SpiralFrog inks licensing deal with Koch

SpiralFrog, the much-hyped, advertising-supported digital download store expected to launch in December, signed a licensing deal this week with Koch Records, whose hip-hop-centric catalog includes Snoop Dogg, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Xzibit, Jim Jones, B.G., Wyclef Jean, and Talib Kweli, as well as a heap of releases from the Kinks, the Wiggles, and William Hung. The deal follows similar licensing agreements SpiralFrog inked earlier this month with Universal Music and EMI Music Publishing.

SpiralFrog hopes to draw users with the enticement of free music, albeit with conditions. Users must view advertisements--in an as-yet-unspecified format--in order to download music, and the downloaded tunes will have usage restrictions applied to them. For instance, users must visit the site once a month in order for the downloaded music to remain playable.

"Our dynamic deal with SpiralFrog offers our artists the opportunity to connect with music fans around the world, and opens up new revenue streams," Koch President Bob Frank said in a statement.

XM willing to talk about licensing fees

With his company facing a lawsuit from the recording industry, XM Satellite Radio Chairman Gary Parsons said this week that he's willing to discuss amending the licensing fees XM pays record labels for its Inno portable receivers, which let users record and store music. "If something reasonable and appropriate is agreed to, XM would be willing to reach individual accords with the labels," Bloomberg News quotes Parsons as saying at a Goldman Sachs investor conference yesterday. Because the new Inno receivers give users "time shift" ability, or the option of recording music for listening at a later date, the record labels contend that XM's current licensing rate is too low and should mirror the fees paid by download services like iTunes and Napster.

BurnLounge lands Shaquille O'Neal endorsement

Fledgling digital music outfit BurnLounge, which allows users to sell other people's music through digital stores of their own, landed the endorsement of behemoth NBA player and would-be rapper Shaquille O'Neal today. Shaq signed a deal that will allow BurnLounge users to sell all seven of his albums on their own digital stores. "By distributing my albums through BurnLounge, it not only gives me a new outlet to reach my fans, but also gives them the opportunity to become digital music promoters themselves by legally sharing music with their friends," O'Neal said in a statement. "I have always had a passion for music and I'm excited to work with a company that shares the same passion." BurnLounge sellers earn points redeemable for music and merchandise in their store. BurnLounge also offers a library of more than one million titles from all the major labels and many independents and unsigned artists.

IODA acquires UK competitor

Independent digital distributor IODA said today that it is buying one of its main rivals, acquiring UK distributor Uploader for an undisclosed sum. The deal gives San Francisco-based IODA, which acquires digital distribution rights to sell music through digital stores like iTunes and eMusic, an additional 50,000 songs on 150 labels, adding to its already sizable indie catalog of more than 600,000 tracks from more than 2,700 independent labels. It also gives IODA a European operation, with Uploader management overseeing IODA in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.

"This is an unbeatable marriage of the best technology infrastructure--IODA--and the most experienced music distribution team--Uploader--in this space," Uploader Chairman Martin Goldschmidt said in a statement. Uploader's catalog includes the Buzzcocks, Dead Kennedys, Echo & the Bunnymen, Fats Domino, Gary Numan, Hanson, and the Violent Femmes.

Digital Music Group lands Tuff City catalog

Another IODA rival, Sacramento-based Digital Music Group, signed a deal today for digital distribution rights to the Tuff City Music catalog, which includes 20,000 songs from the likes of Ray Charles, Ike Turner, Spoonie Gee, Marley Marl, and The Ultramagnetic MCs. DMG now has the perpetual rights to distribute the Tuff City catalog to online stores like iTunes and as ringtones.

"We're very pleased with our relationship with Digital Music Group," Tuff City President Aaron Fuchs said in a statement. "DMGI clearly appreciates the value of 'deep catalog' and the 'Long Tail.' This, coupled with their strong music distribution network and platform, makes us excellent and complementary partners."

Internet radio site WOXY dies

WOXY, one of the more acclaimed online radio stations on the Internet, has called it quits. The Ohio-based indie-rock outfit said it was unable to raise enough money through advertising and membership to make it as a stand-alone entity. An initial donation drive was halted earlier this month when the station said that significant investment capital was needed to keep it afloat.

"This is the moment all of us hoped would never come," the station's operators wrote on the site. "After plugging away at this for the past two years, it's become pretty clear that operating woxy.com as a stand-alone Internet 'radio station' is not going to cut it... When your business doesn't make money, you eventually go out of business." The last song WOXY played was MC5's "Kick Out the Jams."