Tag Archives: music news

Apple Reports Third Quarter Results, Record Revenue and Earnings

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Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 third quarter ended June 25, 2011. The Company posted record quarterly revenue of $28.57 billion and record quarterly net profit of $7.31 billion, or $7.79 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of $15.70 billion and net quarterly profit of $3.25 billion, or $3.51 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 41.7 percent compared to 39.1 percent in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 62 percent of the quarter’s revenue.

The Company sold 20.34 million iPhones in the quarter, representing 142 percent unit growth over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 9.25 million iPads during the quarter, a 183 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. The Company sold 3.95 million Macs during the quarter, a 14 percent unit increase over the year-ago quarter. Apple sold 7.54 million iPods, a 20 percent unit decline from the year-ago quarter.

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.”

“We are extremely pleased with our performance which drove quarterly cash flow from operations of $11.1 billion, an increase of 131 percent year-over-year,” said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple’s CFO. “Looking ahead to the fourth fiscal quarter of 2011, we expect revenue of about $25 billion and we expect diluted earnings per share of about $5.50.”

Apple’s live stream of its Q3 2011 financial results conference call can be viewed at www.apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq311. This webcast will also be available for replay for approximately two weeks thereafter.

[button color="blue" link="http://images.apple.com/pr/pdf/fy11q3datasum.pdf" target="_blank"]Q3 Data Summary (PDF)[/button]

Rhapsody Crosses 800,000 Subscriber Milestone

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Rhapsody, the leading premium, on-demand music service today announced it has crossed the 800,000 subscriber milestone and now offers more than 12 million tracks to its increasingly active membership base.

“Consumers are more enthusiastic than ever about on-demand music,” said Jon Irwin, president, Rhapsody. “The fact that we have added more than 150,000 members since becoming an independent company in April, 2010–a number that we believe exceeds the lifetime total of all new U.S. competitors combined–speaks volumes about the strength of the Rhapsody service and the value it brings to our members.”

Rhapsody cast the mold for the subscription music business, in 2001.   Since becoming an independent company in 2010, Rhapsody embraced an ambitious mobile apps strategy that has generated off-the-charts usage and brought on-demand music to the most powerful and personal media device: the mobile phone. The Rhapsody app continues to win awards and consistently outranks all competitors in the iTunes App Store, Android Market and Amazon App Store. Nearly 40 percent of streams today are over mobile devices, a trend that is climbing steadily.

“It’s clear that a premium, on-demand digital music service brings a ton of value to consumers and we have proven that a successful business can be built on this model over time,” said Irwin. “We believe the freemium model is not sustainable at current content cost structures. Companies with tremendous resources have come and gone, but Rhapsody’s focus on building long-term value is what has set us apart and contributed to our longevity. Consumers love the ability to listen to any song, as often as they like, in any order, anywhere on any device.  The more they embrace a true on-demand experience, the more they will become aware of the shackles of free music services.”

Sirius Xm to offer comprehensive coverage of MLB All-Star Week

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Sirius XM Radio announced today that it will offer baseball fans comprehensive coverage of 2011 Major League Baseball All-Star Week in Phoenix, AZ, July 9-12.

SiriusXM will carry the 82nd All-Star Game on Tuesday, July 12 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), and the State Farm Home Run Derby on Monday, July 11 (8:00 pm ET/5:00 pm PT), live from Chase Field on XM channel 176.

SiriusXM will also offer the exclusive radio broadcast of the XM All-Star Futures Game, featuring the top minor league prospects from the U.S. and abroad, on Sunday, July 10. Pre-game coverage starts at 5:30 pm ET on XM channel 89. SiriusXM’s Mike Ferrin will be the play-by-play voice for the Futures Game broadcast and former Major League GM and daily SiriusXM host Jim Duquette will be the analyst. SiriusXM’s Grant Paulsen and Baseball America’s John Manuel will provide reports from on the field and in the dugouts. Paulsen will host a special edition of his weekly show, Minors & Majors, live from the ballpark (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT) leading into the XM All-Star Futures pre-game.

On Monday and Tuesday, SiriusXM’s MLB Network Radio – channel 89 on XM and channel 209 on Sirius Premier (formerly known as “The Best of XM”) – will offer listeners extensive pre- and post-game coverage of both the State Farm Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game that will feature one-on-one interviews with current and former All-Stars, managers, coaches and other personalities from around the game.

 

Former All-Star pitcher Rob Dibble, former GM Jim Bowden and Casey Stern will team up for the State Farm Home Run Derby pre-game coverage starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT as well as the post-Derby recap. On Tuesday, Dibble, former GM Jim Duquette and Stern will host the All-Star pre-game coverage live from Chase Field starting at 5:00 pm ET/2:00 pm PT. Following the game, Dibble and Duquette will host the post-game show with Stern and Ferrin on the field and in the clubhouse talking one-on-one with the All-Stars.

