DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS – WEEK IN REVIEW

• A slate of second quarter earnings announcements were released this week. RealNetworks posted respectable subscriber, revenue and profit gains, with music helping to bolster gains. Sirius Satellite Radio also posted strong subscriber and revenue gains, though net losses were sizeable. Napster posted doubled revenues, though net loss figures remained worrisome. And Warner Music revealed its earnings card Thursday, showing a modest net loss alongside a small revenue gain. Digital revenues now account for 6 percent of overall sales receipts at the major label. Finally, iRiver-owner Reigncom recently crossed into the black.
• Apple was quite active this week, launching an iTunes Music Store in Japan.
• And HP terminated its iPod co-brand program.
• P2P volume increased in July, with BigChampagne reporting a sharp increase in average simultaneous users.
• MTV was also in the news this week, revealing plans to push concert footage from 50 Cent and Eminem exclusively to broadband viewers. Coverage will then extend to "linear" television, but only after the exclusive broadband window.
• The satellite radio sector was also active. Ford listed several new models that will carry factory-installed Sirius receivers, further intensifying that relationship. And global satellite radio provider WorldSpace fetched $241.5 million in a recent Nasdaq IPO.
• Elsewhere, word of an upcoming Amazon music store circulated this week, with the company seeking a new recruit to manage content licensing.