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Hollywood’s Crippling Dependency on Steve Jobs

Given the instrumental role that the Apple CEO Steve Jobs has played in shaping the digital entertainment industry, his six month departure from Apple may pose both significant advantages and disadvantages for Hollywood.

Apple Announces Changes to the iTunes Store; Includes DRM-Free Music

Apple has today announced some new changes that will hit the iTunes store, including, DRM-free music, 3G access, and all songs to soon be available at three price points.
Beginning today, all four major music labels—Universal Music Group, Sony BMG, Warner Music Group and EMI, along with thousands of independent labels, are now offering their music [...]

The Simpsons Hit U.S. iTunes Store

It has been over 20 years since The Simpsons first appeared on our TVs, popularizing catch phrases such as “doh!” and “eat my shorts” that at one point had been synonymous with pop culture. It now appears that Homer and the gang are back in a big way as Season 20 (jeez has [...]

Apple Pulls Neo-Nazi Albums From German iTunes Store

Apple has recently pulled two albums of neo-Nazi sentiment from its German installation of iTunes after being informed by technology publication Computerbild of the offensive content.

Two albums from the German neo-Nazi band, Landser, had recently been discovered on the German iTunes store. The group had been banned by a federal court in 2005 [...]

Songbird Flutters a Sweet Tune but Can it Compete with Apple?

Earlier this week, Songbird, the open-source customizable music player powered by Mozilla technology made it’s official 1.0 launch. Set out to be an open design with a variety of integrated services, a vast array of add-ons and ever expanding developer community, is it possible that Songbird could ever pose a threat to Apple’s iTunes?

After [...]

Apple Sends Cease and Desist Email to Public Wiki Site, Bluwiki [U]

Apple has sent an official “cease and desist” email to public wiki site Bluwiki, demanding they remove postings where users are trying to figure out how to “write software that can sync media to the latest versions of the iPhone and iPod Touch.”
Bluwiki is a public wiki site that aims at allowing anyone to [...]

Beatles iTunes Deal Stalls, Runs Into Further Delays

Speaking at the launch of his new album, former Beatle Paul McCartney said the much anticipated Beatles/iTunes deal has unfortunately stalled.
Apple Inc, the Beatles holding company Apple Corps’, and record label EMI have not been able to reach an agreement that would bring the entire Beatles catalog to iTunes. The digital music store currently [...]

Apple Releases iTunes 8.0.2, Minor Update and Fixes

Apple has released an update for iTunes to version 8.0.2. The 60.3MB update is available from Apple’s website or via Mac OS X Software Update.

iTunes 8.0.2 improves stability and performance and provides a number of important bug fixes, including:
• Addresses a quality issue creating MP3s on some computers.
• Fixes a connectivity issue with the iTunes [...]

Apple In Talks With Music Labels for DRM-Free Music [U]

Cnet’s Greg Sandoval claims to have heard from music industry sources that Apple is involved in discussions about bringing DRM-free music to iTunes, or “open” MP3s songs.
This happens a year after Apple began offering music without DRM from music label EMI. The information claims that Apple is talking with the other three “top” recording companies [...]

Briefly: Apple Adds iTunes Movies of the Week

While the iTunes store has been offering special deals on albums of the week for quite some time now, film buffs can rejoice as they have recently begun offering similar discounts on movies of the week.

For those of you interested in picking up a great deal on a Schwarzenegger classic, look no further. [...]

Netflix ‘Watch Instantly’ Beta Available for Mac Users, Play Instantly

Netflix has officially launched a version of their ‘Watch Instantly’ program for mac users. By simply opting into the beta program, downloading Microsoft Silverlight, and creating an account, you’ll have access to Netflix’s content library.
If you are dying to get away from iTunes and the way Apple does media business, perhaps you’d be interested in [...]

Briefly: Apple Adds iTunes Store Chat Support

In efforts to better serve customers, Apple has recently added iTunes store chat.

Having any iTunes related problems or issues? No longer will you have to wait up to 48 hours for an email response from Apple’s customer support, as they have recently added iTunes store chat. This will allow you to [...]

iTunes Adds New HD Shows, 200 Million Shows Sold

This morning the iTunes Store and Apple announced it will offer more than 70 episodes of Fall prime-time hits from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and cable.

So whether you missed the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy, or simply want to watch it again (and again and again and again), now you can! HD [...]

TunesRemote: iTunes Remote Application for Google Andoid OS

Created and designed by developer Jeff Sharkey, “TunesRemote: Android DACP Remote Control” is an application that emulates the function of the iTunes Remote app on an iPhone. This new application can be recognized by iTunes on a Mac or a PC, and once paired with your computer, can browse your library, view album art [...]

Starbucks No Longer On Apple’s Website, What Does This Mean?

The Starbucks page on Apple.com has disappeared driving speculation about the “lucrative” deal being terminated, or in a “transitional” phase. While this wouldn’t affect Apple too adversely, seeing as how the deal didn’t garner much attention to begin with, the impact on Starbucks could be greater.

Engadget points out that the Starbucks page on Apple’s website [...]

Apple Releases iTunes Update 8.0.1, Stability and Bug Fixes

Apple has released an update for iTunes 8 that is being recommended for all users. The 58.5MB download, available through Software Update is said to fix Genius playlist snycing issues, and various bugs and stability issues.

The update primarily addresses a critical issue where iTunes would delete certain HD episodes leaving only the SD (iPod/iPhone) version [...]

iTunes Off the Hook as Royalty Rates Remain Unchanged

Apple’s iTunes has narrowly avoided a prospective threat to a royalty fee increase, as the federal Copyright Royalty Board has voted to leave the current rate of 9.1 cents per song paid to music publishers for the next five years.

Music resellers and songwriters alike are expressing approval of the board’s decision to not raise the [...]

iTunes Faces Threat Over Possible Royalty Increase

Apple’s iTunes may be threatened as a ruling this week could force music retailers to pay publishers more money.

Feeling the recent pressure from the National Music Publishers Association, Washington D.C.’s Copyright Royalty Board is expected to make a decision this Thursday on increasing royalty rates paid to music publishers from songs purchased through online retailers [...]

Google Teams Up With Amazon for New Mobile Music Store

Google has set its sights on combating Apple’s iTunes by partnering with online retail giant, Amazon, to announce the launch of a new online music store. Users will have the ability to download MP3s via mobile devices such as the recently launched T-Mobile G1 powered by Google’s Android Mobile OS.

Users will now have [...]

Bye Bye AT&T, 32GB iPhone May Be On The Way, Home Activation An Option

Retail suppliers are reporting low inventory of the 8GB iPhone 3G, which could point to a 32GB model introduction. Apple is widely expected to introduce an unsubsidized, unlocked iPhone 3G that could prove disastrous for AT&T in the long term.

Retail sellers are pointing to low inventory of the 8GB iPhone 3G, which could possibly indicate [...]