Google and AP Together Again
February 10, 2010
After a seven-week-long hiatus, Google is now hosting content from the Associated Press again. The two have had a deal in place in the past, but AP content quietly went missing from Google, and that very fact became a topic of wide discussion last week. Now the deal appears to be renewed to some uncertain extent.
The statement Google has given on the matter says, "We have a licensing agreement with the Associated Press that permits us to host its content on Google properties such as Google News. The licensing agreement is the subject of ongoing discussion so we won’t be commenting further at this time."
An AP spokesman is quoted as saying, "We have nothing to add to Google’s statement."
If you've followed the online news industry much, we probably don't have to tell you that Google and the AP have had a somewhat complicated, if not rocky relationship.
Last week, Yahoo reached its own deal with the AP. Financial terms of that agreement were not disclosed.
This week, the AP promoted editor and correspondent Ted Anthony to Assistant Managing Editor. He is said to have been involved in the development of the news organization's social media practices.
Have You Read This?
> Mark Cuban Takes Murdoch-esque Stance on Google
> News Corp. Blocks Content from News Aggregation Site
> Do You Have the "Right" to Link?
> Murdoch On Blocking Search Engines: "I Think We Will"
> Murdoch's War with the Aggregators
> Is it Really Crazy to Block Google?
China Won’t Stand in the Way of Google’s Android Business
January 27, 2010
Since the widely publicized turbulence between Google and the Chinese government erupted, there has been a lot of speculation about whether or not Google would continue to do business in China in any capacity whatsoever. The company stopped censoring search results in its Chinese search engine, and threatened to pull out of China before it would again do so. Talks between Google and China are expected in the near future.
Based on the latest words from the Chinese government on the matter, Google's Android business should at least be safe in the country. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhu Hongren is quoted as saying at a news briefing:
"As long as it complies with Chinese laws and regulations, and as long as it has good cooperation with operators...their use of the system won't be limited."
The Chinese government has maintained since the incident took place that as long as services comply with Chinese law, they will not block anything. There are still a lot of opportunities for Google to make money in China without the presence of its search engine, and it remains to be seen just which Google will continue to pursue.
The whole situation has been largely murky at best. The U.S. government has been involved because Google has alleged that the Chinese government was involved with the cyber attacks that kicked this whole thing into motion, and the Chinese government has denied any involvement and said that either way it should be viewed as a "business dispute" as opposed to anything that should effect relations between the two countries.
For our past coverage on the Google China situation, browse through our China tag.
Have You Read This?
> Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release
> Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China
> Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile
China Won’t Stand in the Way of Google’s Android Business
January 27, 2010
Since the widely publicized turbulence between Google and the Chinese government erupted, there has been a lot of speculation about whether or not Google would continue to do business in China in any capacity whatsoever. The company stopped censoring search results in its Chinese search engine, and threatened to pull out of China before it would again do so. Talks between Google and China are expected in the near future.
Based on the latest words from the Chinese government on the matter, Google's Android business should at least be safe in the country. Ministry of Industry and Information Technology spokesman Zhu Hongren is quoted as saying at a news briefing:
"As long as it complies with Chinese laws and regulations, and as long as it has good cooperation with operators...their use of the system won't be limited."
The Chinese government has maintained since the incident took place that as long as services comply with Chinese law, they will not block anything. There are still a lot of opportunities for Google to make money in China without the presence of its search engine, and it remains to be seen just which Google will continue to pursue.
The whole situation has been largely murky at best. The U.S. government has been involved because Google has alleged that the Chinese government was involved with the cyber attacks that kicked this whole thing into motion, and the Chinese government has denied any involvement and said that either way it should be viewed as a "business dispute" as opposed to anything that should effect relations between the two countries.
For our past coverage on the Google China situation, browse through our China tag.
Have You Read This?
> Motorola Slates 20-30 Android Phones For 2010 Release
> Google Delays Launch Of Android Phones In China
> Google Tries To Carve Out Its Place In Mobile
MySpace Reaches Deal With Another Music Label
November 21, 2009
So it's quite noteworthy that, according to Andrew Orlowski, a Merlin spokesman stated, "After more than a year of negotiations, MySpace Music has finally offered Merlin a deal that is acceptable to its members, members who represent 10% of the global music market."
What's more, "The same eligibility and level of participation will be offered to all independent labels licensing content to MySpace Music."
Of course, the details of the arrangement haven't yet been made public, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered. But it looks like MySpace, which acquired Imeem just yesterday and launched MySpace Music Charts the day before, is really on a roll on the music front.
