Taylor Swift has snubbed Apple Music (AAPL) | ||
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Taylor Swift just snubbed Apple: BuzzFeed News is reporting that the singer is refusing to put her most recent album "1989" on the company's upcoming music streaming service. Taylor Swift has previously been an outspoken critic of free music streaming. She argues that it devalues artists' work, and removed "1989" from market leader Spotify late last year following a dispute over its free, ad-supported tier. However, it had previously been thought that Swift's album would be available on Apple Music, which is due to launch on June 30. During the service's announcement, a link to her most recent video "Bad Blood" appeared on screen — implying that Apple had secured the rights to her recent catalogue. But clearly that's not the case. A representative for Swift's label, Big Machine, told BuzzFeed News that there "are currently no plans to release '1989' to any streaming service in the near future." Apple also confirmed that the album would not be present at launch. This matters more than you might think. Apple is entering the music streaming race very late, and partly out of necessity. While it has long dominated the music download market via iTunes, downloads are now in decline. And rival Spotify has managed to gain a staggering 86% of the on-demand streaming market. Apple needs to launch Apple Music to remain relevant in the music industry (which is also why it is launching on Android and Windows, to ensure the maximum possible number of users.) Despite Spotify's dominance of music streaming, concerns have grown among artists about its revenue model, including the allegedly small amounts it pays out to rights-holders. Had Apple managed to secure Taylor Swift, it would have sent a strong signal that it had managed to allay industry concerns — and give consumers a compelling reason to pick Apple Music over the alternatives. Ahead of its big launch, Apple is apparently playing hard ball with artists. Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe claims that the company is threatening to pull his entire back catalogue from iTunes if he doesn't agree to forgo royalties during a three-month trial period Apple is due to offer consumers, Consequence of Sound reports. This plan not to pay royalties during the trial period has reportedly infuriated artists. According to UK music lobbyist Andy Heath, no independent British labels have so far agreed to let their music be used in the trial — threatening to kneecap the music selection available to consumers during that first crucial period. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you drop an Apple Watch face down on cement  | ||
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Google is reportedly considering an acquisition of the company behind Tesco's Clubcard (GOOG) | ||
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Google is reportedly mulling over a bid for Dunnhumby, the data arm of supermarket Tesco that runs its loyalty card programme. Sky News reports that Google could team up with private equity group Permira, the former owner of Hugo Boss, to make a joint bid for Dunnhumby. Tesco is selling the unit as part of plans to slim down its business and recover from a disastrous accounting scandal. Dunnhumby runs Tesco's loyalty card programme, which tracks customers shopping habits to build up profiles of consumers and target them with relevant offers. The Clubcard was credited with helping Tesco overtake Sainsbury's in the 1990s to become the UK's biggest supermarket. Given Google's interest in data and data analytics, it's easy to see the appeal of Dunnhumby for the company. It's thought the sale could pull in up to £2 billion ($3.17 billion) for Tesco. Other interested parties include Sir Martin Sorrell's giant advertising group WPP. That said, Google acquiring Dunnhumby would be unlike any of its previous acquisitions. Dunnhumby's strength is its decades of data on more than 1 billion shoppers worldwide, and a set of advanced analytics tools that help brands set their prices, choose which products to launch next, and make decisions on setting promotions. That's a world away from the search and digital advertising business Google runs. Integrating 26-year-old Dunnhumby and its 3,000 employees worldwide might also be a difficult cultural fit with Google. As Stuart Evans, director of global loyalty practice at ICLP Loyalty, told Business Insider earlier this year, when asked about the possibility of WPP buying Dunnhumby: "[A full takeover would] be a cultural inversion, from a business that has been very successful, somewhat comfortable, and extremely profitable almost by default to one that now needs to meet the WPP financial performance and sales growth targets, every week and month." The same would surely apply at Google too. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money  | ||
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The 10 things in advertising you need to know today (GOOG, TWTR, FB, MCD, AAPL) | ||
