Duluth, Minn. - The first defendant to face a jury trial in the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) over 20,000-lawsuit strong campaign against illegal file-sharing was found guilty on Thursday. [more..]

New York - Satellite radio firms Sirius and XM announced on Thursday that both companies will hold special shareholder meetings on Tuesday, Nov. 13 to vote on their proposed multi-billion dollar merger. [more..]

Redmond, Wash. - Microsoft announced on Thursday that "Halo 3" for its Xbox 360 video game console racked up over $300 million in sales during its first week, which figures as one of the biggest entertainment product launches of all time. [more..]

Tokyo - Sony Computer Entertainment said on Thursday that the new, slimmer version of its PSP handheld game device sold 580,000 units in Japan in the two weeks since its release there on Sept. 20. [more..]

Canberra, Australia - A 4GB Apple iPod Nano costs a whopping $369.61 in Brazil, while consumers in Hong Kong pay just $148.12 -- even less than the $149 price tag in the U.S., according to the CommSec iPod Index, created by Australia's Commonwealth Bank to study global purchasing power. [more..]

Madrid - Illegal music downloading is on the rise in Spain, despite the decline of physical CD piracy, Billboard reported, citing a survey from the Spanish government's Ministry of Culture. [more..]

Los Angeles - Denison Entertainment, a film studio that focuses on films that "elevate social consciousness by focusing on diversity," has raised $96 million in private equity funding, PEHub.com reported. [more..]

San Diego - Verimatrix, a provider of content security software for pay-TV networks, announced on Thursday that it has raised $5 million in new venture capital financing, from existing investors including Mission Ventures. [more..]

Oakland, Calif. - Mesmo.TV, the developer of a social video discovery platform, has secured over half of a $900,000 first round of financing, from backers including Felices Ventures and Maples Investments, PEHub.com reported, citing a regulatory filing. [more..]

New York - AzoogleAds, a New York-based provider of online marketing services, announced that it has acquired Bazaar Advertising, a San Francisco-based provider of search engine advertising technology. [more..]

Doing his best imitation of Wallace Shawn in The Princess Bride, Bob Lefsetz (author of The Lefsetz Letter) offered 30 minutes of his time to the Digital Music Forum West this afternoon in a keynote interview with Ken Rutkowski of KenRadio.com. [more..]

Jay Baage blogs from DMW's Digital Music Forum West, where Thursday's keynote speakers included Thomas Hesse, head of everything digital for Sony BMG.
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Jay Baage blogs about Wednesday's DMFW keynote interview with Ken Lombard, President of Starbucks Entertainment, who gave the audience an idea of new models for distributing and monetizing music. [more..]

Arkansas - Five ticket-sales sites could be in violation of state ticket-scalping laws pertaining to the sale of seats for Miley Cyrus concerts, reports the Associated Press. [more..]

Seattle - Pixsy, a provider of video search technology, said on Thursday that it will power the search function for video-sharing firm Veoh Networks. [more..]

Palo Alto, Calif. - HP on Thursday announced agreements with 30 content providers who have agreed to license their libraries, comprising 4,000 movie, TV, documentary and other titles, for production and distribution via its HP Video Merchant Services. [more..]

McLean, Va. - Javien Digital Payment Solutions, a provider of e-commerce technology, announced on Thursday that it has integrated its service with Digonex Technologies, a provider of price optimization technology for digital media. [more..]

Dulles, Va. - AOL said on Thursday that it has signed a deal with U.K.-based social network Bebo, to offer its AIM instant messenger service to Bebo users. [more..]

Pompano Beach, Fla. - Moniker.com, a provider of domain name asset management services, on Thursday announced that it has been granted exclusive rights to broker the sale of FantasySports.com, which is currently owned by iTV Entertainment. [more..]

San Francisco - IODA, a digital distributor of independent label music, announced on Thursday the opening of a new office in Sydney, Australia. [more..]

Washington - National Geographic Digital Media on Thursday introduced a news widget containing top news stories, video footage and photos from NationalGeographic.com that can be added to any blog, website or social network profile. [more..]

Austin, Texas - Game publisher NCsoft on Thursday officially launched Carbine Studios, its new development studio based in Aliso Viejo, California. The studio is comprised of 17 former Blizzard Entertainment employees, including lead and senior developers on "World of Warcraft." [more..]