DIGITAL MUSIC NEWS – WEEK IN REVIEW

• Grokster finally settled with the RIAA this week, and agreed to shut down access and development on its application. The company pointed to work on an upcoming, paid service, and will be forced to pay a $50 million fine if it does not comply with the terms of its settlement. Meanwhile, a Mashboxx acquisition of Grokster appears done…
• The controversy over the Sony BMG rootkit installation kept growing this week, and now includes lawsuits in both the United States and Italy. Virus protection firms are also taking steps to stop the rootkit installations amidst growing consumer concern.
• Warner Music opened a new digital label called Cordless Records. The label, which will be headed by Jac Holzman, will focus on smaller, more frequent digital releases.
• File-sharing levels remained fairly steady during the most recent month, though year-over-year increases have been large.
• In the paid music store space, Napster upgraded its service with a recommendation engine and higher audio fidelity. And several outlets started offering tracks from John Lennon…
• Madonna started an absolute blitz ahead of her album release…with Network Live to distribute an album release party across XM Satellite Radio, AOL Music, and various mobile outlets. Madonna is also being positioned on MySpace and MTV.com.
• In the mobile music realm, Motorola unveiled plans to launch another iTunes-enabled phone, this time as part of its RAZR lineup.

Excerpted from Digital Music News