iPhone gets release date, commercials

The hotly anticipated iPhone release finally has a date, as Apple said this week that the innovative music phone will be in stores by June 29. The iPhone will cost $500 or $600 a pop, depending on the model. In an effort to rebuild the momentum the high-tech device had when it was announced in January, Apple is rolling out a set of three TV commercials to promote the launch.

LaLa.com unveils new service, deals

Since its online CD swapping service failed to catch fire, LaLa.com has turned its eyes to a new business model, one that mimics in some ways what the original MP3.com was doing before it faced the legal wrath of the major record labels in 2000. LaLa.com this week unveiled a new Web-based plug-in that allows users to scan their digital music collection and download that collection onto other computers. Using the same logic that got MP3.com into trouble, it assumes that if you possess a piece of music, you bought it.

But LaLa unveiled another element of the new model that has the support of at least one of the four major labels. Looking to drive its new digital retail service of DRM-free music, LaLa is also streaming full albums on its site and inked a deal to license the catalog of Warner Music Group to start. But the site is taking a hefty risk in doing so. The site said it will likely incur $140 million in licensing fees over two years if its signs on all four major labels, and with just $14 million in venture capital money, it better sell some music fast. Download prices on LaLa.com will range from $6.50 to $13.50 for an album.

Harrison widow hints at digital delay

Beatles fans will probably have to wait until next year before they can buy the Fab Four's tunes from online retailers, such as Apple's iTunes store, George Harrison's widow told Reuters. A recent settlement to a lengthy trademark dispute between Apple and the Beatles' company, Apple Corps Ltd., has cleared the way for the band to distribute its catalog digitally.

"We just have a few things to work out elsewhere," Olivia Harrison told Reuters. When asked if the catalog would be available online by the end of next year, she said, "Oh God, yeah. Hope so...I don't know if it would be the end of this year, but it would be nice. Imminent, let's put it that way."

Music searches are risky, says study

Search terms related to music and technology are most likely to return sites with spyware and other malicious code, a new study finds. Searches for keywords like "BearShare," "LimeWire," and "Kazaa," for example, led to sites flagged with a "red" warning or a cautionary "yellow" by McAfee Inc.'s SiteAdvisor service.

Search companies have taken steps to mitigate the risks. Google, for instance, sometimes flags links to sites it deems risky, and McAfee found a notable drop in risk when using Google, AOL and Ask. Ask and AOL get search ads from Google, and AOL uses Google to power regular search results as well.

Amp'd files for bankruptcy

Amp'd Mobile, the mobile phone content service that targeted the Maxim set, has filed for bankruptcy protection. The company said this week that it filed for Chapter 11 last week with the intention of revamping the business and finding new financing. It said service would not be interrupted during the process. In a statement, Amp'd said the bankruptcy filing reflected its inability to expand its infrastructure quickly enough to meet demand.

Amp'd is one of several "mobile virtual network operators" that leases space on the networks of larger competitors but does their own marketing and billing. The services target specific niches of content, with Amp'd focusing on entertainment and music.

SpiralFrog promises summer launch

Spiralfrog, the much-touted ad-supported online music service, will finally launch in the US by the end of summer 2007, chairman and founder Joe Mohen told the CISAC Copyright Summit this week. Speaking on a panel in Brussels, Mohen claimed the service will launch with over two million tracks in the US.

SpiralFrog's launch has already been delayed twice before, despite the company having several high-profile deals in place with the likes of Universal Music Group and EMI Music Publishing. Previous self-imposed launch dates have proven false, and former CEO Robin Kent left the company in December 2006 after one of them passed by without a launch. Mohen insisted the service, which offers free music in exchange for watching advertisements, is on track to finally debut in the next few months.