New York - Major label Sony BMG is planning to start selling songs without digital rights management (DRM) software some time in the first quarter, making it the last major to begin in earnest to offer at least some of its catalog in the MP3 format, BusinessWeek.com reported, citing people familiar with the matter. [more..]

Los Angeles - Warner Bros. Entertainment announced on Friday that, "in response to consumer demand," it will now exclusively release its high-definition titles on Sony's Blu-ray disc format, ending its dual support for Toshiba's rival HD DVD format. [more..]

San Francisco - Microsoft sold 4.3 million Xbox 360 video game consoles during the fourth quarter of 2007, and has now sold a total of 17.7 million worldwide since the device's release in 2005, Reuters reported. [more..]

New York - Sirius Satellite Radio, whose proposed merger with rival XM is still being considered by the Justice Dept. and FCC, announced that it added 2.3 million net subscribers during 2007, and ended the year with a total of over 8.3 million subscribers. [more..]

Los Angeles - Napster has increased the subscription fees for its digital music service by about 30%, from $9.95 per month to $12.95 per month, the company said in an e-mail to subscribers. [more..]

San Francisco - U.S. venture capitalists ended 2007 on a high note, garnering nearly $16.2 billion in liquidity from the sale of 106 venture-backed companies and more than $2 billion from the initial public offerings of 26 others during the fourth quarter, according to a new report from Dow Jones VentureSource. [more..]

Silver Spring, Md. - Worldspace Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio service to international markets, said that it has landed a $40 million subordinated debt facility from a company controlled by its chairman and CEO, Noah Samara. [more..]

San Jose, Calif. - Pudding Media, a provider of contextual advertising placed on mobile, VoIP and Web voice applications, announced on Friday that it has raised $8 million in its first round of venture capital, led by Opus Capital and BRM Capital. [more..]

Newton, Mass. - PeerApp, a provider of peer-to-peer (P2P) technology for Internet service providers, has raised $3 million of venture capital from a group including Pilot House Ventures, Evergreen and Cedar Fund, according to a report by PE Week Wire, which cited a regulatory filing. [more..]

Jay Baage: For the media and entertainment biz, the next obvious industry to face similar issues as the labels have had in moving from a packaged goods industry to a service industry are the movie studios. What is the future of home entertainment – DRM-protected discs or Internet distributed computer files that can be enjoyed by consumer anytime, anywhere, on any device? Do I need to say what I think the answer is? [more..]

Scott Karp: Is it a fair exchange for users to get a free service in exchange for giving up control of their data? And who is the arbiter when different services lay claim to control of the same user’s data? [more..]

New York - CBS announced this week that it will fold its College Sports Television Networks (CSTV) businesses into the operations of CBS Sports, to include CSTV.com and its network of over 200 official collegiate athletics websites. [more..]

New York - Warner Music/Poe Boy Entertainment recording artist Flo Rida set a single-week digital sales record this week, as consumers bought 470,000 copies of his single, "Low," Billboard reports. [more..]

Emeryville, Calif. - Gracenote said on Friday that it has expanded its partnership with Philips, with the two companies combining their respective content fingerprinting technologies. [more..]

Los Angeles - Live Nation, the large concert promoter and venue owner, said this week that it has signed platinum-selling Hollywood Records artists the Jonas Brothers to a long-term, worldwide touring deal. [more..]

Las Vegas - EchoStar Holding Corp.'s Sling Media, a developer of media place-shifting devices and technology, announced on Friday that it will offer a version of its software compatible with BlackBerry smartphones later this year. [more..]

San Diego - Mad Catz Interactive, a maker of video game accessories, said on Friday that it has signed a multi-year licensing agreement with Viacom's MTV Networks, to create and distribute accessories for MTV-owned Harmonix Music Systems' "Rock Band" video game in North America and other territories. [more..]