Universal Music Group was early to tap into the whole music gaming phenomenon by partnering with Tapulous to make iPhone apps for artists such as Lady Gaga and Souja Boy Tell ‘Em. Now it’s branching off and working with others to create even more gaming applications. The record label’s latest…

Video games are shining brighter as the jewel in Vivendi’s crown. The French conglomerate is expecting Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard to contribute a boat-load more to this year’s group profit, when two key titles trickle farther down. Its 2009 earnings, out today, show… —Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 shifted…

The move was telegraphed last year and now the timing is set: Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group International, will move from London to New York to become co-CEO with Doug Morris July 1. That’s supposed to last for six months, with Grainge reporting to Vivendi (EPA:…

The glitzy opening at a trendy club in Tribeca—followed by a crashing site when millions of would-be music video viewers tried to sign on and a night of instant scaling—was just the beginning for Vevo. But CEO Rio Caereff is careful not to jump too many chapters ahead when he…

Music labels’ YouTube-powered music video site Vevo may have had a glitzy launch in New York on Tuesday - but on Wednesday many who hit the site for the first time found it crashing under traffic weight, and everyone outside the U.S. and Canada who hits Vevo.com is getting the…

General Electric (NYSE: GE) is playing beat the clock tonight with two different deals, hoping to announce before the U.S. market opens Thursday that it is on the way out of the media business. To make the timing work, GE has to turn tentative plans to acquire Vivendi’s 20 percent…

The companies aren’t commenting but it sounds like Vivendi (EPA: VIV) and General Electric may have reached an agreement that will pave the way for the much-discussed deal that would make Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) a majority owner of NBC Universal (NYSE: GE). The Wall Street Journal is reporting that GE…

Vivendi (EPA: VIV) may not be able be able to agree a price to offload its 20 percent stake in the NBCU JV—but at home, the French multimedia group has no doubts about plans to grow its domestic TV empire. On Monday the company announced a deal to buy the…

How much money do artists really make from Spotify? According to Swedish paper Expressen, 2009’s standout breakthrough artist Lady Gaga and her songwriter Redone made just SEK1150 (£100.76; $166.56) in songwriting royalties from one million Spotify plays of her hit Poker Face in Sweden in the first five months after…

Next year is shaping up to be an interesting one in terms of digital music. We’ll be able to see how much traction music video site Vevo ultimately gains, whether Google’s music search becomes ubiquitous, and possibly see Spotify launch here in the U.S. There will also be two new…

Vevo, the highly anticipated music video site, now has a launch date. It’s set to go live on the evening of Dec. 8, the site said a few minutes ago via Twitter. The announcement comes a day after Hulu said it too would make a foray into the music video…

Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 grossed more than $300 million in sales in its first 24 hours just in the US and the UK, making it not just the biggest video game launch of the year, but the biggest entertainment launch, in any medium, ever. That most hyperbolic…

Universal Music CEO Doug Morris will be succeeded by international chief Lucian Grainge next year, BusinessWeek reports. The Times Online also calls Grainge Morris’ “annointed successor” in a piece today. BusinessWeek says that Morris (pictured to the left)—who has overseen Universal Music’s operations for the last 15 years—plans to step…

At the famed Capitol Records building in Hollywood, Google (NSDQ: GOOG) officially unveiled its OneBox music search service. First news tidbit to emerge is that MySpace will be the brand powering the streaming music, videos and track purchases—not new acquisition iLike, as was initially reported. Google’s Marissa Mayer demoed what…

Vivendi (EPA: VIV) would be amenable to a flotation of NBCU Universal on the NYSE, as possible future configurations for the TV JV work their way out. “Why not?,” Vivendi CEO Jean-Bernard Lévy said during a keynote Q&A at C&binet, a creative industries gathering organized by the UK government in…

The sound of ticking as Vivendi SA (EPA: VIV) decides whether or not to sell its 20 percent stake in *NBC Universal* during this year’s window is getting as loud as the clock in the crocodile that haunts Captain Hook. The volume this time around (the French company has the…

Former *Nokia* interactive ad sales vet David Kohl has joined Vevo, the music video site that labels like UMG and *Sony* are hoping will be “the next Hulu.” As EVP of of sales and customer operations, Kohl will lead Vevo’s efforts to secure big brand sponsorships, reporting to CEO Rio…

Fast growing digital music sales and the ongoing popularity of online multiplayer video games helped Vivendi (EPA: VIV) to a recession-beating 15 percent year-on-year revenue growth in the first half of 2009. —*Activision* Blizzard: The games division continued to power on - revenues up 300 percent from last year to…

Updated: Chris Stephenson, who has overseen global marketing for Microsoft’s Zune music player since its debut in 2006, is leaving Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) to join Universal Music, the WSJ reports. Stephenson confirms he is leaving to the WSJ. At Universal, he will lead marketing for Interscope Geffen A & M…