London - Vivendi's Universal Music Group announced that it has signed a long-term contract with the Rolling Stones, ending a long relationship with EMI and disappointing concert promotion giant Live Nation, which was also reportedly seeking a deal with the band. The Universal contract -- financial terms of which were not disclosed -- covers both future albums and past catalog. "Universal Music Group will begin planning an unprecedented, long-term campaign to reposition the Rolling Stones' entire catalogue for the digital age," the company said in a statement.

San Francisco - The forthcoming MySpace Music joint venture service with the major labels is "likely" to partner with Amazon to power its e-commerce sales of digital music, although Apple and Rhapsody are also in the running, TechCrunch reported, citing an anonymous source. MySpace CEO Chris DeWolfe said earlier this week that the joint venture, which will sell music downloads, offer subscription plans, and sell other things like ringtones and concert tickets, will launch in September.

Beijing - Internet TV service Joost has partnered with Hong Kong's TOM Group to launch a localized version of its service in China with 16,000 hours of content, Variety reported. TOM will sell ads against the local content, which has been licensed from providers including CCTV, China Record Corp, BTV Media, CAV Warner Home Entertainment and Huayi Brothers Media Group.

Los Angeles - "Napoleon Dynamite" star Jon Heder will serve as a producer on and star in a new scripted online series from Electric Farm Entertainment, according to The Hollywood Reporter. "Woke Up Dead," a sci-fi comedy series, will combine live-action and CGI elements and be released as 50 three-minute episodes online and for mobile devices.

New York - Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) Nickelodeon on Friday announced plans to launch a massively multiplayer online game for its "Avatar: The Last Airbender" series, which is also being developed into a feature film directed by M. Night Shyamalan set for release in July 2010. The beta version of "Avatar: Legends of the Arena," which will be launched in 81 markets in ten languages on Sept. 15, will be unveiled at Comic-Con this weekend.

Los Angeles - The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is working on a website and search feature that would direct users looking for movies online to legal outlets, including theater ticketing services, online DVD rental and retail services, and legal download services, Variety reports.

San Francisco - According to court documents from the studios' copyright case against file-sharing site TorrentSpy, the Motion Picture Association of America sought information from a hacker on Sweden-based file-sharing hub The Pirate Bay, CNET News.com reported.

San Francisco - Yahoo (NASD: YHOO) is taking some criticism for following a move Microsoft (NASD: MSFT) was compelled to backtrack on, namely discontinuing a digital rights management-laden music service in a way that will make some songs purchased by consumers unplayable. Microsoft eventually added three years of support for customers who purchased downloads from its MSN Music store, who complained that their songs would no longer be available if they ever had to reauthorize them on another computer.

King of Prussia, Pa. - Days after being served a copyright infringement lawsuit by broadcasters NBC (NYSE: GE) and Fox News (NYSE: NWS), Web video clipping service Redlasso announced on Friday that it will suspend access to its clipping service. "We believe we have always acted within the law and have been respectful of the networks rights. Unfortunately, they have forced our hand and are denying the blogging community access to the Redlasso platform that beneficially tracks the usage of newsworthy clips across the Web," said Ken Hayward, CEO of Redlasso.

Boston - Tradual, a Boston-based social media company focusing on foreign currency exchange, has raised $2.4 million in its first round of venture capital, according to a report by PEHub, which cited a regulatory filing.

New York - Unable to find its niche in the personal media space, AOL (NYSE: TWX) plans to shutter its Bluestring media sharing, Xdrive online storage and AOL Pictures photo services, TechCrunch reported, citing an internal company e-mail. "With two quarters behind us, it is fair to say that results across the AOL products team have been mixed," wrote Kevin Conroy, an executive vice president at AOL, in an e-mail to staff.

San Antonio, Texas - Radio giant Clear Channel (NYSE: CCU) announced on Friday that its shareholders have approved its $17.9 billion sale to private equity firms Bain Capital Partners and Thomas H. Lee Partners, with approximately 97% of shares voted cast in favor of the deal. The private equity firms initially offered $37.60 per share back in November 2006, but with the credit market downturn the deal was finalized at $36 per share.