On the heels of news last week that it has secured EMI‘s recorded music division for nearly $2 billion, Universal Music is again in the news: Google (NSDQ: GOOG) is reportedly very close to signing a deal with the company to use its music as part of an upcoming download…

Four years after the whole label sold to Terra Firma for £4.2 ($6.69) billion, now one half of EMI Group - the record music division, EMI Music - is being sold by Citigroup to Vivendi’s Universal Music Group for £1.2 ($1.91) billion.

Intel (NSDQ: INTC) has made no secret of its interest to be a more central player in the mobile space and now it’s showing us the money, too. The company has announced that it is buying Israel-based mapping and location-based services company Telmap. The move comes as there are signs…

Vivendi’s pay TV arm Canal+ is to acquire Vincent Bollore’s free-to-air television business in a €465m (£404m) deal, a move the company said is designed to help it prepare to defend its business against the arrival of Netflix (NSDQ: NFLX), Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Google.

French entertainment and telecoms company Vivendi (EPA: VIV) has reported a strong first half, with record sales of its Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard games division’s titles Call of Duty and World of Warcraft more than countering a 17% profits plunge at Universal Music Group.

While everyone’s attention was focused on Spotify finally launching services in the U.S., another online music milestone has been reached on the other side of the world. China’s search giant Baidu (NSDQ: BIDU), long accused of aiding and abetting music piracy, has finally inked a deal with major music labels…

At last, an end to Vodafone’s French saga, and another chapter in the mobile operator’s continuing sell-off of assets that it does not control: Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) is selling its 44 percent stake in France’s SFR to Vivendi (EPA: VIV), its partner in the operation, for €7.75 billion (£6.8 billion;…

UK ISPs may be about to embark on bundled music offerings again, according to industry execs I asked whilst facilitating a panel discussion at Changing Media Summit on Wednesday.

Vivendi (EPA: VIV) has reported a strong performance in 2010 with huge sales of Call of Duty boosting earnings in its games division by more than 40%, more than countering a plunge of almost a quarter at Universal Music Group.

Nokia’s struggle to compete against Apple (NSDQ: AAPL), and drive more sales of its own smartphones, hit a new low today, as the Finnish company said it would be discontinuing its free, bundled music service, Comes With Music, in 27 of the 33 markets where it has operated since 2008,…

Back to basics for Vodafone, as the carrier continues apace with its sell-off of non-controlled assets. Today it has agreed to sell off a $5 billion stake in Softbank back to the Japanese operator, as it sharpens its focus on operators in Europe, Africa and India where it has majority…

With digital becoming a bigger part of Universal Music Group’s revenues in all parts of the world, the company is promoting Rob Wells to president of Global Digital Business, a new position. For Wells, formerly SVP for digital, this is a formal expansion of what he’s essentially been doing: striking…

French media conglomerate Vivendi (EPA: VIV) is upping its 2010 revenue forecast, after seeing first-half income up 6.1 percent from last year. It says 11.9 percent higher pre-tax profit of €3.24 billion is “due in particular to Activision (NSDQ: ATVI) Blizzard, (French telco) SFR and (Brazilian telco) GVT”...

French media conglomerate Vivendi (EPA: VIV) saw Q1 revenue up six percent to €6.9 billion compared with last year - and it’s easy to see why. Vivendi told analysts last month it’s putting a “growing focus on subscriptions”, which have grown to comprise more than three quarters of the group’s…

It’s been about three years since people first started talking about how bundling music services with internet access could realistically provide hard-pressed labels with vital new income streams. But there are still precious few such services in operation. So Universal, the bravest of the four majors when it comes to…

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…

Universal Music Group’s ever-honest international digital SVP Rob Wells gave a video interview to TheMusicVoid. The highlights…

—Canal+ football: Vivendi’s French broadcaster Canal+ has sealed the exclusive rights to show English Premier League matches live in France until 2013. The deal deals TV, online, mobile and TV catchup highlights. From Premiere.tv. —ITV: The broadcaster is to sell episodes of American drama The Vampire Diaries from Friday via…

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…