Hypebot’s Digital Music QuickNews:

NPR has recently reached the 4 million download mark for it’s 150 podcasts from 7 stations. Given NPR’s programming it’s safe to bet that it’s not just kids driving this trend.  Unfortunately the music industry is missing the boat on podcasts due to difficult music licensing rules. 

– "Friendster may have been trumped by MySpace, but the company is still striking deals. Following a recent tie-up with Grouper, meeting and socializing on Friendster will now involve the sharing of photos, music and video content. Grouper is a peer-to-peer application that allows members to stream music content to one another…Overall, both Friendster and MySpace will provide yet another boost for the music video format, which continues to surge online. For Friendster, the Grouper deal is part of a larger effort to energize its member base of 20 million, of which about 8 million are active, per the C|Net report." – From Digital Music News.

– In a move that every music and media should be replicating MTV today announced that Jason Hirschhorn has been appointed the Company’s inaugural Chief Digital Officer (CDO). In this new global role, Hirschhorn will be responsible for creating and implementing cross-company strategies for growing MTV Networks’ existing and future brands — including the music, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central and Spike channels — across all existing and emerging digital platforms.

Additionally, he will coordinate the business, product development and technical operations of MTV Networks’ expanding portfolio of digital media businesses while overseeing new acquisitions in the interactive space, including the recently-acquired video destination IFILM. Read the full press release here.