work?

A: Firstly, you must have Java installed on your computer. Please visit www.java.com for the latest update on Java. Once installed, you'll be able to use our Java Applet which enables you to upload the required files (Audio Files: WAVs, Album Cover: JPG) to send to the stores. You can upload multiple files at once with the Java Applet and because it is so secure, there is never any lag or hang when uploading your contents. Once your contents has been uploaded successfully a pop-up will open. We ask that you do not close the pop up as it completes the file transfer. Once the pop-up has been closed automatically, you are free to close the Java Applet and your album has been fully uploaded and delivered to us successfully! Please make sure that you refresh your "My Albums" page to see your album status updated.

Q: What does the new album status mean?

A: With Streamline, we were able to add new album status to reflect your deliveries:

• In Review – Album Information has been submitted but you have to finish the FINAL STEP (Uploading Your Music) using our Java Applet.
• Transferred – Album has been successfully uploaded and submitted to WaTunes
• Delivered – Album has been successfully delivered to the digital services.

Please understand that you must complete the entire 3 step process to successfully upload your music to us. Streamline isn't setup to review certain steps.

And there you have it! A new powerful solution to expedite your content deliveries. I hope that you guys will utilize this new system to move forward in sending your music to iTunes through WaTunes. As always, WaTunes offers the world's first and only free digital distribution into iTunes. So what are you waiting for? Deliver unlimited albums to iTunes using Streamline today!

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[WaTunes] – Muziic Web app offers Vevo without ads

Source: CNET

Muziic, the YouTube-based music application created by teenage programmer David Nelson, has been an impressive piece of work with one drawback: the desktop application only runs on Windows. Not anymore! On Christmas day, the company officially launched a Web-based version of its service, and it compares very favorably with other free online music services.

Videos from Vevo are integrated into search results on the new Muziic Web app.

Like the Muziic desktop app and U.K.-based TubeRadio.fm, the new Muziic Web player draws its content from YouTube, and allows you to queue songs and save playlists. But it's got a couple of interesting wrinkles.

First, you can get content from Vevo without the pre-roll video advertisements you'd see on the YouTube or Vevo.com versions of the advertisments. (Nelson explained that those ads are not yet incorporated into the YouTube API, so they don't show up on the Muziic player; knowing Vevo's business goals, look for this to be "corrected" soon.) A Vevo tab on the Muziic Web player lets you surf through videos on the service, but they'll also show up in search results. There's also a crossfade feature that lets you blend songs together with a 1- to 10-second overlap–that's nothing new for a desktop app, but rare in a free Web app.

In addition, there's a new Muziic Facebook app that lets you play Muziic's entire library from within Facebook and post songs to your profile, and an iPhone app is coming shortly. I still find that Grooveshark has a bigger selection, but the Muziic Web app is definitely a worthwhile addition to your bookmarks.

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[WaTunes] – 10,000 Sonicbids Members Gets $4 million from SoundExchange

Source: Hypebot

Nearly 10,000 Sonicbids members got holiday presents in the form of $4 million from SoundExchange. The two companies partnered to identify indie artists using the Sonicbids electronic press kit system that are owed unclaimed digital performance rights.

SoundExchange is a non-profit that collects performance royalties from satellite and Internet radio, streaming sound recordings and other mostly online music sources. They also recently partnered with ReverbNation to find indie artists eligible for royalties. 

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ArtistData Adds Facebook Integration

Source: Hypebot

As of Christmas Eve, ArtistData users can post events directly to Facebook Fan Pages. "We wanted to roll this out for the holidays, but remember it's still in beta and you might encounter some bugs", said excited  ArtistData founder Brenden Mulligan. "And stay tuned .. in early 2010, we'll be releasing some big changes."

 ArtistData designs solutions to automate the updating of artist websites, social network profiles, concert databases, Twitter, official news feeds, local press, newsletters, and tour books. When an artist updates the ArtistData site, all their sites are updated.

The company also added two more to their team. Brandon Passley has joined as a senior engineer and Matt Williams has joined as a senior user experience designer. 

