DULLES, Va., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- AOL said Thursday it has acquired MusicNow, a digital music subscription company.

"The MusicNow transaction allows us to super-serve our AOL members and expanding web audience with a truly best-in-class, full-service, digital music platform -- giving us the opportunity to offer an unparalleled music service," Edmund Fish, AOL's senior vice president, said in a news release. "Combined with leading programming on AOL Music, the easy-to-use features for music browsing, discovering, sharing, and purchasing of MusicNow provide a new level of customization and personalization of online music. AOL's users have been asking for these next-generation features to be a part of their music experience -- and AOL Music Now will deliver them," he added.

Founded in 1999, the Chicago-based MusicNow was purchased by Circuit City in 2004. Under the AOL ownership, the company will remain in Illinois. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Posted by at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Apple has already sold one million videos on the iTunes Music Store in the 20 days since the October 12 debut, suggesting a strong market for legal video downloads. Videos cost US$1.99 each, and currently there are over 2,000 music videos, along with short films from Pixar, and television shows from ABC and Disney.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs said in a statement, "Our next challenge is to broaden our content offerings, so that customers can enjoy watching more videos on their computers and new iPods."

Currently, the selection of television shows is limited, but that's likely to change soon. ABC is negotiating to expand its offerings beyond Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Night Stalker. Other networks may show interest, too, now that Apple can show viewers are willing to pay for downloadable programming.

The iTMS is available for Mac and Windows personal computers and works exclusively with Apple's line of iPod digital media devices. iTMS now operates in 21 countries. In the U.S., the service features more than two million songs, and more than 11,000 audiobooks.

Posted by at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Here’s a story you haven’t heard before – a partnership has been formed to start a new music download service. Alright, maybe you have heard it seemingly every day, but this one is a little bit different. Nokia and EMI have partnered to launch bFree, their take on a music download service. What’s the unique part? Well this one is delivered by Bluetooth.

Nokia announced CoolZone, their localized content delivery service for retailers today and bFree will take advantage of the same technology. Basically, it would allow your neighborhood coffee shop to install a service point in their store. Once it is in place, customers could come into the shop and download songs while slurping down a latte.

A trial will initially be run in three coffee shops and three record stores in Helsinki. The downloads will be free during the trial, but a cost will obviously be associated if the business is rolled out to customers on a wider scale.

Posted by at 09:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)