Cannes, France - Qtrax this weekend announced the launch of what it claims is the first legal peer-to-peer file-sharing service with tracks from all the major labels, although all of the majors have since stated that they have not licensed Qtrax -- and the service remains offline -- according to reports. [more..]

San Francisco - Current Media, the new media TV and Web video network founded by former Vice President Al Gore, on Monday announced plans to file for an initial public offering (IPO) of shares that could raise up to $100 million, according to an SEC filing. [more..]

Seattle - Online retail giant Amazon.com has announced plans to begin an international rollout of its new DRM-free music store, Amazon MP3, which launched in the U.S. in September and now offers MP3s from all four major labels and over 33,000 independents. [more..]

New York - NBC Universal's Local Media Division has acquired LX.TV, a producer of Web and HD video programming focused on lifestyle products and services for affluent consumers. [more..]

San Francisco - Imeem, a social network focused on music that claims over 20 million unique monthly visitors, announced on Monday that it has acquired Anywhere.FM, a Web music player and Internet radio service. [more..]

West Palm Beach, Fla. - Mainstream Holdings announced on Monday that it has raised $29.6 million to help launch its social media start-up, Moli, from investors including Home Depot co-founders Bernard Marcus and Kenneth G. Langone, and Vantis Capital Management managing member Steven D. Holzman. [more..]

New York - The Rubicon Project, a provider of online ad network services for publishers, announced on Monday that it has raised $15 million in its second round of venture capital financing, led by Mayfield Fund. [more..]

Boston - Visible Measures, a start-up developing a system to measure the behavior of Internet video audiences, announced on Monday that it has raised a $13.5 million second round of funding, led by Mohr Davidow Ventures. [more..]

Cannes, France - U.K.-based digital music retailer 7digital announced on Monday that it has raised $8.5 million in new funding, led by Sutton Place Managers with participation from Balderton Capital. [more..]

Los Angeles - Kidthing, an educational and social networking site for kids, parents and teachers, announced on Monday that it has raised $3 million in new financing, from angel investors led by Alpinesky LLC. [more..]

It seems unlikely that WSJ can retain its high-value audience profile long-term against the lure of the larger web — that is so long as WSJ only offers its own original content, blogs Scott Karp. [more..]

The site is becoming more and more important to the recruitment industry: it still doesn’t send a huge amount of traffic their way, but the traffic that it does send is high quality and, as the chart below illustrates, on the increase, blogs Robin Goad of Hitwise. [more..]

Digital Media Wire’s CEO & Publisher Ned Sherman provides a wrap-up of the top stories of the past week. Who’s hot, who’s not and what’s the industry buzz?

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Cannes, France - Sony Ericsson on Monday announced deals with 10 record labels that will add over 5 million new tracks to PlayNow, its over-the-air mobile music download service. [more..]

London - Large U.K. retailer Woolworths has announced that it will no longer carry HD DVD format movies in its stores as of March, opting instead to feature only Blu-ray titles. [more..]

Los Angeles - The Jim Henson Company announced on Monday that it has added a range of movie and TV titles to Apple's iTunes Store, beginning with episodes of the TV series "Farscape" and "Fraggle Rock." [more..]

Atlanta - IVideosongs.com on Monday announced the launch of its Web-based video music lessons from famous instructors, including Graham Nash (CSNY), Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Jeff Carlisi (.38 Special). [more..]

New York - Verizon announced on Monday that its FiOS TV service has surpassed 1 million customers, making it the tenth-largest cable TV provider in the U.S. [more..]

Las Vegas - The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), a trade group of companies in the mobile entertainment industry, on Monday introduced its US Participation TV Code of Practice, which it calls "a practical framework on issues such as the presentation of pricing information on TV, radio and in print to dealing with consumer queries, building viewer-friendly applications which are easy to use and putting in place mechanisms for refunds." [more..]

Washington - The Washington Post on Monday launched a new daily online magazine called "The Root," which the company hopes to use to "[raise] the profile of black voices in mainstream media." [more..]

Franklin, Tenn. - PassAlong Networks, a provider of white-label digital music stores and related services, announced on Monday that it partnered with EMI Christian Music Group to launch ChristianDigitalStore.com. [more..]

Cannes, France - RoyaltyShare announced on Monday that U.K.-based independent label consortium Beggars Group will use its services to handle back-end processing of information. [more..]

San Francisco - IODA, a digital distributor of independent label music, said Monday that seven new independent music distributors have signed on to use its services. [more..]

Los Angeles - Napster and Ericsson on Monday announced the launch of the Napster Mobile music service with Telecom Italia, which claims over 35 million subscribers. [more..]

Palm Desert, Calif. - Zodiac Interactive, a developer of software for interactive television, on Monday introduced its new mobile content search engine, Zodigo, at the DEMO 08 conference. [more..]

Burlingame, Calif. - BitGravity on Monday introduced its BG LiveBroadcast platform at the DEMO 08 conference, which the company bills as the first cost-effective, carrier-grade, live broadcasting solution that lets media companies broadcast live content over the Internet to millions of viewers in a high-quality, highly-reliable experience that rivals television." [more..]

Cannes, France - Javien Digital Payment Solutions on Monday introduced the Javien New Media Payment Gateway, a transaction payment system tailored for companies selling digital assets like music, movies, games and software over the Internet and mobile platforms. [more..]

Cannes, France - Txttunes, a provider of wireless payment and artist-to-fan mobile services, announced on Monday that it has signed a deal to add the entire catalog of digital music distributor The Orchard to its offering. [more..]

Agoura Hills, Calif. - THQ Wireless announced on Monday that it has signed a worldwide licensing agreement with Playboy Enterprises, to exclusively develop and publish Playboy-branded mobile games. [more..]