Apple Reaches Music Deal With Warner; Facebook Offers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Music…

Apple Reaches Music Deal With Warner, Eyes Sony Pact — www.bloomberg.com Apple Inc. has secured a deal for songs from Warner Music Group…

Apple Reaches Music Deal With Warner, Eyes Sony Pact — www.bloomberg.com 
 Apple Inc. has secured a deal for songs from Warner Music Group, the technology giant’s first agreement with a major label since introducing its on-demand music service two years ago, according to people familiar with the matter.

Facebook Offers Hundreds of Millions of Dollars for Music Rights — www.bloomberg.com 
 Facebook Inc. is offering major record labels and music publishers hundreds of millions of dollars so the users of its social network can legally include songs in videos they upload, according to people familiar with the matter.

How Tencent’s empire is making music pay — technode.com

While licensing fees can easily eat up the bulk of revenues, Tencent knows that in the long run, a firm control over copyright will give it an edge over competitors.

Stream Ripping Carries On Despite YouTube-MP3’s Demise — www.billboard.com 
 The pesky world of stream ripping took a big hit this week with the demise of one of its leading purveyors, YouTube-mp3.org, but that doesn’t mean the practice of pirating MP3s from YouTube (and other services) is going anywhere.

Will.i.am Joins ‘Mobile Record Label’ Startup Amuse, Talks ‘Defining a New Type of Record Industry’ — www.billboard.com 
 will.i.am is betting big on data to drive the future of the music industry, as the Black Eyed Peas frontman announced on Wednesday his joining Swedish tech company Amuse as a co-founder.

Spotify Snags Courtney Holt From Disney for Top Content Job — variety.com 
 Spotify has lured digital-media veteran Courtney Holt over from Disney to lead its efforts around original video and podcast programming, Variety has learned exclusively.

Have High Performance and Lifestyle Audio Merged? — audiophilereview.com 
 Paul Wilson wonders what the future of Lifestyle Audio might be…

Music creators stuck in safe harbour trap, says musicFIRST — www.ipprotheinternet.com

A new campaign from music industry coalition musicFIRST has accused Google of hiding behind its legal ‘safe harbour’ to make millions at the expense of music artist.

Hi-Res Audio: As the Major Labels Get On Board, Momentum Continues to Build — ajournalofmusicalthings.com

The problem with compressed digital files (like but not limited to MP3s) is that they all sound like crap. A lot of dynamic range is gone, the high end can sound harsh and the bass can sound undefined.