Music biz runs for cloud cover

Just eight years after the music industry experienced one of the most radical shifts in its history, it’s finding itself on the verge of yet another revolution.

The launch of iTunes in April 2003 certainly didn’t introduce digital downloads to consumers (Napster and countless other illegal download sites were thriving at the time), but it legitimized the distribution method and made it profitable for artists and labels. Now Apple — and a host of other companies — are hoping customers are willing to walk away entirely from physically owning the music in their collection in favor of the cloud.

Read more at Daily Variety

Google Music, Amazon get good legal news

Amazon and Google caused a stir when they launched their cloud music storage initiatives. Rather than following the path Apple eventually would, both companies decided to bypass securing permissions from the record labels, causing quite a tempest in a teapot in the process.

Now it seems the pair have the courts on their side.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog