Yahoo! is a threat to Apple and Microsoft and is looking to end Apple’s and Microsoft’s dominance of the technology behind online music.

Yahoo! will sell Jesse McCartney’s new album “Right Where You Want Me,”(Hollywood Records), in the unprotected MP3 format.

That means consumers will be able to play it on any digital music device, including Apple’s iPod. MP3 files are the only type that will play on an iPod besides those downloaded from iTunes.

Since MP3 files have no no copy protection, they can be easily traded on peer-to-peer networks, emailed to friends or burned onto an endless number of CDs.

“We’re trying to be realistic,” said Ken Bunt, senior VP of marketing at Hollywood Records. “Jesse’s single is already online and we haven’t put it out. Piracy happens regardless of what we do. So we’re going to see how Jesse’s album goes (as an MP3) and then decide on others going forward.”

Labels and Netcos will be watching sales of the album, which Yahoo! will promote heavily to see whether consumers are more interested in buying unprotected MP3 files and whether it has any impact on piracy.

Yahoo! only has rights from Hollywood to sell the album in its entirety, for $9.99, not by individual track. ITunes and other musicstores also will sell “Right Where You Want Me” with copy protection.

“We think this is a really good experiment, because copy protection is not doing anything to stop people from stealing when you can just get unprotected tracks off of a CD or get music illegally online,” said Yahoo! Music topper Dave Goldberg. “We think it’s good to make it easy for consumers to get digital music on whatever device they want and for companies like us to not be reliant on one particular technology company for how our consumers can access music.”

For furter reading check out KOARs article “Why not Sell MP3’s?”

Futuresex/ Love Sounds
Justin Timberlake
TW 684,461
**Timberlake earns first No. 1 solo album in U.S.
Also No. 1 in Britain, Ireland, Australia and Canada, and top-five in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Hong Kong

Â

Continuum
John Mayer
TW 299,644

Extreme Behavior
Hinder
TW 63,598
Total 672,701

Revelations
Audioslave
TW 49,102
Total 191,553

Face the Promise
Bob Seger
TW 150,833

Paramour Sessions
Papa Roach
TW 36,742

Decemberunderground
AFI
TW 11,903
Total 641,323

Oh No
Ok Go
TW 11,411
Total 69,127

Paris
Paris Hilton
TW 9,882
Total 130,220
**I still don’t understand Paris Hiltons involvement with the record business. She is a brand and is paid substantial dollars for personal appearances. As far as record sales, this does not help her brand, not that it will weaken it. It’s more or less the moral factor: embarrassing. Stick to what your good at it.

Falling Away
Crossfade
TW 9,493
Total 52,459
**Remember Crossfade? The band that wrote the big single “Cold” that landed them on top 40 radio which resulted in a platinum record. Not this time. This is called a sophomore slump. “Hits” cure cancer.

Moby’s new greatest hits album, Go – The Very Best of Moby will be released on October 24th. This is the first-ever, and definitive Greatest Hits collection chronicling his entire career to the present and features the exclusive, brand new single “New York, New York” with NYC icon and Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry.The collection includes a 2006 Mix of the track that started it all, “GO,” a live version recorded in London of “Feeling So Real,”
as well as hits from his years with Instinct, Elektra and V2 Records.
The limited edition version is packaged with an 11-track remix CD personally compiled by Moby and includes the legendary “Bodyrock” Olav Basoski’s Da Hot Funk Da Freak Funk Remix.

• Feeling so Real – Live in London (mp3)

• Entertainment industry mogul David Geffen made his own separate, informal, all-cash offer to buy the LA Times.
• Universal Music Group (UMG) and US broadcaster MTV have announced a deal for the mobile platform.
• The Firm parted ways with 30 Second to Mars.
• Victory Record Head Tony Brummel recently filed a countersuit against Hawthorne Heights. Tony Brummel calls the band’s claims “false and wildly scurrilousâ€? and alleges they are planning a “carefully orchestrated smear campaign”.
• Lawyer Dan Friedman acts Scenes from a Movie signed to Pure Volumes label and Blinded Black signed to Sidecho.
• Remember platinum post grunge act from the 90’s Sponge? The two biggest singles from the album Rotting Piñata were “Plowed” and “Molly (Sixteen Candles).” The band is back and is looking for a potential partner. Sponge never had a problem in the song writing department. The music industry typically shuns bands that had success in a particular era. Buckcherry who is selling 15k shattered that perception.  The music biz is more judgemental than the public. Let the people decide.  For more information email Dan Friedman. Check out the tracks Fame and Glory and No DOA on Sunday.
• Ronnie Day signed to Epic and is releasing the first record on Militia Group. It was a big deal with alot of hype.Â
• A&R chatter around the band Civilian who refuses to launch a myspace page. Music is here. Management is Russ Rieger rrieger@pipelineweb.com, Legal is Chris Castle chris@christiancastle.com.

Universal CEO Doug Morris recently called YouTube and Myspace copyright infringers. Warner Music on the other hand wasted no time striking a deal with the media giant YouTube. Â

YouTube, which hosts more than 100 million videos viewed every day, and Warner Music, said that the deal would help Warner distribute music videos, behind-the-scenes footage, artist interviews and original programming.
WMG will have the opportunity to authorize the use of its content by the YouTube community. YouTube and WMG will share revenue from advertising on both WMG music videos and user uploaded videos that incorporate audio and audiovisual works from WMG’s catalog.

Partnering with Warner Music Group is one of the most significant milestones for our company and our community, and shifts the paradigm in this new media movement,” said Chad Hurley, CEO and Co-Founder of YouTube. “By providing a new distribution opportunity, we are paving the way for media companies to harness the vast financial potential of user-generated content on YouTube. We are thrilled that WMG had the vision to be the first music company, in partnership with its artists, to support the use of their content within user videos and to allow our community to interact with WMG music in new creative ways.”

Edgar Bronfman, Jr., Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, said, “Technology is changing entertainment, and Warner Music is embracing that innovation. Consumer-empowering destinations like YouTube have created a two-way dialogue that will transform entertainment and media forever. As user-generated content becomes more prevalent, this kind of partnership will allow music fans to celebrate the music of their favorite artists, enable artists to reach consumers in new ways, and ensure that copyright holders and artists are fairly compensated.”

(Reuters)