3.29.2011

Music In The Clouds

A little over a month ago, I wrote this article about smart, portable subscription services that included a lot of techy-talk like "cloud-based storage".  After logging on to Amazon.com today, I saw their homepage announcement of the launch of their very own cloud services, Amazon Cloud Drive and Amazon Cloud Player.  As Amazon details, the Cloud Drive is a user's "disk drive in the cloud" storing music collections and other digital documents (photos, videos) in Amazon's datacenters.  Basically, customers can store these files on Amazon's Web servers as opposed to their own hard drives and play them over an Internet connection.  The Cloud Player has two varieties: Web and Android.  For Web, grab your computer with a web browser, worry not about installing anything, and listen.  For Android, pull out your Android phone or tablet, get the app, and do the same as Web. 

Amazon's MP3 Store boasts a catalogue of 15M songs and now offers the option to put your purchases directly into the Cloud Drive.  Amazon is currently giving away 5GB of free Cloud Drive storage and new purchases from the Amazon MP3 Store are free and don't count against storage quota.


Update (3/31): Sony Music isn't pleased with Amazon after they failed to launch the music locker without new licenses for music streaming, spokeswoman Liz Young said.  "We're keeping all of our legal options open." 

3.18.2011

X Marks the Spot for L.A.

L.A. Reid, soon-to-be-former chairman of Island Def Jam sent an internal memo on Thursday stating, "I have decided to leave my position as chairman of the Island Def Jam Music Group."  It's becoming more widely spoken that he may be joining the panel of judges on "The X Factor" with Simon Cowell and Digital Spy and Fox have apparently confirmed this. 

Reid has been a prominent figure in the music business since beginning his career in the mid-70s with Cincinnati-based funk rock group Pure Essence.  Reid founded LaFace Records (TLC, OutKast, Toni Braxton) with former bandmate Babyface through a joint venture with Clive Davis in 1989.  He brought artists such as Pink, Ciara, and Avril Lavigne onto Arista after selling LaFace to BMG and becoming the company's President in the early 2000s.  After the Sony/BMG merger in 2004, he became the Chairman and CEO of IDJ Music Group, paving the way for Mariah Carey's resurgence in 2005, Kanye West, Rihanna, Justin Bieber, and most recently, Jennifer Lopez, after she left Epic. 

Reid has won 3 Grammys, is a record exec, songwriter, and producer.  He is also the President and CEO of Hitco Music Publishing, based in Atlanta.  He has a cosmetic line named Le Métier de Beauté.  In August 2006, he and Babyface were honored as BMI Icons at the 6th annual BMI Urban Awards, adding his sum of BMI awards to total 18.  He has 33 No. 1 singles.


Update (3/19): It's official, Simon Cowell has announced L.A. Reid is set to be a judge on X.