Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) is said to have secured the services of the music industry’s “gang of four,” signing the remaining holdout, Universal Music, to a contract that would allow Apple to offer a cloud-based music service. A preview of the company’s plans could come as early as Monday, when Apple…

Our look at some of the big stories in mobile today: Apple’s apparently getting closer to a cloud music product after signing a deal with EMI; Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) goes after the FCC in court over data roaming rules; Gartner and Millennial Media release their latest figures respectively on…

Our rundown of mobile news to start your day. Today we look at the newest reports around Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and cloud services; Motorola’s newest investment, into the world of HTML5 gaming; Twitter’s new iPhone update; and Samsung’s takeaway on the iPad 2.

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,…

—FLO TV: Qualcomm’s mobile TV service, it turns out, only had around 1 million sign-ups since launching in March, 2007, according to CEO Paul Jacobs. (And that number might even include those who signed up for trials but never paid for extensions of the service.) Jacobs says plans to sell…

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…

Nokia has partnered with Rihanna to promote the pop star’s latest album release “Rated R” through an impressive series of events on the phone, including exclusive content, a live-streaming concert and an application for Nokia phones. (Release.) Through the partnership, Nokia will promote its Ovi application store and the X6,…

“Don’t it always seem to go you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” ... Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) didn’t pave paradise but it helped kill off albums and now it wants the magic—and the higher profit margins—back. The FT reports via multiple unidentified sources that Apple, EMI, Warner Music…

Southeast Asia’s biggest telecoms firm SingTel launched a mobile download service Sunday for music and videos in its home market of Singapore, which it plans to take to other parts of Asia. The service, called AMPed, was developed with Universal Music and will help position the carrier’s offering beyond “just…

Tapulous, the mobile game company known for its popular iPhone game, Tap Tap Revenge, has signed a deal with Universal Music Group, to make games based on some of the label’s most famous artists. The first game is based on hit singer Lady GaGa (pictured, right), and will include 14…

—NBA, SPIN, UMG Go iPhone: The NBA is launching an iPhone app for the 2009 playoffs, SPIN Magazine is launching SPIN Earth on the iPhone to highlight music and culture from around the world, and Universal Music Group is launching several iPhone apps for artists including Soulja Boy Tell ‘Em,…

Can music-oriented social-networking site Imeem get consumers to pay to get music on their cell phones that they could otherwise listen to for free on their PCs? The company, whose ad-funded site has the backing of all four major music labels to let user legally stream songs to listen to,…

Kyte, the San Francisco-based company that enables people to stream video directly from their phones to the web, has identified a new revenue stream—helping companies launch iPhone applications. The company is announcing today that its partner Interscope Geffen A&M, a division of Universal Music Group, will launch iPhone apps for…

Sony (NYSE: SNE) Ericsson (NSDQ: ERIC) has struck a deal with Universal Music Publishing to allow the publisher’s artists to promote their music on SE’s online and phone-based service for up-and-coming acts PlayNow Uncut. Under the terms of the agreement which was announced at Midem, SE has access to master…

After seeing success with artists, such as Pussycat Dolls, Soulja Boy Tell Em and All American Rejects, Universal Music Group said it is designating Kyte as the mobile video platform for its artists and labels worldwide, and will work with the San Francisco-based company to develop new applications to engage…

Adam Flick, VP of marketing at Universal Music Group Distribution, has left the company to pursue other opportunities, a spokesman confirmed today. Flick was appointed VP of marketing for Universal Music Mobile in 2006, where he worked on marketing and promotional activities with wireless carriers, mobile content distributors, device manufacturers…

Carriers have found a new way of dangling content in front of consumers, but with all the same strings attached as the original “walled garden.” SanDisk (NSDQ: SNDK), the maker of the microSD memory cards, said today it has successfully demonstrated new technology with the help of LG (SEO: 066570),…

A few interesting tidbits surfaced during an interview between Rio Caraeff, EVP of Universal Music Group’s eLabs, and CNet, that implies that mobile music may not be as far behind as some people thought. Caraeff said that mobile makes up nearly half of revenues from its digital business and that…

Early results from Nokia’s Comes With Music service are showing that one of the more surprising demographics that are adopting the service are mothers, said Trevor Madigan, Nokia’s manger of entertainment and communities Americas for software and services. “Madigan told me at CES that it’s an “agitated” mother who’s bothered…