Research: How Many Cloud Music Subs Would Access From ‘Anywhere’?

A Forrester Research study suggests that while subscribers of cloud-based music services would be able to access songs from a variety of players, most listeners would stick with their one or two devices of choice.

The home computer remains the most popular device for digital music listening, used by 41.6% of the market, followed by MP3 players at 32.5%. But only 23% of users listen to music collections on both their PC and MP3 player, according to Forrester. Billboard has more stats from the survey.

Microsoft ‘Probably’ Topped $1 Billion In Xbox Live Biz: Bloomberg

Microsoft has confirmed that sales of entertainment content and virtual goods over Xbox Live have surpassed the game network’s subscription business. That likely means the company earned more than $600 million in movie and TV show downloads, as well as purchases of avatar accessories for games, in its fiscal year ended June 30, Bloomberg reports (via BusinessWeek).

As Forbes did last month, Bloomberg bases its estimate on Microsoft’s statement that half of the company’s 25 million Xbox users pay $50 a year for a premium subscription to the Xbox Live service.

When combined with subscription revenues, entertainment downloads would put Microsoft’s Xbox Live revenues past $1.2 billion for the most recent fiscal year, exceeding analyst expectations.

The company will report its annual earnings July 22.

Hulu Plus: A DVR Replacement?

Hulu launched an invite-only version of its anticipated subscription service yesterday, offering on-demand access to “hundreds” of TV shows from ABC, Fox and NBC, including Glee and The Office. After testing the $9.99-a-month service on an iPad and iPhone, as well as Mac and PC desktops, BTIG Research analyst Richard Greenfield concludes that Hulu Plus works more as a would-be DVR replacement than as a rival to Netflix or cable subscriptions. Hulu Plus offers new episodes of shows 24 hours after they air on broadcast networks. Greenfield’s blog is here (subscription required).

‘Hulu Plus’ Pilot Could Come Next Week: WSJ

Sources close to Hulu tell the Wall Street Journal that the online video site could begin inviting select users to test a $10-per-month “Hulu Plus” service as early as next week. The long-anticipated subscription service would offer access to more content than Hulu’s free site, and would be compatible with Apple’s iPad, the Journal reports. Timing of the launch depends on the finalization of content licensing agreements among Hulu’s three owners: NBC Universal, News Corp., and Walt Disney Co.

Some 43.5 million unique viewers came to Hulu’s free site in May 2010, up from 40 million in May 2009, according to comScore. The comparison comes courtesy of Business Insider, which labels Hulu’s apparent 9% year-over-year gain as growth by “just barely.”

Apple Shutting Down Lala; Cloud-Based iTunes Still Up In The Air

Streaming music service Lala, acquired by Apple in December, told users this morning that it will shut down on May 31, issuing iTunes Store credit to those who have purchased 10-cent streaming “web songs” on the site.

The news has tech blogs abuzz with speculation that the next move for Apple will be the introduction of an iTunes.com site, through which users will be able to access their digital media collections from any Web-enabled device. (MediaPost has a comprehensive roundup of the coverage.)

Blogs such as paidContent say that it’s high time for Apple to introduce a cloud-based media service, with the rise of Web-based streaming and consumer acceptance of subscription models. “iTunes’ a la carte reliance looks archaic and one-dimensional, tooled for a market that’s plateaued,” the blog asserts.

However, none of the techbiz pundits subject the profit potential of current streaming subscription models to too rigorous an analysis. The speculation seems to rest on the faith that if any company can build streaming entertainment into a bonafide business, it’s Apple.

But new streaming music licenses and back-end server capacity would need to be underwritten by some established product line. Netflix, for instance, is investing its savings from renegotiated DVD deals with studios into its streaming video offer. An analog between iTunes and music labels is not immediately apparent.

There is also the question of scale — just how large is the market opportunity for a virtual music locker room? Lala itself met with a certain measure of critical acclaim, but few iPod owners will even know to miss it.

Apple could render any speculation moot with an announcement at its Worldwide Developers Conference June 7. In any event, it seems better positioned to keep any plans for a streaming service under wraps than it was in keeping its next-gen iPhone out of the public view.

Research: More Consumers Consider Pay-TV Cord-Cutting

One in eight pay-TV subscribers in North America and Western Europe will eliminate or reduce service plans in the next 12 months, turning to Internet-connected PCs, gaming consoles, and “over the top” devices for video programming, according to the Yankee Group. The research firm says that age and connected device usage play key roles in the trend: consumers who do cut off pay TV services will most likely be aged 18-34 and heavy mobile users or gamers. Meanwhile, pay-TV subscriber growth is slowing in North America as well as Western Europe, even as cable operators and others mull price hikes to consumers. Yankee Group

Musing On Hulu’s Paid Plans

Forrester Research’s James McQuivey asserts on paidContent that Hulu’s plans to unveil a subscription plan are real. In selling the online video site’s viewership on the idea of paying for access to free TV shows, “the secret,” McQuivey says, “is to position Hulu Plus as more. More shows, more control, on more devices. More everything.” By paidContent

Hulu To Test Paid Subscriptions

Hulu plans to begin testing a $9.95-a-month subscription service as early as May 24, reports the Los Angeles Times. Under the proposal, the online TV site would continue to offer the five most recent episodes of shows such as “Saturday Night Live” and “Glee” for free. Paying subscribers would gain access to a wider selection of content.

By its own account, ad-supported Hulu is profitable, but its revenues pale in comparison to what the site’s owners are used to earning from TV ad spots on their broadcast networks. By The Los Angeles Times

Spotify Still Stymied By Licensing Negotiations In U.S.

It turned out to be just a rumor that Spotify CEO Daniel Ek would use his March 16 keynote at South by Southwest to announce that the streaming music service would be expanding from Europe to the U.S. The executive said that the service currently has about 7 million users, around 320,000 of whom pay for a subscription to opt out of audio and display ads. By CNET

Netflix Subscriber Sues Over Four-Week Wait For Warner Movies

A Manhattan woman argues that a deal worked out between Netflix and Warner Home Video is an old-fashioned “scheme to restrain trade” and has to stop, according to the class-action lawsuit filed in Manhattan Federal Court. By the New York Daily News

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