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WaTunes To Go Offline For Maintenance & New Service Updates

Hey guys,

I want to give you all the heads up that our site will be shutdown around 12AM EST for maintenance. We are working to move the entire site to a whole new server and a tthe same time implement new and exciting services. If you're content has not been delivered to our digital services as of yet, I ask that you please be patient and bare with us as we are working around the clock to make sure that your contents gets delivered in a timely manner.

No this doesn't mean that WaTunes is going out of business. In fact we're expanding faster than ever. Once the site is fully back up and operational, you'll be able to continue to enjoy our services along with possible new updates to better provide you with a pleasant WaTunes experience. If you have any questions regarding our site updates, please contact info@watunes.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you all for your patience,

Sincerely,

Kevin Rivers
CEO, WaTunes.com

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MySpace Continues To Get Trashed Over Imeem Shutdown. Will WaTunes Lead The Way?

Source: TechCrunch

It’s been nearly a week since MySpace Music closed its acquisition of some of the assets of music service Imeem and redirected imeem.com to music.myspace.com. MySpace took a lot of heat for the sudden shutdown of the Imeem service, particularly the API.

But the fact is that MySpace didn’t shut the Imeem service down. Imeem’s creditors and the music labels did. If MySpace hadn’t done the deal Imeem would have shut down anyway. The company was just out of cash and options, and the wheels had come off the car. For the most part the press now gets that MySpace had very little to do with the shutdown, and has settled down.

Imeem’s 16 million monthly visitors apparently haven’t gotten the message, though, and every couple of minutes one of them fires off a frustrated message on Twitter. One example just a few minutes ago, in the image above: “Imeem, one of the best music sites, died, destroyed by MySpace.” Another: “RIP imeem, I will dearly miss you…All the more reason to hate myspace. They sold out on Dec. 8th.” Users are particularly upset about losing their playlists, something MySpace has said they’d work hard to transition “as quickly as possible.”

It’s not exactly the warms hug MySpace probably thought they’d receive when they stepped in and saved as much of the Imeem service as they could. And with the benefit of hindsight some basic communication to Imeem users other than the shock of a redirect to MySpace Music might have been a good idea. Like an email to users telling them what was happening, for example.

But the result is the same. The demise of Imeem had nothing to do with MySpace, and whatever parts of the service do live on will only do so because MySpace stepped in to buy some of Imeem’s assets. The hard part, of course, is getting that message to those 16 million pissed off users.

WaTunes Editorial Response:

"I know that iMeem lovers must feel frustrated with the purchase by MySpace. Though I hope that MySpace will create a brand that will provide certain iMeem elements to satisfy the fans, I believe that this couldn't be better to start searching for other avenues to discover music. In our case, we devote our next-gen social platform to majors, independents, and the fans. Giving everyone the ability to be flexible with their contents, sharing taste in music, and increase awareness is what makes us different from other digital services. Will we lead the way for 2010 a new innovation as we enter the cloud space? I certainly hope so. With more features being added, more opportunities, and more options. Its fitting that there is a huge demand in the music discovery of music. Creating the most robust digital music distribution for independent artists is only the beginning of our road map. I'd say to keep your nose on guard this coming year as we unveil some exciting new developments." – Kevin Rivers, CEO WaTunes.com

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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[WaTunes] – Thousands Of Indie Artists Are Left Unpaid After MySpace’s Imeem Purchase

Source: Hypebot

It wasn't just fans who got the short end of the stick when MySpace purchased imeem. They just lost their playlists and a great place to hang out and discover music. Now its come to light that thousands of indie artists lost some hard earned cash.

MySpace only bought some of imeem's assets and assumed none of its mounting debts. Included in those unpaid debts were money owed to the 110,000 artists who used imeem owned SnoCap to sell there music on the web on a number of sites including imeem and MySpace itself.

