Digital Music Roundup: Operation MySpace; R.E.M-iLike; Beatles-iTunes
This story was written by Amanda Natividad.
-- Operation MySpace live from Kuwait: MySpace, in cooperation with the Department of Defense's Armed Forces Entertainment and America Supports You program, went live from Kuwait today with Operation MySpace, its concert honoring the troops stationed in Kuwait and the largest MySpaceLive concert to date. The three-hour plus show streamed live in high definition flash video using Kulabyte's XStream Live Solutions and featured host Carlos Mencia, performances from Jessica Simpson, the Pussycat Dolls, Disturbed and DJ Z-Trip and special appearances from presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Release.
-- R.E.M. to debut new album on iLike this month: R.E.M. is the latest music group, following Nine Inch Nails, to jump on the online music bandwagon, as it announced it will stream its 14th album in its entirety on iLike and its syndicates starting March 24 through March 26, six days before the album's North American release. The album can also be pre-ordered through iLike's retail links to iTunes and *Amazon*. Already an iLike Universal Artist Dashboard member, R.E.M. also will record an exclusive video message discussing Accelerate that will be available for the iPhone, iLike apps and its plugins for iTunes and Windows Media Player. Release.
-- Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) dismisses "scoops" about Beatles on iTunes: Apple is dismissing claims that it is about to make the Beatles catalog available on its iTunes Music Store, according to Billboard. The Beatles' label EMI has offered no comment and Apple calls the claims "unsubstantiated speculation": "This is not news nor is it a scoop." Efforts to clear online distribution of the Beatles' music had long been delayed by various legal obstacles, now overcome, and the need for approvals; the surviving Beatles, Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison have given the nod and the catalog is expected to go online sometime this year.
By Amanda Natividad