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Good morning! Here's everything you need to know in the world of advertising today. 1. A former Googler has declared war on ad blockers with a new startup that tackles them in an unorthodox way. Google's former general manager of marketplace development Ben Barokas has launched Sourcepoint, an ad blocker blocker, with $10 million Series A funding. 2. Google is reportedly considering an acquisition of the company behind Tesco's Clubcard, Dunnhumby. Sky News reports that Google could team up with private equity group Permira to buy the data and loyalty business. 3. McDonald's future isn't about America any more. For the first time in more than 40 years, the number of McDonald's restaurants in America is shrinking. 4. New York-based ad tech company Undertone has acquired Sparkflow, a mobile advertising startup based in Buenos Aires, which specializes in cross-screen rich media advertising. A person familiar with the company told Business Insider the deal was "sub-$20 million." 5. Google made an under the radar acquisition of a company that lets you try apps on the mobile web before you download them. Google's acquisition of Agawi could be a way to encourage people away from apps to the mobile web, or it might be to help the company create a novel form of mobile app install ad. 6. Twitter launched a new feature called "Project Lightning." It wants to showcase photos and videos around events, for both logged-in and logged-out users. 7. Apple invented a new type of viral advertising that can track users on social media. It has been granted a patent for a new viral advertising management system that can track ads or media content as it is shared via different methods such as email, Facebook, Twitter, and SMS. 8. Facebook users in the Middle East and Africa use its apps in some surprisingly different ways. Farmers in Kuwait have been using Instagram to sell sheep, for example. 9. There's a funny backstory behind why Under Armour decided to use the British spelling. It's all to do with trademarks and phone numbers. 10. Twitter wants a CEO who can make a full-time commitment to the company. That seemingly rules out Jack Dorsey, who is also running his payments company Square. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Grexit 'beginning of the end of the eurozone': Greek PM | ||
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Vienna (AFP) - A Greek exit from the eurozone would be the beginning of the end of the single currency, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras was quoted as saying Friday in a newspaper interview. "The famous Grexit cannot be an option either for the Greeks or the European Union. This would be an irreversible step, it would be the beginning of the end of the eurozone," Austrian daily Kurier quoted Tsipras as saying, in an interview published in German. "That would be very negative for the people of Europe. But I must remind you that the debate about a Grexit began when the application of strict savings programmes began," he said. "The Greek government cannot absorb the savings programme forced upon it by the EU and the International Monetary Fund. The cuts would also not be positive for the Greek economy. Greece would not become more competitive and the debts would also not be reduced. The whole concept needs to be changed," he said. On Thursday talks between finance ministers and Greece fell apart in Luxembourg, with the EU calling an emergency summit for Monday in Brussels. Greece has until the end of June to agree a reform deal in order to secure the remaining portion of an international bailout, which it needs to avoid defaulting on a 1.6 billion euro ($1.8 billion) IMF debt payment. With Greece unwilling to agree to some austerity terms and creditors also not backing down, the country could end up defaulting, which could then lead to it leaving the eurozone. Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem told a news conference: "It is still possible to find an agreement and extend the current programme before the end of the month but the ball is clearly in the Greek court to seize that last opportunity." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Taylor Swift has snubbed Apple Music (AAPL) | ||
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Taylor Swift just snubbed Apple: BuzzFeed News is reporting that the singer is refusing to put her most recent album "1989" on the company's upcoming music streaming service. Taylor Swift has previously been an outspoken critic of free music streaming. She argues that it devalues artists' work, and removed "1989" from market leader Spotify late last year following a dispute over its free, ad-supported tier. However, it had previously been thought that Swift's album would be available on Apple Music, which is due to launch on June 30. During the service's announcement, a link to her most recent video "Bad Blood" appeared on screen — implying that Apple had secured the rights to her recent catalogue. But clearly that's not the case. A representative for Swift's label, Big Machine, told BuzzFeed News that there "are currently no plans to release '1989' to any streaming service in the near future." Apple also confirmed that the album would not be present at launch. This matters more than you might think. Apple is entering the music streaming race very late, and partly out of necessity. While it has long dominated the music download market via iTunes, downloads are now in decline. And rival Spotify has managed to gain a staggering 86% of the on-demand streaming market. Apple needs to launch Apple Music to remain relevant in the music industry (which is also why it is launching on Android and Windows, to ensure the maximum possible number of users.) Despite Spotify's dominance of music streaming, concerns have grown among artists about its