Not assuming debt is a common practice when a struggling company is sold.  But now these 110,000 artists have to get in line behind more powerful creditors as imeem sells off its few remaining assets. Or somebody – like MySpace – could buy SNOCAP and find a way to at least partially compensate the artists. 

Why is Aerosmith's "Dream On" running through my head right now?

The official statement from MySpace:

“MySpace Music bought a limited set of imeem’s assets including the domain name and certain technology and trademarks,” a MySpace spokeswoman said in an e-mail to Wired.com. “The asset sale to MySpace Music was part of a foreclosure process which resulted from the lien certain secured creditors had on all the assets of imeem. MySpace Music did not acquire imeem’s outstanding debts, including the money imeem owed to artists under the Snocap relationship.  Upon closing, users trying to access the Imeem website were redirected to MySpace Music. We did not acquire imeem’s contracts or relationships as we have our own in place. MySpace Music has its own distribution platform, which includes relationships with prominent aggregators and indie labels, that provides indie artists ways to monetize their music on our site.”

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[WaTunes] – True Free Digita Music Distribution vs Free (Royalty) Digital Music Distribution. Is it Fair?

Hey guys,

As always, I research the latest trends and news in the digital distribution space to enable us to come up with ways to better serve your needs as a music artist. One of our main goal as a social music service is to create innovative ways in which you, the artist, can utilize unique tools at very cost-effective way. Traditionally, digital distribution has become a basis of creating awareness and introducing you into a mass market like iTunes. However, to gain access to iTunes, one must either give up rights to their music and/or give up percentages of royalties generated.

First and foremost, I am very happy that there are many options out there. This shows that there are alternatives and services that fits your needs and budget. But what if you don't want to sacrifice your royalties? Where could you go? Is it fair to dish out 10%, or even 30% of your royalties? I digress.

I strongly believe that it is unfair to sacrifice royalties for a service that can be automated. This is why we've made it very clear by offering the world's first and only true free digital distribution service. As an artist, gaining access to the world's biggest digital store can be difficult. Our free model demonstrates a sort of  "white-label" service that gives you the look and feel of having a relations with iTunes. Through WaTunes, selling unlimited songs and albums without any upfront charges or sacrifice of royalties is a huge deal. As a music artist starting out, we give you the tools to build your career and grow in sales. Lets do a comparison of models against a Free Distribution model and a Royalty Distribution model.

Quick Scenario:

An artist name John puts his single on iTunes and sells 1,000 downloads in one month. As the artist knows by research, iTunes takes 29% ($0.29) from the total $0.99, leaving the distributor with $0.70 to disburse between themselves and John.

Here is where the differences can take place:

True Free Digital Distribution Method (WaTunes): After all calculations has been made, John is shown that he has made $700 in total sales. John also acknowledges that he did not have any upfront fees to his distributor and is grateful for the results.

Free (Royalty) Digital Distribution Method: After all calculations has been made, John is shown that he has made $630 in total sales. John acknowledges that his distributor takes a 10% distribution fee for delivering his music to iTunes.

Though both methods supports no upfront charges, the difference are indeed a big deal. That's a $70 difference! That's about 5 months worth of our premium VIP services (which includes marketing & promotional opportunities).

So heres my question to you:

Q: Do you believe its fair to give up royalties? If so, why? If not, why?

Please post your comments in the comments section below.

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[WaTunes] – Billboard & The Hollywood Reporter Sold

Source: Hypebot

Are Layoffs Ahead?

(UPDATED) A variety of sources are reporting that Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter have been sold to group led by James Finkelstein and Pluribus Capital Management. Rupert's son, Lachlan Murdoch reportedly dropped out of the purchase group at the 11th hour.  Also included in the sale are Adweek, Mediaweek, Brandweek and Backstage.

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Estimates of a total purchase price vary, but $70 million is the most common number given for all 6 publications. Editor & Publisher will reportedly be shuttered as part of the deal and a number of staffers from all publications have been summoned to mid-day meetings. Surprisingly, Billboard is one of the group's healthier publications and may experience the lightest staff cuts.

