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Exabre, parent company of the U.K. based music discovery and recommendation service The Filter has closed a $5m investment round from Eden Ventures and music icon, Peter Gabriel via his company The Real World Group.

The Filter provides a content-recommendation software product that (once installed) indexes a user’s music library and recommends related titles that may be of interest.   In concept, though not necessarily method of recommendation, it’s similar to Pandora and Last.fm (which was acquired by CBS). 

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John Lennon went this week.  Paul McCartney a few months ago.  Led Zeppelin is on track for Thanksgiving.  The Beatles too are on the way.  Will Garth Brooks be the next of last major hold outs to come to iTunes?  Better yet, is an announcement about the country star’s catalog imminent?   …  The answers are probably and possibly (or at least, remotely possible).

There is no definitive or confirmed news yet, largely it’s conjecture, more iTunes speculation, but a few facts suggest the stars are beginning to align for Apple.  Notably, taken as a sum of the parts, there is evidence to suggest sooner than later, very possibly by November, Garth too will move from the minus to the plus column in Apple’s musical clubhouse.

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The news from MTV Networks (“MTVN”) is games, lots and lots of games.    As part of a two year plan, reports are: the Viacom owned media network plans to invest more than $500m on games.  The investment will emphasize casual gaming and will include both online, mobile and console based games.

Historically, dating back to Warner Communications purchase of Atari in 1976, big entertainment media companies have not been terribly successful at launching in-house game initiatives.   History won’t deter MTVN. They, Disney, and other big media companies are anxious to cash in on the branding and revenue opportunities in the gaming industry.  They are also loathsome to let independent publishers and startups steal all the thunder, and dollars.

MTV CEO Judy McGrath is hoping they’ll be able to expand some of their brands with game offerings.  Network president Mika Salmi has said explicitly “games are critical.”

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In May, Sonos, the maker of a wireless multi-room digital music system signed a deal to offer music from internet radio station Pandora.   Today, the Santa Barbara based company added Sirius Satellite Radio (via the Internet) to their mix.

As part of the new partnership, owners of Sonos Digital Music Systems will have access to streams from eighty music and talk channels from Sirius Internet Radio.   The service will cost $3/month but won’t require any special hardware.

The Sonos system  is kind of like a cross between an iPod, a remote control and a home stereo.  It wirelessly streams a music collection from up to 16 computers or storage devices (including MP3 players) to Sonos receivers.  Receivers are placed around an owner’s house Click to Read More

When Natalie Cole released Unforgettable, a duet that paired her vocals with those of her long deceased father, it was a groundbreaking demonstration of music technology.    That was June 1991.  Back then, state of the art computer chips from Intel were 386 chips running at 20 to 40MHz.   Back then, the Mosaic internet browser hadn’t been released yet.   Back then, Hewlett Packard introduced the first color scanner, a 400 dpi flatbed that was priced at $1995 or more. 

A lot has changed in sixteen years, especially in technology.  Today, a garage band with a decent starting track could probably pull off the same feat with an iMac and a little perseverance.   A professional with a full soundboard? Well, chances are they can do a lot more.

Friday, the world will likely have a chance to see just how much better things can be done today. Click to Read More

Every Tuesday is new release day for songs in Apple’s iTunes music store. Today’s release announcement was a big one: John Lennon’s joined the party.

One band member at a time, Apple has been bringing the Beatles to iTunes. As of today, sixteen of Lennon’s solo albums will be available digitally. They’ll join the already available solo works of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr as well as music from Lennon’s wife, Yoko Ono, and sons Julian and Sean. Only George Harrison, who passed away in 2001, remains missing from the digital domain (along with the catalog of the band as a whole).

The ability to offer Lennon’s music is a significant achievement for Apple, and likely a significant source of revenue for all involved. Some 27 years after his untimely death, Lennon remains an icon and his star power is still a tremendous royalty engine. In 2006 he ranked number 4 on Forbes Click to Read More

Monday, Sonicbids, a Boston company focused on trying to connect musicians and promoters raised its first round of venture capital; a $4.5m round from Edison Venture Fund.  Sonicbids is focused on one of the biggest challenges of a new creative effort: audience discovery and connection. 

Arguably, the most trying step of any new venture is the initial marketing; the discovery phase where a project begins to seek its audience.   Whether it’s a blog, a website, a new product, or a new book, absent deep pockets for marketing expense, the process is usually an exercise in patience and frustration.  After months of toil, someone labors to find their viewers, their listeners, the readers –  the audience who will give their product or creation life outside the author’s domain.

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