Google to work with Lala and iLike on music search (report)

Google to work with Lala and iLike on music search (report)

Google is planning to launch a music search service with music sites Lala and MySpace-owned iLike, according to multiple reports.

So far, all that’s official is the fact that Lala, iLike, and unspecified “others” are holding an event titled “Discover Music” next week in Los Angeles. But it sounds like Google will be there.

With this new service, you’ll be able to search for a musician, then play songs streamed from partner sites like Lala and iLike…. Continue Reading

MySpace will expand iLike beyond music

MySpace will expand iLike beyond music

MySpace officially announced its acquisition of  music recommendation service iLike today, but said the platform and popular Facebook application will be expanded beyond music to other areas of the site, such as videos and gaming.

“We believe what iLike has created isn’t limited to just music, and should extend all of the areas important to MySpace users, such as entertainment, video and games,” chief executive Owen Van Natta said in a conference call.

As such, the acquisition… Continue Reading

MySpace’s iLike buy raises questions about Facebook

MySpace’s iLike buy raises questions about Facebook

updated
The reported sale of popular online social music application iLike to to MySpace for the surprisingly low price of $13.5 million set off a flurry of rumors and fragmented reports across the web earlier today — some calling it a quickie fire sale, others claiming it spells doom for all web-based music distributors, and many questioning why Facebook would let its most popular music application fall into the hands of its rival.

One of the biggest… Continue Reading

iLike, Sony launch new music trivia app to boost song sales

iLike, Sony launch new music trivia app to boost song sales

iLike, a platform for sharing music via social networks and other sites, took a step in a new direction today with the launch of its iLike Challenge application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Available starting now in the Apple App Store, iLike Challenge allows users to compete with one another (or just test their own knowledge) based on how any songs they can correctly identify during a timed session. All of the music is… Continue Reading

iLike now integrates with iPhone, social networks

iLike now integrates with iPhone, social networks

Any rock star knows you’ve got to have an iPhone app, a Twitter account, a YouTube presence, MySpace, hi5, and Facebook pages, not to mention Bebo and Orkut. And to keep all your information across those sites in sync, apparently you now need music-discovery site iLike’s new iLike Artist Dashboard . It lets any of iLike’s 300,000 artists publish simultaneously to a global set of social networks, as well as to a custom iPhone app,… Continue Reading

Music startup iLike is “cash-flow positive” because it helps musicians reach more fans

Music startup iLike is “cash-flow positive” because it helps musicians reach more fans

A large number of the cool new online music companies are struggling, but there’s one that isn’t bleeding red ink, and it may even start making money: iLike.

One music startup SeeqPod has just filed for bankruptcy, Imeem is trying to stave off expensive licensing fees, and Project Playlist still faces long-running copyright suits. But despite the doom and gloom among music startups, iLike has been “cash-flow positive” since December, Chief executive Ali Partovi says. The company’s last… Continue Reading

Roundup: The Jobs saga continues, Circuit City razed, Hulu apologizes and more

Roundup: The Jobs saga continues, Circuit City razed, Hulu apologizes and more

Here’s the latest action:

The Steve Jobs saga continues — Talk about the Apple chief executive and his health issues remain everywhere you look. Newsweek columnist Dan Lyons says the media’s coverage of Apple “bites.” As you might expect after their heated exchange the other day, Lyons focuses on CNBC’s Jim Goldman. Meanwhile, the blog which Goldman criticized for its reporting on Jobs’ failing health initially, Gizmodo, featured a profanity-laced post from its editorial director, Brian Lam,… Continue Reading

Lala, Qloud may be leading contenders for Facebook music deal

Lala, Qloud may be leading contenders for Facebook music deal

Two online music companies, Lala and Qloud, are the leading contenders for a partnership with Facebook on its prospective streaming music initiative, I’m hearing. They’re not the most prominent companies Facebook has talked to about a potential deal, but from my understanding, that’s the point. Facebook will undoubtedly call the shots in any partnership. Neither company is especially established, and both could have more to gain from a Facebook partnership than continuing solo.

However, it’s not… Continue Reading

Concert recommender Songkick takes $4.6M

Concert recommender Songkick takes $4.6M

Songkick, a site that recommends concerts in your local area based on your preferred artists, has snagged $4.65 million of an anticipated $7.17 million first round of funding, reports VentureWire. The company also aggregates ticket information from 16 sites like StubHub, Ticketweb and Ticketmaster, allowing for one-click purchase.

When VentureBeat last covered the London company in March, we detailed some of its other cool features, including the ability to generate a concert schedule from your personal… Continue Reading

Music service iLike may be for sale

Music service iLike may be for sale

iLike, the music startup that’s especially big on Facebook, is on the lookout for an acquirer, according to MediaMemo. “Nothing imminent, nor active discussions,” a source close to the company tells me in response. That’s not an outright no, so probably something is going on — maybe a further round of funding? iLike is one of several online music services that have gained millions of users in the last several years by latching onto social… Continue Reading

Roundup: Yahoo, Apple pre-earnings reports, Akamai’s new ads, and more

Roundup: Yahoo, Apple pre-earnings reports, Akamai’s new ads, and more

Here’s the latest action:

Earnings: Yahoo may shortly be cutting employee compensation – This may be instead of or in addition to planned job cuts.