Additionally, each day leading up to the All-Star Game, MLB Network Radio hosts will broadcast live from the MLB All-Star FanFest. Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and Bill Ripken will host their exclusive show, Ripken Baseball, live in front of fans on Monday, July 11 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT). Former pitcher Jeff Nelson, Jim Bowden, Jim Duquette, Casey Stern, Mike Ferrin and Grant Paulsen will also host live from the SiriusXM broadcast stage at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The following programs will originate from MLB All-Star FanFest and air on MLB Network Radio (channel 89 on XM; channel 209 on Sirius Premier):

Saturday, July 9
1:00 pm ET/10:00 am PT — Power Alley with Mike Ferrin & Jim Duquette
4:00 pm ET/1:00 pm PT — Inside Pitch with Casey Stern & Jim Bowden
7:00 pm ET/4:00 pm PT — Home Plate with Grant Paulsen & Jeff Nelson

Sunday, July 10
12:00 pm ET/9:00 am PT — Inside Pitch with Casey Stern & Jim Bowden
9:00 pm ET/6:00 pm PT — Inside Pitch with Casey Stern & Jim Bowden

Monday, July 11
11:00 am ET/8:00 am PT — Power Alley with Mike Ferrin & Jim Duquette
3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT — Ripken Baseball with Cal Ripken Jr. & Billy Ripken

Tuesday, July 12
2:00 pm ET/11:00 am PT — Inside Pitch with Mike Ferrin & Jim Bowden

Other hosts from across the SiriusXM programming spectrum will also broadcast from the All-Star festivities in Phoenix.

On Sunday, July 10 (3:00 pm ET/12:00 pm PT), Monday, July 11 (6:00 pm ET/3:00 pm PT) and Tuesday, July 12 (11:00 am ET/8:00 am PT), SiriusXM’s Steve Covino and Rich Davis will host their daily show from MLB All-Star FanFest, talking with special guests and fans and trying out FanFest’s interactive exhibits live on air. Covino & Rich airs daily on SiriusXM Stars Too, SiriusXM’s talk radio channel for guys (channel 104).

SiriusXM airs every game from all 30 Major League Baseball teams live on XM channels 176 to 189, with some on XM channel 89, and in Spanish on XM channel 175. A schedule of MLB games on XM can be found at www.siriusxm.com/mlb.

Amazon Announces Unlimited Space for Music, Free Storage for all Amazon MP3′s and Cloud Player Support for iPad

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Amazon.com, Inc. today announced three enhancements to Amazon Cloud Drive and Cloud Player: storage plans that include unlimited space for music, free storage for all Amazon MP3 purchases and Cloud Player for Web, now on iPad.

“Customers are already enjoying Cloud Drive and Cloud Player and now for just $20 a year, customers can get unlimited space for music,” said Craig Pape Director of Amazon Music. “Additionally, we are adding free storage for all MP3s purchased from Amazon MP3, and support for the iPad. Our customers love Cloud Drive and Cloud Player and we’re excited to innovate these services on their behalf.”

Unlimited Space for Music

Now, for a limited time, Amazon customers who purchase a Cloud Drive storage plan will receive unlimited space for their MP3 and AAC (.m4a) music files. This offer is available for even the lowest price plan: $20/year for 20 GB of file storage plus unlimited space for music. Customers can visit (www.amazon.com/clouddrive/manage) to purchase a Cloud Drive storage plan and receive unlimited space for music.

Store all Amazon MP3 Purchases for Free

Customers can now store all of their Amazon MP3 purchases for free in Cloud Drive, including future MP3 purchases as well as all purchases made before the launch of Cloud Drive and Cloud Player. MP3s purchased from Amazon MP3 and stored in Amazon Cloud Drive will not count against a customer’s storage quota.

Cloud Player for Web on iPad

Also new, Cloud Player for Web on iPad. Cloud Player, combined with unlimited space for music in Cloud Drive, enables customers to play music stored in the cloud on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac, PC, and now on their iPad. Cloud Player for Web has been optimized to offer customers streaming playback of their Cloud Drive music using the Safari browser for iPad. To access Cloud Player for iPad, customers simply open their Safari browser and visit (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer) to start listening to their music.

Storage for Music and More

All customers automatically start with 5 GB of free Cloud Drive storage to begin uploading their digital music library, and for a limited time, those who purchase any Cloud Drive storage plan will receive unlimited space for music at no additional cost. In addition to unlimited space for music, Cloud Drive allows customers to upload and store all kinds of digital files, including photos, videos and documents which are stored securely and available via web browser on any computer. Customers who qualified for 20 GB of free storage from earlier promotions will receive the unlimited space for music at no additional cost.

In March, Amazon launched Cloud Drive (www.amazon.com/clouddrive), Amazon Cloud Player for Web (www.amazon.com/cloudplayer), and Amazon Cloud Player for Android (www.amazon.com/cloudplayerandroid).

Together, these services enable customers to securely store music in the cloudand play it on any Android phone, Android tablet, Mac or PC, and now iPad, wherever they are. Customers can easily upload their music library to Amazon Cloud Drive and can save any new Amazon MP3 purchases directly to their Amazon Cloud Drive for free.