A letter to staff from Nielson Pres. Greg Farrer via Gawker:

Dear Colleagues,

Today, we announced that Nielsen Business Media has reached an agreement with e5 Global Media Holdings, LLC, a new company formed jointly by Pluribus Capital Management and Guggenheim Partners, for the sale of eight brands in the Media and Entertainment Group, including Adweek, Brandweek, Mediaweek, The Clio Awards, Backstage, Billboard, Film Journal International and The Hollywood Reporter. e5 Global Media Holdings has also agreed to acquire our Film Expo business, which includes the ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International and CineAsia trade shows.

In addition, we've made the decision to cease operations for Editor & Publisher and Kirkus Reviews.

This move will allow us to strengthen investment in our core businesses – those parts of our portfolio at have the greatest potential for growth – and ensure our long-term success. We remain committed to building our trade show group and affiliated brands. These assets continue to be a key part of The Nielsen Company's overall portfolio and we strongly believe they are positioned to grow as the economy recovers. In addition, we'll continue to assess the strategic fit of our remaining portfolio of publications.

As a result of these decisions, many of our friends and colleagues within these businesses will be leaving the company or will begin to transition to the new ownership immediately. These venerable brands have long been an important part of our Business Media family, and we are pleased that e5 will continue to capitalize on the brands' potential. The transition is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Pluribus Capital was founded in 2009 by James Finkelstein, George Green and Matthew Doull to focus on acquiring and managing industry leading media properties with high growth potential, particularly those with strong brand recognition across multiple platforms including digital, print and events. Guggenheim Partners is a privately held, diversified financial services firm. Both Pluribus and Guggenheim have strong track records of successfully managing investments in a variety of companies.

I want to take this opportunity to offer heartfelt thanks to our colleagues who will be leaving the company for their dedication and commitment to Nielsen over the years. Please join me in wishing them well in their future endeavors.

Regards,
Greg Farrar
President
Nielsen Business Media

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WaTunes Social Platform To Enable Distributor Widgets (PRESS RELEASE)

WaTunes Social Platform To Enable Distributor Widgets
 
DETROIT – December 9th, 2009 –WaTunes, the world’s revolutionary social music service that offers the first ever free online music distribution service into the iTunes Store has announced that it will enable widgets from other distributors on its social music platform. Widgets from music distributors including Nimbit, TuneCore, and ReverbNation have been enabled. This gives artists from each respective service to create their own profiles free and share their music on WaTunes.

“When we first came up with this idea, a lot of people considered us crazy. Nevertheless, our main goal is to create an environment where both majors and independent artists alike are able to communicate with their fans. With new developments surrounding our social platform, we are very excited to be able to offer something new to everyone and provide more alternatives and options.” Says Kevin Rivers, CEO of WaTunes.

The WaTunes social platform enables music artists, labels, and fans to create their very own profile, sync their social sites like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace, post comments, embed widgets, and make instant calls to friends via Skype. Tony Pytleski, Vice President of WaTunes spoke about the new development saying:

“Our social platform is revolutionary. We wanted to make our services available to all music artists across the world. Now with this new offering, we’re opening the doors to enable artists from other distribution services like TuneCore, Nimbit, and ReverbNation to enhance their exposure and easily connect with their fans on a more social level for free. This is a huge leap as we’re beginning to break the barriers in the industry.”

The WaTunes social platform currently enables its users to buy ringtones. With over 500,000 ringtones from major artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Toby Keith, Fall Out Boy, and Jay-Z, WaTunes is hoping to gain traction and favor with fans to discover new music using innovative services.

About WaTunes

WaTunes is a social music service that enables music artists and record labels to sell their music to on the iTunes Store entirely free. Artists and labels are able to sell unlimited music on the iTunes Store without any cost and receive 100% of royalties from their music.

WaTunes also provides a whole new social music experience that enables the fans to create their very own profiles, talk instantly via Skype, embed any music and video widgets including YouTube and Myspace, and share profile links.

Contact: press@watunes.com

 

 

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