Earnings: Apple lowballs projections, as usual — Fortune’s Apple 2.0 blog has a closer look at this historical trend.

Akamai launches ad targeting service — The content delivery network company has bought ad-targeting company Acerno for $95 million, as part of this new focus.

Research in Motion joins Blackberry cross-device application testing service — The service, DeviceAnywhere,… Continue Reading

I read a new rumor about “Facebook Music” but all I got was this stupid picture

I read a new rumor about “Facebook Music” but all I got was this stupid picture

Facebook is perpetually rumored to have some sort of in-house music service in the works. The latest story is a vague piece today in the pseudo-tabloid New York Post. Apparently Facebook has been talking to people in the music industry about partnering with a bunch of streaming media services and record labels to integrate music more deeply into the site.

However, says the Post, “Facebook doesn’t want to bog itself down in securing their own licenses… Continue Reading

iLike turns its streaming music service into a platform

iLike turns its streaming music service into a platform

ILike, the music company with popular applications on social networks including Facebook, Orkut and hi5, is making itself a platform — a trend among Silicon Valley web companies these days. Today, it will let other developers access its library of streaming music, so iLike songs can be included within outside applications. So if you have a Facebook game application, you could include licensed music in it through iLike. For example, Social Gaming Networks’ app “Free… Continue Reading

ILike launches music concert promotion ads, targeting social network users

ILike launches music concert promotion ads, targeting social network users

ILike, the music fan site that has gained millions of new users through applications on Facebook and other social networks, is releasing a new form of ads that enable concert promoters to reach fans based on location and musical tastes.

The Seattle company has already offered ways for bands to display concert dates within its applications, but these ads (sample above) are more advanced. They appear in banner-ad positions on Facebook “canvas” pages for third party… Continue Reading

ILike (and its apps) show results: It really is helping musicians reach fans across the web

ILike (and its apps) show results: It really is helping musicians reach fans across the web

Today, technological advances have made it easier than ever to create music and sell it, or give it away for free. But the big problem for aspiring musicians in this new world is finding fans who will pay for things like concerts, t-shirts, CDs, digital track or anything else. Meanwhile, the problem for fans is finding new music that they’ll actually like, and maybe want to somehow pay for.

ILike is an emerging leader in this… Continue Reading

Widgets are great for musicians, and not so bad for businesses, either

Widgets are great for musicians, and not so bad for businesses, either

Two announcements this week show how some of those silly MySpace widgets and annoying Facebook applications are becoming real businesses.

First, the rock band R.E.M. is going to release its latest album Accelerate through iLike, streaming the entire album across iLike’s Facebook, Hi5 and Bebo applications and its other services. It is the first time that a band this large has released an album through iLike.

Second, widget service provider Gydget has struck a deal with indie music… Continue Reading

Roundup: Facebook UK traffic drop, a solar plant in AZ, flash chips, and more

Roundup: Facebook UK traffic drop, a solar plant in AZ, flash chips, and more

1. Facebook sees monthly dip in UK traffic, not a big deal
2. Abengoa Solar wins solar electricity plant contract with Arizona government
3. NAND flash memory chips getting cheaper
4. Facebook developer Blake Commagere has top Facebook games
5. ILike, the social networking music application, now has 22 million users
6. Windows Live SkyDrive offers up to 5GB free storage
7. Ta-da, the magical wireless mystery tour: SF bus begins testing internet service
8. “A truly great idea: 99 cent rotating… Continue Reading

ILike and Qloud’s Hi5 applications, maybe the start of something bigger

ILike and Qloud’s Hi5 applications, maybe the start of something bigger

OpenSocial, the Google-led platform to allow applications to be built across social networks, has been criticized as slow moving.

However, progress is being made. Today, social music services iLike and QLoud introduced the first OpenSocial applications for the popular social network Hi5.

ILike’s Hi5 application lets you post songs and videos to your Hi5 profile. This is similar to iLike’s popular Facebook application.

ILike’s strategy is to build social music applications across social networks — Facebook, Hi5, and… Continue Reading

ILike connects across OpenSocial, Facebook, iTunes — new music empire?

ILike connects across OpenSocial, Facebook, iTunes — new music empire?

ILike, a music discovery service, has launched a news feed that connects people and their music libraries with their favorite musicians across its web applications and desktop music players.

It has also expanded its offerings to help musicians reach fans on all of its services. ILike is targeting Myspace’s large network of musicians and fans, and is betting its news feed will prove a better way to reach music lovers.

This news comes as Facebook has begun launching… Continue Reading

Roundup: Geezeo, online ads booming, FaceTunes?, Docstoc invites

Roundup: Geezeo, online ads booming, FaceTunes?, Docstoc invites

Here’s a Friday afternoon roundup of the latest action:

1) Geezeo connects you to personal and financial online services
2) Online advertising worth almost $10 billion in the first half of ‘07
3) Rumor: Facebook has iTunes competitor in the works
4) DocStoc private beta invites

Geezeo, an online financial management service, now connected to even more financial institutions – We’ve recently covered Mint, a personal finance site that lets you aggregate your online bank accounts, then analyze things like your… Continue Reading