The number one video site in the US and the world's largest music label are said to be cooking up a deal and a new service. YouTube and Universal Music Group are reportedly in talks to create a premium online music video service. YouTube has been the go to site for music videos for many people for y...

TotalMusic, the joint attempt by Sony BMG and Universal Music Group to sorta-mirror the "pay for the device, get the music bundled with it" model that Nokia's Comes With Music service is currently experimenting with in Europe, is apparently totally dunzo, and it's taken down with it the on-campus do...

The Record Industry’s TotalMusic Experiment Is Sinking Fast: "TotalMusic, the digital music distribution initiative created by Sony BMG and Universal Music Group, appears to be on life support - or worse." And so it goes. And, so do I. I know what you are thinking... "Hey Herskowitz, you were only...

Warner Music Group’s videos are disappearing from YouTube. The move to take down the videos started early Saturday morning. It’s a result of a breakdown in negotiations between Google and the music label over a licensing deal, which was set to expire soon. Who actually made the move to d...

One of the strangest narratives surrounding Sunday’s release of Chinese Democracy is that the music itself is something of a non-event, thanks to the circulation of live nu-GNR bootlegs and leaks of in-progress tracks. In fact, enough questions have been answered about how Chinese Democracy sounds...

Has Heroine Ended Rapper Jay Z’s Career   The stories of musicians and artists becoming addicted to drugs is nothing new.   Elvis, Rick James, Aerosmith band members, Whitney Houston, and even Jay Z.   In Amy Winehouse’s very catchy song the hook rings: “ They tried to make me go to rehab I...

        How the 21st Century Cold Music War Began       The 21st century music war is not one yet fought with guns and explosives.         It is a war fought with dedication and determination from normal people who have the extraordinary gift of making music which makes them artists...

When Weezer's YouTube-"inspired" video for "Pork & Beans" initially came out, it had one unintentionally hilarious aspect: Its official version wasn't embeddable, a policy that was in keeping with the semi-walled garden YouTube policies of the band's major-label overlords, Universal Music Group, but...

Universal is appealing Tuesday's UMG vs. Augusto verdict, as they refuse to believe that the judicial system is going to sit there and let people sell (or — gasp! — throw away) promotional CDs. Some may think their aggression against used CD merchants could further alienate hardcore musi...

After a disastrous launch of a content-free version of its site that left its CEO sputtering and pundits giggling, the ad-supported music service QTrax is ready to try again, with a relaunch set for June 18. QTrax's initial launch was plagued by all of the major labels it trumpeted in its press rele...