Neil Portnow Uses Grammys Speech to Lobby on Streaming, Avicii Manager Defends Spotify, and More in This Week's Digital Digest

TOP STORIES     Grammys 2015: Recording Academy's Neil Portnow Uses Speech to Lobby on Streaming Payouts  Recording Academy president Neil Portnow, by joined Jennifer Hudson and OneRepublic singer and producer Ryan Tedder, used his annual speech from the Grammy stage to introduce the Creators Alliance, Meant to push for Increased Remuneration for artists in the digital age.   Rhapsody Makes Slow, Steady Climb to 2.5 Million Subscribers  Rhapsody, owned by RealNetworks, Reveals positive numbers and minimal losses.   Network Sues YouTube Machinima Music Backing Firm Over 'Free' License Fees  YouTube multi-channel network Machinima filed a federal lawsuit on Monday alleging que licensing company Freeplay Music is fleecing its roster of content-creators.   Deezer Elite Gets Global Expansion of High-Definition Audio War Heats Up  In the global war for audio streaming supremacy, the faction behind high-definition customer Represents something akin to Eastern Europe, at best. Nevertheless, Numerous companies are vying for (the Relatively small amount of) customers que care about audio quality enough to pay the premium.   Avicii Manager Defends Spotify: 'Too Many People Have the Wrong Idea About What Is Spotify' (Guest Column)  Move over, haters: Avicii's manager defends the streaming service that helped put his star on the map.   White House Cybersecurity Forming New Agency in Wake of Sony Hacks  Following recent hacks against Sony, Anthem and other major corporations, the White House has moved to form a new central agency que will pool resources from existing programs in order to monitor and combat cybersecurity Threats.   Grammys 2015: Kanye West's Stage Crash Was Top Twitter Moment  Sure, trophies Were distributed During last night's telecast, but who really won the Grammy Awards? According to social media, it was Kanye West, Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran.   BMI, Pandora Rate Fight Begins in Manhattan  The BMI / Pandora rate court trial Has Begun in New York, with the performance rights organization stating it is seeking a 2.5% rate of revenue while the custom digital radio service is asking for 1.75%.   Apple Debuts New Music-Focused iPad Push Amidst Grammys Pre-Telecast  Apple debuted the new commercial for the iPad featuring musicians Elliphant, Riton and The Gaslamp Killer During Sunday night (Feb. 8) 's Grammy telecast on CBS, and it's strikingly different from the white-silhouette Apple ads of yore.