revenue model, including the allegedly small amounts it pays out to rights-holders. Had Apple managed to secure Taylor Swift, it would have sent a strong signal that it had managed to allay industry concerns — and give consumers a compelling reason to pick Apple Music over the alternatives. Ahead of its big launch, Apple is apparently playing hard ball with artists. Brian Jonestown Massacre frontman Anton Newcombe claims that the company is threatening to pull his entire back catalogue from iTunes if he doesn't agree to forgo royalties during a three-month trial period Apple is due to offer consumers, Consequence of Sound reports. This plan not to pay royalties during the trial period has reportedly infuriated artists. According to UK music lobbyist Andy Heath, no independent British labels have so far agreed to let their music be used in the trial — threatening to kneecap the music selection available to consumers during that first crucial period. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's what happens when you drop an Apple Watch face down on cement  | ||
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Shanghai stocks plunge 6.42% by close | ||
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Shanghai (AFP) - Chinese shares slumped more than six percent Friday afternoon as tight market liquidity caused by new share issues triggered a large sell-off, dealers said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dived 6.42 percent, or 307.00 points, to 4,478.36 on turnover of 685.5 billion yuan ($112.2 billion). The index lost 13.32 percent over the week. The market loss was the worst since May 28, when Shanghai dived 6.50 percent. The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, sank 5.88 percent, or 171.42 points, to 2,742.18 on turnover of 601.2 billion yuan. It fell 12.69 percent for the week. China's market regulator last week tightened some rules for margin trading, through which investors borrow funds to trade stocks, and prohibited dealers from raising funds outside of the margin trading channel to trade stocks. "China stocks’ correction is mainly triggered by concern about high valuations of smaller companies and the regulator's crackdown on margin debts, particularly non-compliant ones," Zhang Haitong, Shanghai-based chief strategist at Jinkuang Investment Management, told Bloomberg News. "We may be close to the end of the correction as the tone of loose monetary policies isn't changed. We may see cuts in interest rates or reserve requirement ratios again as the economy is still sluggish," Zhang said. The Shanghai market has paired last week’s gains as investors grew cautious after it hit the 5,000-point level earlier in June. A total of 11 companies issued new shares for investor subscription, which usually drains funds away from the existing market. The regulator approved 24 initial public offerings earlier this month. "The new share offers are part of the direct causes for the market selloff today and it is very likely this is a mid-term market adjustment," Haitong Securities analyst Zhang Qi told AFP. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
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Google is reportedly considering an acquisition of the company behind Tesco's Clubcard (GOOG) | ||
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Google is reportedly mulling over a bid for Dunnhumby, the data arm of supermarket Tesco that runs its loyalty card programme. Sky News reports that Google could team up with private equity group Permira, the former owner of Hugo Boss, to make a joint bid for Dunnhumby. Tesco is selling the unit as part of plans to slim down its business and recover from a disastrous accounting scandal. Dunnhumby runs Tesco's loyalty card programme, which tracks customers shopping habits to build up profiles of consumers and target them with relevant offers. The Clubcard was credited with helping Tesco overtake Sainsbury's in the 1990s to become the UK's biggest supermarket. Given Google's interest in data and data analytics, it's easy to see the appeal of Dunnhumby for the company. It's thought the sale could pull in up to £2 billion ($3.17 billion) for Tesco. Other interested parties include Sir Martin Sorrell's giant advertising group WPP. That said, Google acquiring Dunnhumby would be unlike any of its previous acquisitions. Dunnhumby's strength is its decades of data on more than 1 billion shoppers worldwide, and a set of advanced analytics tools that help brands set their prices, choose which products to launch next, and make decisions on setting promotions. That's a world away from the search and digital advertising business Google runs. Integrating 26-year-old Dunnhumby and its 3,000 employees worldwide might also be a difficult cultural fit with Google. As Stuart Evans, director of global loyalty practice at ICLP Loyalty, told Business Insider earlier this year, when asked about the possibility of WPP buying Dunnhumby: "[A full takeover would] be a cultural inversion, from a business that has been very successful, somewhat comfortable, and extremely profitable almost by default to one that now needs to meet the WPP financial performance and sales growth targets, every week and month." The same would surely apply at Google too. Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: Here's how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his money  | ||
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