labels

Amazon's cloud music service is fully licensed by the top-four record labels, numerous sources have told CNET.

The labels and Amazon aren't talking, but my sources say Amazon is expected to roll out new features for the company's cloud-music offering in the United States sometime in July.

We reported on Tuesday that Amazon had wrapped up cloud deals with Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and EMI, and was in negotiations with Warner Music Group. Information is coming in now that Warner Music Group was actually among the first to sign.

The ways in which the licenses … Read more

Given recent headlines about cloud music, you might be forgiven for thinking that the feature is huge with consumers.

Word came Monday that Apple has finally caught up to Google and Amazon and begun to stream songs from the company's cloud. The following day, CNET broke news that Amazon is very close to reaching agreements with the top four record companies that would let it run a licensed cloud music service. Music industry sources also told CNET that Google and the labels continue to discuss cloud licenses.

Interesting news. Now here's the reality: Consumer adoption of cloud music … Read more

Piggybacking (waka waka) on Jeff's encounter with a candied bacon ice cream sandwich at the Sony E3 press conference last week, we can't help but indulge in Burger King's new bacon-topped sundae.

And even if Jeff's dietitian won't let him have it, we can still stare longingly at the press shots and tell you about our own favorite encounters with the swine.… Read more

Amazon executives are close to striking license deals with music studios to cover the company's cloud music service, numerous music industry sources told CNET.

Amazon already has reached agreements with Universal Music Group, EMI and Sony Music Entertainment and is in the later stages of negotiations with the other Warner Music Group, the sources said. Amazon could announce the deals within weeks.

Spokesmen for UMG, EMI and Sony declined to comment. An Amazon representative was not immediately available for comment, though I'll update as soon as we hear back.

Details are scarce as to what new features Amazon'… Read more

Sparrow is an attempt to get away from supercomplex, feature-packed e-mail clients in favor of a simpler e-mail experience on iOS. The interface is elegant while remaining very straightforward: e-mails are listed with the newest on top, and all your actions can be completed with simple gestures. Setup only requires that you add accounts; then you can get started right away.

Though the interface is sparse you still get plenty of the common actions and options you'd expect from a basic e-mail app in Sparrow. You can save your draft e-mails; Star (or mark as favorite) specific conversations; add … Read more

Whether you're in charge of managing hardware for a whole company or you have your own extensive collection, it makes sense to have a way to keep track of what you have on hand. Hardware Asset Tracker is a simple program that lets you record the details of your computers, monitors, printers, and more. It's not the most elegant program we've ever seen, but it's not bad for what it is.

Hardware Asset Tracker has a tabbed interface that categorizes hardware as Computers, Laptops, Modems, Monitors, NICs, Printers, and Workstations. If you don't like those … Read more

EMI, one of the four top record companies and home to such acts as The Beatles and Coldplay, has terminated its music-licensing agreement with Grooveshark, a well-known music-sharing service, CNET has learned.

Court documents filed in New York state court reveal that the recorded-music division of EMI alleges Grooveshark has failed to meet the financial obligations of the agreement. In January, EMI's publishing arm filed suit against Grooveshark for breach of contract.

Grooveshark is a music service that provides free access to songs by enabling users to post their own music to the site. The company issued a response … Read more

If Beats Electronics acquires Mog, the maker of the popular headphones has plans that go way beyond subscription music.

CNET broke the news three weeks ago that Mog, an also-ran subscription music service, was for sale and AllThingsD yesterday reported that Beats intends to acquire Mog, but the deal has yet to close.

A Mog spokesperson did not respond to an interview request. A Beats representative wasn't immediately available.

Sources close to Beats say managers intend to build a Web store that will sell music, headphones, and numerous other products. Apparently, the idea is to cash in on the … Read more

Google has added a new setting to your Gmail account, which allows you to revert back to text buttons, instead of the icon-style buttons found in Gmail after the redesign.

To revert from icon buttons back to the familiar text buttons, log in to your Gmail account and navigate to Mail settings (gear icon in top-right corner > Mail settings).

Under the General tab, there will be a new option titled Button labels. Change the setting to Text, then save your changes at the bottom of the page.

Easy-enough change, right? Gmail users should have the setting available for them … Read more